–Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa —
As a Master’s Candidate in Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego’s Kroc School of Peace Studies, I am embarking on a peace blogging project, which I am calling peace, unpacked. Often under-talked-about, or spoken of as a “foofy hippie topic,” such a well-intentioned concept as peace has somehow, over time, gotten a bad [or unattainable] wrap. Through our posts here, I hope to offer personal and academic insights into what this word, peace, really entails. As it is frequently and casually used as an idealistic word of far-off fantasies, I feel the necessity [and the duty] to bring light to the pursuits of peace work. I would like that you give me the opportunity to persuade you that the key to creating any widespread sense of peace starts at the level of the individual… You! … Me! … All of us!
Let’s start this blogging journey from the nexus of peace and development. Reflecting on our time spent interning in South Africa, connecting the theoretical with experiences from the field, my colleague Andrea and I dive into topics ranging from dependency theory (through the example of our observations in the municipality of Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal) and the importance of being individual vectors of peace in the communities and thus, the world, where we live.
I hope you enjoy the ride! Pun intended! Check out our video, below, filmed from the comfort of our Lima Rural Development Foundation bakkie (pronounced, “bucky,” meaning, pick-up truck).
peace, unpacked 