A stubborn hope for peace
By Mike Hogeterp

We've all come to a conference called Peace, Justice—Living in Hope. I'd like to think we've come out of at least two convictions: first, a basic awareness of injustice and unpeace—that something isn't right; and second, that because Christ is supreme, there is a bold and motivating hope, even if Shalom is remote. In worship as a community of Christ's body—his hands and feet—we can live in hope—and even act from an audacious vision of transformation.

These words, heard at a gathering of Christ worshippers and peace activists in January of 2006, are a prayer and a mission that echo over and over again in the work of the Committee for Contact with the Government (CCG). Yes, shalom may be remote; yet, still we act in hope.

One of Canada's most significant recent foreign engagements is Afghanistan, a complex country that has not known peace for most of the last three decades. Canada and the international community have said noble things and dedicated resources and lives to the securing of peace, to rebuilding and to reconciliation since the fall of the Taliban. And yet, conflict in Afghanistan is continuing—even deepening. More and more NATO generals and political leaders alike are acknowledging that there will not be a military solution to the conflict. Shalom is remote.

How can we understand the peoples of Afghanistan? How can we understand the conflict in Afghanistan? How can we mobilize our concern for the well-being of Afghans? What is the balance between securing, reconstructing, and reconciling in an entrenched conflict? To what work are we as Canadians called?

Into this incredibly difficult set of questions comes the CCG. Humbly, we admit that we do not understand the peoples or conflicts of Afghanistan in their deep complexity. Yet motivated by hope, we aim to promote a passionate concern for the well-being of Afghan peoples, and we insist that Canada's commitments to peace, reconstruction and reconciliation be more than noble sentiment.

Our mobilization must take root in the basic premise that God treasures and values the lives He has created in Afghanistan and central Asia, as much as He values the lives of every Christian Reformed Canadian reading this Mobile Justice. From this understanding, we may see our own roles in advocating for Afghanistan where, indeed, something isn't right.

A Call for Justice, a 2005 analysis of Afghanistan's prospects for reconciliation, reported that every people group in Afghanistan had experienced oppression and human rights violations since 1979. Shalom is remote. And yet, here on our own soil, the CCG has met Afghan Canadians who have endured the conflict and oppression, and are now publicly passionate about the need for peace, reconciliation and development in their homeland. Boldly they act in hope.

The message of A Call for Justice, as shaped by the testimonies of thousands of people in Afghanistan, is profound: peace will be based on justice and reconciliation. That basic idea came to be reflected in a bold agenda: The Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice, which is part of the broader Afghanistan Compact. The Compact is an international political agreement on development and reconstruction, signed by Canada and 65 other countries. Unfortunately, the Action Plan will not be completed as scheduled at the end of 2008. There are complex reasons for this: weak funding and political will are an element, but as a national and institutional process it has not taken root in provinces and villages—where reconciliation can truly gain momentum.

Canada's mission in Afghanistan has been a hot topic over the last year. Throughout the debates CCG has encouraged leaders to work towards a mission that integrates security, development, governance and reconciliation. We worked from a sense that withdrawal did not seem a responsible option, but that the primary focus on security through counter-insurgency was not achieving sustainable peace.

Many argue that security makes development possible, and yet violent incidents have increased and humanitarian aid access has been seriously diminished in volatile provinces like Kandahar. The CCG has engaged in spirited conversations with Members of Parliament about this dilemma, with whom we have usually agreed that something needs to change. Following the decision to extend the mission to 2011, the in or out and security first or development first questions have been replaced with broader discussion on how Canada can be most effective. This is an opportunity to focus more deeply on the ways that Canada can make meaningful new contributions to peace.

In June the Canadian government released a set of 6 priorities for the mission to Afghanistan. One of these six is a commitment to supporting Afghan-led reconciliation efforts. The CCG has been encouraging Canadian support for reconciliation efforts like the Action Plan and similar civil-society projects. Our government's specific mention of reconciliation is a positive step that needs to be affirmed as part of the path to peace.

The CCG believes that the Canadian CRC has an important responsibility to both understand and encourage Canada's commitment to reconciliation initiatives in Afghanistan. We have developed resources leading concerned Christians to learn, to act, and to pray for peacebuilding.

Recent research and reporting from Oxfam International and Project Ploughshares indicate that there is hope for reconciliation in Afghanistan, and that it will take dedicated efforts at many levels. CCG urges its readers and supporters to listen carefully and sensitively so that the reconciliation programs we support will address the needs and hopes of Afghan peoples. These will not be an easy tasks, nor brief. Yet they must be done, in a stubborn hope for peace.

Mike Hogeterp is the Research and Communications Manager for the CCG.

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