Peacebuilding Portrait (#1)
Steve van de Hoef, Stratford

Hello, my name is Steve van de Hoef. I am a member of the CCG's "Peacebuilding Working Group", and the CRC's representative on the board of Project Ploughshares, a peacebuilding policy research and advocacy organization.

Steve van de Hoef

To me, peacebuilding makes sense:

• it respects and reinforces human dignity;
  
  
• it encourages reconciliation and healing;
  
  
• it rejects brute strength and coercion, in favour of dialogue and co-operation;
  
  
• it's a long-term approach that strengthens individuals and builds communities; and
  
  
• it enables economic development by preventing a relapse into destructive violent conflict.

My exposure to systematic peace work began in a class I took during the last semester of my undergraduate studies at McMaster University, entitled "Peacebuilding through Health Initiatives." This class introduced me to a fascinating array of programmes worldwide that had been used to mitigate conflict, mediate ceasefires, and provide stability in post-conflict situations. I was intrigued and, in fact, surprised by the amount of research and thought that went into planning these initiatives, and applying what had been learned to other situations.

At the same time as I was taking this course, I read the report of the CRC's Synodical Committee studying War and Peace. This fine piece of work traces the CRC's historical position as a just-war church, and assesses how relevant that position is in today's context. Simply put, it encourages the CRC to place greater emphasis on building peace than on assessing the just criteria for going to war. It emphasizes God's calling for Christ-followers to be peacebuilders and, more than that, bearers of shalom—reconciling relationships with each other, with God, and with the created world.

A couple of summers ago I travelled to Rwanda and witnessed first-hand the brutal consequences of conflict. Even twelve years after the infamous genocide, which killed up to a million people in swift and systematic fashion, effects of the conflict were evident. Testimonies from survivors, injured ex-combatants or victims begging in the streets, the many memorial sites spread across the countryside, and an unspoken tension spoke volumes of the need there for reconciliation and sustainable peace. For me, Rwandans composed the peacebuilding portrait that sparked my involvement.

When the opportunity arose in early 2007, I joined the CCG's newly minted Peacebuilding Working Group. Our main task since has been researching and advocating for peacebuilding efforts in Afghanistan, one of the world's the most important foreign policy and peacebuilding concerns in recent years.

The opportunities I've had from my involvement in this peacebuilding work are also, incidentally, available to you.

1. My studies, and the time I've invested learning about Canada's foreign policy and political processes, have afforded me a close look at what peacebuilding can look like, in policy and in practice. The CCG has some educational materials that paint a picture of what intentional peacebuilding can look like, and a collection of audio, maps, readings and links in the Peacebuilding Toolkit here.
   
   
2. Furthermore, this has been a very practical expression of my faith, responding to Christ's call to be a peacemaker and an agent of shalom to the people of Canada and of Afghanistan. I want to point out two faithful expressions you can make: in the pursuit of peace, you can mobilize your elected representatives, your church leaders, and your family and friends. And you can say prayers for peace and litanies for justice with the CCG's peace and worship resources.

Peacebuilding as a policy, I believe, opens doors that military might never can. For me as a Christian, peacebuilding is the practical working out of God's "kingdom of shalom" in this world.

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