Peace Brigades International Volunteers Interviewed At The Guardian Abroad

By Kate | Permalink | No Comments | August 15th, 2007 | Trackback

If you liked the Volunteer Logue interview with former Peace Brigages International Colombia volunteer June, you can find more reading material at the Guardian Abroad.

Ann Scholl interviewed current and past PBI volunteers in Aceh, Indonesia. One former volunteer describes her experience accompanying human rights activists who were caught in the conflict between local citizens and the Indonesian military. Once PBI was notified of the request for “protective accompaniement”, volunteers had to inform authorities and military checkpoints of their journey and ensure there was back-up support in the office for the length of the accompaniement. They also wore brightly colored PBI shirts and drove in a vehicle with the organization’s logo displayed on the side.

Since the tsunami, though, the local situation has changed, according to this article. PBI’s work has shifted to “participatory peace education”, which includes leading workshops and also working with a wider variety of organizations, from women’s groups to grassroots humanitarian organizations.

Many PBI volunteers continue their work once they return home – sometimes by arranging tours for human rights groups to speak at events or meet government officials; other times by sharing their own experience as volunteers to raise awareness and get the word out to other interested volunteers. You can find out more in the Volunteer Logue profile of PBI, and you can add yourself to the relevant PBI email list to receive regular updates about PBI events in your country.

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