Our drive for security has resulted in violence and the building of barriers between people, writes Elenie Poulos. But the Uniting Church is working to overcome violence and to be faithful to the gospel call for justice for the marginalised and oppressed, and reconciliation and peace among all creation.

Elenie Poulos takes the Australian seat at the United Nations building in New York during the World Council of Churches International Affairs and Advocacy Week November 2004.

The year 2001 marked the beginning of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV). This initiative of the World Council of Churches is an invitation to churches, ecumenical organisations and individuals to spend the years 2001-2010 reflecting on violence and working for peace.

At the end of this year, 2005, we will be at the halfway mark.

A look at international affairs over the last five years gives us cause for great despair. Armed conflicts continue in many countries.

In May 2004 there were about 40 conflicts raging in 24 countries with some countries including India, Indonesia and Nigeria suffering with several conflicts. Project Ploughshares (the peace centre of the Canadian Council of Churches) recorded 23 conflicts which, at the end of 2003, had been raging for over ten years.

Almost all these conflicts were internal with notable exceptions being Israel-Palestine and India-Pakistan (Kashmir). Most recently we have been horrified by the events in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The first year of DOV saw the beginning of a new kind of conflict, the so-called “war on terrorism” waged by the United States and its allies against a terrorist network spread around the globe.

Afghanistan was the first site of this conflict. March 2003 saw the beginning of a multi-state conflict as the United States and its allies attacked Iraq against the advice of the United Nations. Millions of people in the coalition nations protested against their countries’ participation but the governments of Britain, Australia, Spain and others ignored their pleas for a peaceful solution.

The war on terror has fuelled a growing acceptance of military action as the only logical and sure way to achieve peace. There has been rise in global militarism as countries increase defence budgets and grow their stocks of arms to take up what they regard as their right to pursue security at all costs. We have seen the phrase “pre-emptive strike” enter the language and become a “doctrine”.

And while the “coalition of the willing” claims such action as its right alone, other countries are unwilling to let it sit as a double standard. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is in danger after North Korea’s withdrawal and as India, Pakistan and Israel continue to disregard it.

It is not unreasonable to expect that in the face of such a grim situation we might feel paralysed by a sense of hopelessness. The suffering caused by such violence is for most of us beyond our imagining. It is certainly beyond our capacity to influence. Or is it?

The Decade to Overcome Violence is based on the assumption that it is not. DOV calls us to recognise that we are all participants in the way our world plays out – for better or worse. The World Council of Churches has called us to acknowledge this by repenting of our complicity in violence of all forms and working to find another way of being which reflects the will of God for peace and reconciliation in our world.

There are four major themes for DOV: the spirit and logic of violence; the use, abuse and misuse of power; issues of justice; and religious identity and plurality.

UnitingJustice Australia has been working to help overcome the spirit and logic of violence.

One of the major resolutions of the Tenth Assembly in 2003 was Uniting for Peace. Uniting for Peace, prepared by UnitingJustice, outlines the Uniting Church’s commitment to DOV and to working for peace through justice and genuine security. It has formed the basis of our continuing advocacy for just peace in Australia and the world.

One of the most pervasive themes since September 2001 has been that of security.

The drive for security, “national security” and “economic security”, was the major focus of the 2004 federal election campaign.

It was the stated reason for the invasion of Iraq – we were threatened by the presence of weapons of mass destruction in the wrong hands. It was the reason that the Australian Government passed some of the most severe legislation of any developed country, allowing our security agencies to detain people for long periods of time without legal advice or charge.

It was the force behind Tampa and the policy which resulted in the deaths of 353 people who were fleeing Iraq and Afghanistan in 2001 and drowned when the SIEV X sank in international waters – the security of our borders cannot be compromised.

Our drive for security has resulted in violence and the building of barriers between people. For protection we have been building taller and longer walls around ourselves – our homes, our communities and our countries. They only serve to make us feel even more threatened.

UnitingJustice has been working to remind us all that as Christians we trust in Jesus and know that the source of our security lies in the love of God. UnitingJustice, often in collaboration with synod justice units or other Assembly agencies has made submissions to Senate inquiries into poverty, ASIO legislation amendments, the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, and proposed changes to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission.

We make an annual submission to the Department of Immigration consultations on the Humanitarian Program intake. We have expressed our horror at the Government’s vote at the United Nations against the draft optional protocol to the Convention Against Torture.

UnitingJustice works with individuals, groups and agencies throughout the Uniting Church to ensure that we meet our obligations to care for strangers who come to us in need of protection.

We have expressed concern about asylum seekers in detention, the forced removal of asylum seekers to countries where their safety cannot be guaranteed, and the lack of work rights, access to healthcare or family reunion rights for many asylum seekers and refugees in the community.

The heart of all this work is to be faithful to the gospel call for justice for the marginalised and oppressed, and reconciliation and peace among all creation. In our contribution to the 2004 NCCA Social Justice Sunday resources, Security at all Costs? A Christian reflection on where to draw the line, we examined how the uncritical pursuit of security in all aspects of our lives (from economic security for our families, to security from violence in our local communities, to using our faith as an insurance policy for eternity, and building our houses without thought to the environmental impact) all result in violence.

It is violence against God’s creation; the violence of alienation from our families and our communities; the violence of prejudice against people whose lives might be different to our own; and the economic violence that results from injustice and oppression. The drive for security at all costs has legitimised many forms of violence.

The Uniting Church’s 2004 Federal Election resources, No Security without Justice, were an invitation to us to vote carefully for policies that offered genuine and lasting security by promoting justice and peacemaking as first priorities.

The security of God’s love on earth cannot be found by closing doors, putting up barriers, making decisions on a very narrow definition of what might constitute the “national interest”, or refusing to share our resources with those most in need.

We are called to live by acts of compassion and generosity, understanding that God created us to share in the gift of life together. It is only by ensuring that justice is done that we will finally discover the security of a world free from violence and reconciled to God.

And in spite of how hopeless it sometimes seems, we can push ahead knowing that we don’t do it alone. The Spirit of God is with us, moving within us. This is God’s work we are engaged in and God will lead us home.
The Rev. Elenie Poulos is National Director, UnitingJustice Australia.
For more information, visit http://nat.uca.org.au/unitingjustice/ reconcilinghumanity/overcomingviolence/index.htm