HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE BUILDING

'Miteri Gau'-Let's Live Together

The ‘Miteri Gau-Let’s Live Together’ campaign is a lead strategy of AWON, and has been implemented since 2010 to mobilize women, men, traditional healers, and youth. AWON’s project is innovative in that, such a program is hardly found throughout the world, and is outlined below:

· Miteri is an indigenous Nepali practice of mutual love and respect that goes beyond blood and marriage regardless of caste, class, region, and religion. It is a pure practice of community meditation and peace building for all people

· The practice of ‘Miteri’ understands cultural diversity, and practices inclusive intercultural engagement. It is an approach of equality, fairness, and justice, which are a matter of human rights.

· It reflects a whole systems approach: government social structure (e.g. education), political (e.g. women empowerment) and corporate management policies (e.g. income generation).

· The program encompasses a set of policies, strategies, and actions to ensure organization, and reflects intercultural dialogue, understanding, and cooperation deeply in a practical manner in conflict affected, remote, poor and marginalized areas. It posses a combination of characteristics including organizational policies, trainings, and critical monitoring.

· It creates an avenue for cross-cultural access and understanding, where all people have the space to optimize their contribution toward shared values and interdependent communities. 'Miteri Gau' is a conscious and articulated process and provides the platform for open dialogue and brainstorming.

‘Miteri’ is a practice, which turns ignorance or prejudice towards others into partnership and friendship, problems into resolutions, and crises into new opportunities.

Miteri Peace Learning Center

Memorialization: Miteri Peace Learning Center, Jumla, Nepal

Introduction and Rationale:

Miteri Peace Learning Center is a form of memorialization in Jumla. Jumla represents a most remote, poor and conflict affected region in Nepal. It satisfies the desire to honor those who suffered or died during conflict in Nepal especially to honor the day November 14, 2002 in Jumla and address contemporary issues. In Jumla, during a decade more Maoist Insurgency in Nepal many people (security, civil servants, civilians, Maoist) were died and many people injured, kidnapped, abducted, torture and so many other sufferings (no actual official data yet). The degree and intensity was different but the pain was same no matter whether a person/family from Maoist, police, army, civil servant, development workers, citizens or anyone.

It can either promote social recovery after violent conflict ends or crystallize a sense of victimization, injustice, discrimination, and the desire for revenge. The process of it is initiated and lead by local people (Radha Paudel, herself is taking lead role as a WAR survivor). However, the role of outsiders is equally crucial through technical assistance, financial help, or facilitation in bringing contending parties together and is most effective for social reconstruction. It also remains essential even after memorial built. It also encourages survivors to explore contested memories of the past, promote learning and critical thinking, and facilitate ongoing cultural exchange are more likely to advance social reconstruction. It is also an important tool of transitional justice initiatives. Now, the Nepal is moving forward towards the end of the logical end of peace building process where as many national and international actors involved in transitional justice—especially in tribunals and truth commissions, but largely missing the opportunity to incorporate such memorialization into their initiatives. This Center describes evolving, long-term social, economic, cultural, and political processes that though that are difficult to measure now. At last but not least, the word Miteri derived from culturally accepted where people are in mutual love and respect regardless caste, class, religion, region and all.

After 14, November 2002, few people promised for not back to Jumla no matter whether s/he resided at Jumla or not, few people change their profession, few people quit their job, few people transfer, and few people living with traumatic feelings. Meantime, a few people were survived and working with new drive.

Ms. Radha Paudel, a WAR survivor. She had near to death in 14 November 2014, 13 hours cross- fire between Nepal security and Maoist. It was long story, already

published as a WAR memoir;http://writingnepal.com/bookdetails/novelउ - - - khalangama-hamala/719871. She missed her many friends who were together

just 3 hours before. Sorry to share, few friends were lost, didn’t found body. In this hopelessness scenario, Radha struggled with few questions; is an individual has choice of place for born? Was war justifiable? Were dead people criminal or bad for the people

and government? Why did the youths pick up guns? Were the orphan, widows, parents get enough justice who missed their family members? And final question, why did Radha survived? In this scenario, in order to honor all kinds of people who were died, this Peace Commemoration is planned but hard to materialize the idea due to political sensitivity.

As Nepali proverb says, the river back in to original form after 12 years, Radha’s war memoir published and she donated her 100 % royalty (10 % secured) against her book for peace commemoration. Likewise, a landowner (Mr. MahaShanker Devkota) where Radha able to survive, he donated a 663 square meter land to Radha, he considered that she is a younger daughter. She further donated the land to organization called Action Works Nepal (AWoN); www.actionworksnepal.org which is founded as product of war to demonstrate the concrete actions over lips service. She is no more alone, isolated in her peace journey; her dreams are already in actions, seeking more helping hands for sustained peace and development.

This is Peace Learning and foster center to everyone. The pens are stronger over guns,
The love is more powerful than fighting

Objective

•To honor people who were died and suffered during war in Jumla and across Nepal •To cultivate peace through non-violence culture among youths and communities

•To establish a comprehensive peace learning center for all strata of the society from children to adult, from local to international and vice versa.

Architecture design (please have a look photos, posted below) First floor: Restaurant, meeting hall, kids play rooms
Second Floor: Physical Library, E-Library, Guest rooms, outdoor Third Floor: Meditation hall

Garden: in front of the building
Statute: in the middle of the garden (conceptualize by Helga, from Austria, pleas have a

look below for details)

Who Would Use this Center and Why ?

Adults: have coffee, morning/evening walk, use physic library, participate in discussion, use information, participation in discussion
Youths: + IT education, forums
Children: + play, enjoy garden,
Employees: +recreation, refreshment, learning, sharing and ventilation

5. CSOs/GO: + use multipurpose hall, meeting hall
6. Researchers/Trainers/Travelers:+ accommodation, internet

Ways of sustainability

1. Solar Air Heater to heat rooms during cold seasons
2. Energy Belt of Solar PV to supply the building complex with power 3. Cavity Wall with Insulation and Insulated Roof
4. Double Glazing
5. Modification of the traditional windows for maximizing Day lighting 6. On site Waste Water Treatment
7. On site Solid Waste management
8. Use of Heat from Kitchen to heat up the guest rooms

Who Can Contribute?

Peace is everyone business no matter where, who, what? Miteri is respects and loves to everyone, connects globally. This center is common property of all. Thus, spontaneously, anyone can contribute in such novel cause by many ways; cash, physical volunteering, disseminating the info, raising funds, buying book and positive mind set.

E.g. Helga Palasser is coming all the way from Austria to construct sculpture

Kul Acharya and Tuka Sandwell contributed cash all the way from United Kingdom Shanta Adhikari contributed cash all the way from United States

....................hope you will be in list as well Required Total cost

ConsultationFees;Design,3-Ds,VDCDrawings,WorkingDrawings, Electrical Consultation and Detailing, Sanitary Consultation and Detailing, Energy Consultation= $ 2,500
SiteSupervision= $2000
CivilConstructionWork(SitePreparation,ConstructionandArchitectural

Finishing)=