VietBlog

From Chatman, who just finished his workshop on abuse this past week:

On June 2nd, 3rd and 4th I had the privileged opportunity to conduct a workshop on domestic abuse.

The first day was somewhat awkward as I navigated how to covey concepts of abuse; what is; how to prevent it; and
how treat it. This is no small challenge in any classroom let alone in a room full of individuals from multiple cultures and nationalities speaking three languages.

However sometime during the first day I leaned into my awareness of how important trust is when dealing with people who have been abused. Trust in others is vital in order to build relationships.

This awareness stayed with me during the next two days. I also leaned into
trusting the intent of our participants and their hunger for knowledge. However, we had to be creative in finding a venue for group engagement.

Therefore, with the help of some Vietnamese, Cambodian, and American participants we unleashed the awesome power of community through music, song, and dance. Our Vietnamese and Cambodian hosts jumped at an
opportunity to teach us about their culture.

Talking about domestic abuse and the human suffering created by this tragic and complicated aspect of the human condition became highly meaningful on a moment to moment level as the three groups leaned into
becoming co-facilitators. Through artistic exchange we learned traditional dance, songs that speak of the human spirit, and then blended these together to gain a deeper understanding of many aspects of abuse.

As a teacher,and a social worker, I was humbled each day by the level of energy released within the group. What resonates with me now is a recognition of how important trust is in all relationships, and almost always badly
damaged if not destroyed through abuse.

We created the opposite. I think not being able to freely speak to each other without layers of interpretation created a space for the workshop to become a platform for free flowing acceptance and understanding of a rather tragic aspect of all
societies. The interaction in the room became grounded in experiences.

The human being is one of few animals on this planet who consistently harm their young at will. In our workshop we created a space for sharing, learning, and even some healing. From my position as a teacher it doesn’t
get any better than that.

It can be summed up like this “the teachers appear when the student is ready to learn.” I learned a great deal about the amazing cultures of Vietnam, Cambodian, and America as well and through cultural exchange I think we learned a great deal about abuse as well.

Those three days were noting less than a precious gift for all. I have great respect for the visionaries who are pulling this initiative together!