Reflections on a Panel - War and Natural Disasters - AGM 2007
by Bonnie Diamond
As part of our 2007 AGM activities, MATCH hosted a panel discussion to address the reality of women surviving wars and natural disaster. We were treated to poignant presentations by experts from the field: Judith Wedderburn from Jamaica, Isabel Duque from Chile, and Dorothée Gizenga, originally from Africa, now working with Partnership Africa Canada. Some common themes emerged.
Women connected to MATCH partnerships play a major role in the recovery of populations when war or natural disaster shatters communities. No matter where we look, we cannot ignore the consequences for women of catastrophes like these.
The panelists confirmed why.
Isabel described how armed conflict changes the geography and economy of a country, often resulting in upheaval for residents, destroying homes, and obliging populations to flee.
All panelists agreed that women and children constitute the majority of victims of conflict. As modern warfare is waged more against civilian populations than between soldiers, women are increasingly victimized. The poor have less chance of withstanding the stresses of war - and since women and children make up the majority of the poor, we know they are impacted disproportionately.
Panelists brought to life a reality known as WAR WITHIN A WAR.
Dorothée spoke of unimaginable atrocities inflicted upon women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where rape as a weapon of war is so systematic and brutal that even DRC doctors now classify it as WAR INJURY.
Isabel told us that women are routinely subjected to sexual violence in conflicts in Latin America, many while displaced within their own countries or as refugees elsewhere.
Sexual violence has come out of the shadows to become entangled in the policies and strategies of war.
Judith said Jamaican women are being used as targets in wars of a different sort: TURF WARS over drugs, guns, and political power. Rivalling factions use violence against women as a weapon with one group threatening another with "defiling their property"?, meaning the women and children of their families.
Natural disaster affects local populations similarly. Women surviving a tsunami, drought, flood or hurricane are often left with no resources.
Judith transported us to Jamaica where hurricanes strike with winds of up to 160 kilometers an hour and intense rains for hours or days [see inside this newsletter for an update on how women in St. Thomas are recovering after Hurricane Dean].
Communities battered by natural disaster become perfect environments for diseases like typhoid and malaria. And with incomes gone, there is an immediate danger of malnutrition.
Once again, destabilized circumstances breed violence against women. Women often fear accessing public shelter, having survived previous experiences of rape and sexual harassment of themselves and their daughters.
And when a natural disaster hits a war-torn area, the results are even worse. Dorothée recounted how in the DRC, many women died from famine and disease because the war rendered impossible the delivery of care and relief. Women were afraid to work in the fields to produce food for fear of rape, and were often forced into prostitution to provide food and protection to their families.
As we listened to the panel, it would have been easy to give up hope. But presenters reminded us of the RESILIENCE AND SURVIVAL INSTINCTS of women, and of women working together to solve problems in the face of catastrophic events.
MATCH and our partners believe that any peace process must take into account the specific realities of women. We support women to train and participate in decision-making such as this.
Judith summed it up succinctly: MATCH is vital as it provides not only badly needed financial resources, but also reflects the moral support and encouragement of Canadian women - which is what MATCH support really represents.