When fund "Sukhumi” started to work on the
stories of women peacemakers within the framework of Georgian-Abkhaz women’s
joint peacemaking project, we were not fully aware how to form it. One thing we
knew for sure – they would not be dry and impersonal stories about women and
women’s organizations fighting for peace. Our main target was not only the
provision of information, but also the motivation of new women groups to
increase the rows of peacemakers. As it turned out, there are numerous examples
of confrontations, bloodshed and destruction. We see split-up societies,
millions of refugee families. It is rather hard to find true life stories of
women behind the dry reports of historians, Human Rights’ Defenders, and
International Institution.
Gradually, we started collecting the stories. The
first one was the story of Malala Yusufzai- a girl from Pakistan, whom Thalibs
tried to kill because of her thirst to freedom. Then there was Sharm Thong from Burma – a
sixteen year-old girl, whose evaluations were heard from the high UN tribune by
the world authorities. Mother Hawa from Galkayo was an ardent
defender of refugee women. Visaka Dharmadasa, whose story might be
Familiar to mother, who lost their kids. . . . And other names, who were defined by
the one of the authors as "women, fighting until their last breath”. This collection consists of only eight
stories, different eight problems, faced by women of different age, social
status, and race. Our beneficiaries, groups of refugee women,
had the possibility of getting acquainted with the collected stories. At one of
our meetings, the oldest participant lady expressed the common idea, "Today I
made sure that women all over the world are united by the similar problems. I
have seen myself in these stories many times-I recognized my pain, my dreams.
Honestly I felt envious toward the women who are brave, so true to their own
nation.” We hope that this spirit will be shared by
those, who will read our collection of stories. It is only the first collection
of women-peacemakers stories that will be enriched with new names and
experiences. The project is implemented with the support of Kvinna till Kvinna, women’s
Foundation (Sweden) | 