Empowerment Self-Defense — A Vital Pillar in the Global Refugee Response
Judo has long shaped my sense of self and how I engage with the world. My first Judo fights, followed by formal tournaments, pushed me far beyond my physical and psychological limits. Fighting was very hard for me as it evoked my childhood trauma. My parents and I fled Iran in the late 1980s and sought asylum in Germany after crossing multiple borders. The experience of constantly changing shelters and adjusting to a new country and language, paired with the fear of being caught and leaving our family behind, took a big toll on me. My early Judo fights triggered all the survival fears I faced as a child.
My Judo community in Japan offered me a safe and supportive environment. Their patience, compassion, and commitment to my growth helped me to gain my confidence and to claim my strength. Once the joy and curiosity of learning the art took precedence over my early fears, my progress quickened. From a hard-earned brown belt, I worked myself up to a black belt. The more I immersed myself into Judo, the more I knew that I wanted to introduce other girls and women to this empowering experience.
Through my work with the Global Whole Being Fund (GWBF), I am now able to link my passion to support the global grassroots refugee response with specific support for girls and women to (re-)claim their strength and (re-)build their confidence. During two recent site visits to one of the worst refugee camps worldwide on the Greek island of Samos, I was distressed to hear horrific stories of gang rape, domestic violence, and other kinds of sexual abuse and harassment occurring in the camp. Thousands of people are currently sleeping in makeshift tents built out of paper cartons and recycled material, and lack access to water, sanitation, and other services.
The safety of girls and women living in the camp was flagged as a critical challenge. On my journey home, I felt called to take action. I reached out to Hilde Drexler, a female Austrian Olympic Judo athlete, and we committed to going to Samos in September. In the course of my preparatory research, I encountered Empowerment Self-Defense Global Inc., an inspirational global movement. I learned that in May 2019, they had offered ESD instructor training for volunteers supporting refugees in Lesvos, Greece. Within days they joined our effort, and we started planning the Samos training series with the invaluable support of Indigo Volunteers, the backbone of the grassroots refugee response in Greece.
We recruited Wendi Dragonfire as the teacher. Wendi is a 9th dan in Shuri Ryu Karate and 2nd-degree black belt in Modern Arnis, who has 48 years of experience teaching and practicing self-defense. In September 2019, the three of us trained around 250 refugee women and girls international volunteers in Samos over two weeks. We were overwhelmed by the dramatic results of our trainings as we witnessed women and girls find and claim their power. From this recent experience, I believe that ESD training needs to be included as a pillar of the global refugee response.
Empowerment Self-Defense
Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) is a global initiative supporting women and girls. Over the last four decades, ESD has merged the knowledge and experience of dozens of female martial artists. ESD Global’s founder Yehudit (Yudit) Zicklin-Sidikman, leads a dedicated group of ESD practitioners who envision a world where all people have the Empowerment Self-Defense skills to protect themselves and others. Discovering ESD felt like finding a treasure chest.
ESD’s work is rooted in the five principles of self-defense approach, which includes the following elements: think, speak, run, fight, and call for help. As a first step, it is vital to learn to pay attention to our surroundings, be alert to potential danger, and plan for contingencies, such as checking for potential exits and things we can use to protect ourselves, e.g., chair, umbrella, etc. The second step covers yelling or speaking up to establish boundaries. Students learn to pay attention to intuition, using it as a compass, and to disregard self-doubt. The third step is to escape. Then, if we cannot run, we need to fight, and that’s when techniques such as Palm Heel Strike, kicks, or small things like pinching someone are essential. Physical resistance is sometimes unavoidable and involves learning to use the hard parts of our body against vulnerable targets. Lastly, it is crucial to seek help and communicate what happened. Healing and sharing the experience in a safe space with those we trust is vital.
While the model focuses on prevention and de-escalation, ESD emphasizes that violence is never the survivor’s fault. First and foremost, a person who has experienced violence is a survivor, not a victim! The model is further easily accessible and tailored towards everyday girls and women. Rather than teaching sophisticated techniques, it focuses on basic skills.
Witnessing Transformation in Action
We trained a wide range of girls and women across ethnicities, age, and language. Our participants came from the Congo, Cameron, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Palestine, Kuwait, Libya, and Pakistan. We had five languages (Arabic, Farsi, Somali, French, and English) floating through the room. Our students ranged from a little but fierce girl age nine to a strong woman in her late 70s. What the girls and women have experienced before entering our class goes beyond most people’s imagination. The level of conflict, despair, struggle, and challenge these warriors have gone through is hard to put in words. Some were born into war and conflict and have endured an enormously difficult journey only to end up living in an inhumane limbo condition on a remote island. Yet, the women showed up for our class and shared their strength, power, cheerfulness, and sadness with us. Many girls and women had already experienced violence in their countries of origin, along the journey, or in the camp, where the lack of safe shelter and restrooms, as well as other amenities, exacerbates their vulnerability.
Learning and Healing in reciprocity
Words cannot express the gratitude the three of us feel for having been able to serve this vital cause for two weeks. Our hearts and souls were nourished during every class. We cried tears of joy and sadness as we trained alongside fierce, committed, wholehearted women and girls. Their enthusiasm for learning and claiming their bodies transformed us. We saw daughters training alongside their mothers and grandmothers and were heartened to watch some of our more experienced students who had taken a couple of classes start assisting their peers. Countless times we witnessed a girl or woman shift from a shy ‘no?’ to a firm ‘NO!’ — from a hesitant, light-touch punch to a hard one. Some women learned to punch so hard that I got bruises on my arm, despite holding a pad. One woman who was initially shy and insecure became one of the strongest across our class. When she pulled her sleeves up, I saw that both of her arms were covered with dozens of carefully placed cuts. The thought of her harming herself with so much rigor broke my heart. Her face lit up after she tried her first palm strike. She was initially surprised by her strength and laughed loudly while everyone else was cheering for her. After that initial strike, she was unstoppable.
Throughout the class, we cheered for each other, encouraging everyone to give their best and not hold back. Seeing the faces of women shift as they were getting used to the kicks and punches was priceless. Accompanying girls and women on this critical journey was a profound privilege that has left traces in our hearts and souls. We have grown with each of the girls and women and their courage and commitment inspired us to be better humans.
Data shows that Empowerment Self-Defense reduces the incident of gender-based violence by up to 50 percent. Putting the skills in practice increases the chance of de-escalating a bad situation before it turns violent. It also reduces the time it takes for survivors of violence to heal because they know they did everything they could to protect themselves. Altogether, it increases self-esteem and efficacy. We have several stories from our participants that support this assessment.
Testimonials
“I learned to give myself permission to say no and set boundaries. I find it challenging to distinguish between aggression and assertiveness. The class helped me to start exploring to be assertive.” A young woman from Iran who is living in the camp with her little daughter and husband for seven months.
“I am paying attention to my posture and feel confident in my skin. Whenever I feel sad, and my body gets tight, I remind myself to carry myself with pride and arise to my strength.” A forty-year-old woman from Afghanistan, who after fleeing Afghanistan as a young girl settled into Iran. Due to the harsh living conditions, she and her husband, along with her little child, had to leave their new home and are stranded on Samos for 12 months.
“A boy who sometimes bullies me tried to grab me, and I stopped him by getting up and saying ‘NO’ loudly. He attempted to come close and grab my hair, and I put my foot down and said, ‘NO means NO.’” A nine-year-old girl from the Congo who has lived in the camp for six months with her parents and sisters.
“I have never seen my mother like this before. She is so so strong! I saw how she entered the tent and carried herself through the day. I want to be like her and learn what she has learned. An eleven-year-old girl who is from Syria and lives in the camp with her parents for three months.
Expanding Opportunities for Empowerment Self-Defense Training
While we cannot change horrific living conditions, we can teach girls and women critical life skills that allow them to create a space to claim their strength. We can show up and assist and encourage them to experience their capacities. The same applies for processing. We finished our classes inviting students to share their experiences if they feel compelled to do so and heard many terrible and heroic stories. Sharing the stories within our circle was a powerful experience for those who had experienced it and for us who got a chance to bow to the survivor.
As a result of this successful pilot, I am confident that Empowerment Self-Defense needs to be viewed as a critical life skill, and everyone should have access to training. Especially in the emergency context, where the likelihood of experiencing violence is heightened, it is fundamentally crucial to embed ESD training. We will continue building on the experiment. Knowing how significant even two-weeks of training can be encouraged us to plan our next trip to Samos in the spring of 2020. The next necessary step is to offer the women from the refugee community and international volunteers a pathway to becoming certified trainers through ESD Global as Level 1 Empowerment Self-Defense instructors. The aim is to teach them to provide training either on Samos or their next destination.
We planted a seed at the beginning of our two intense weeks of daily engagement and by the end, could already see clear evidence of growth. We are now looking forward to everyone’s continued flourishing. I am communicating with some of our students and continue to hear inspiring stories. The women and girls we trained will undoubtedly continue to reap the benefits of ESD as they continue along their difficult journeys. Empowerment Self-Defense is a healing path movement and needs to be integrated into the global refugee response. Our experience on Samos reassured us of the power and efficacy of the framework taught by ESD Global Inc. within the refugee context. With its holistic mind-body-spirit approach, ESD can improve countless lives of all people on the move. Please join me in helping provide expanded opportunities for Empowerment Self-Defense training for refugee communities around the world.
A special thanks to Ellen Krause-Grosman and Yehudit (Yudit) Zicklin-Sidikman from ESD Global Inc. Also special thanks to Sophie Rhim from Indigo Volunteers, whose passion and coordination skills made all this possible. Many thanks to the Global Whole Being Fund for enabling me to pursue this dream. My deepest gratitude also to Laurie Michaels and Alan Zulch, who have been patient, generous, and thoughtful editors and supporters.
My deep gratitude also to our partner organizations on Samos:
Still I Rise, which runs an informal school for children and youth; some of whom are unaccompanied and have either embarked on their journeys alone or lost their families along the way.
Samos Volunteers, the oldest volunteer-based organization on the island, which is running a center within walking distance to the camp. They offer a haven for people during the day to escape the camp realities.
Action For Education, which runs the Banana House on Samos. It is a center that is run by the community and international volunteers providing informal education and other activities for adolescents.
Drop in the Ocean, a community space overseeing the sea, that offers anything from gymnastics to yoga classes.
We are One, a women’s center that serves up to 300 women every day, providing access to a safe space, fresh food, and courses of all kind.
(You can apply at Indigo Volunteers if you feel compelled to volunteer on Samos or elsewhere.)
Negar Tayyar is the Director of The Global Whole Being Fund, a global grant-making body in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Fund is supporting grassroots organizations across different migration routes. The GWBF is assisting people on the move to find meaning and belonging along their journeys. The aim is to introduce an asset-based framework and expand the concept of ‘basic needs’ and include holistic support covering psychosocial and communal wellbeing as critical pillars of the refugee response.
