Addressing Structural Violence and Injustice

Paul Farmer believes it is crucial to address the systemic and structural issues/conditions that cause suffering because uncovering those corrupt power structures can enable us to address them and better understand the ways in which these structures influence the oppression of communities. Farmer focuses his research around the question, “by what mechanisms do social forces ranging from poverty to racism become embodied as individual experience?” diving into the aspects of life that engrain a sense of distance between those of privilege and those who are underprivileged. He states, “the suffering of the world’s poor intrudes only rarely into the consciousness of the affluent.” He targets structural injustice and violence in Haiti through the stories of Acephie Joseph and ChouChou Louis. Mostly all of the cases similar to theirs involve people who are poor and in poverty where much of the work they do to survive makes them very vulnerable to the abuses of their human rights. In cases like Acephie, we see that because she is a woman and lives in such poverty, her options for work are extremely limited and ultimately, women like her end up doing work where involuntary sexual activity may be involved. This then leads them to contract AIDS, have a baby that probably will also have AIDS, and lead them to a life of never ending poverty and suffering. For ChouChou, because he was a man he was involved in the more physically violent aspects of structural violence. When he “deplored” the new coup that was in reign, he was seized, brutally beaten, blacklisted, tortured and left to die. Farmer says that Acephie and ChouChou, “…were already at risk of their fate because from the outset they were victims of structural violence.” Through this statement we can understand that, for many, where an individual is brought up and the family they are born into can almost instantly determine the way their life will likely turn out based on the trend we see in terms of the relationship between poverty and structural injustice. There are many different factors and ways people identify that can also impact the way the oppression will affect them. When we look at gender, sexual preference, cultural differences, refugee or immigrant status, and more, these differences among people can predetermine the way a person will be effected by the structural violence and inequalities that are present in any society.

This deepens my understanding of the structural issue impacting the people I am working with at Next Generation Scholars because it reveals how much the injustices and disadvantages they experience are out of their control, that essentially these kids didn’t do anything to deserve them. It is the way in which society and the structures of society have created a hierarchy that ultimately punishes those “less worthy” or makes it so those who are less fortunate or of low income will not be able to access the tools for success. Farmer includes a quote from Juan Luis Segundo, “the world that is satisfying to us is the same world that is utterly devastating to them,” meaning that there are people that struggle to get by and struggle to make their own opportunities for themselves because no one is there to help them, while there are those of privilege who get it handed to them with no questoin. It is a corrupt system, and the poor are always going to be the main victims of this corrupt system and all of the structural violence. It is important for me to “bear witness,” especially since I would be considered privileged, so that I may experience and try to better understand the struggles that go on around me. It is also important because it raises conversation about these issues. Being part of this community partner and seeing/hearing what the students go through makes it more likely for it to come up in my conversation with others, which may seem small, but expanding and spreading awareness of it verbally makes a difference because it gets into people’s minds; unfortunately, as we’ve heard, for many people these issues and the idea of people struggling or at a disadvantage hardly ever cross their mind.

I think the idea of “accompaniment” can be very important in establishing another’s trust. The concept of “accompaniment” informs my role and relationships at my community partner site because it reminds me that in order to be on the same level as someone, we have to be willing to be open, cooperative, and able to work together. To me, accompaniment speaks to the idea that you are by someone’s side, no matter what. That person feels the comfort of you being there, and feels supported and encouraged. I think it would be beneficial to implement “accompaniment as policy” because it would establish a sense of community and shared experience among peers, and will increase the chances of them seeing eye to eye and understanding one another.