The Peace Diaries Radio Program was broadcast during the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 26 through September 4, 2002. It was broadcast to Africa, Middle East and Europe.


Click on the radio
9 MG download


7


SCRIPT, SHOW 7


00:01 – 01:02 (SHOW INTRO)
Music fades in, Knowledge that Empowers is Knowledge I Trust; quotes from kids; Shabalala quote, "We must work very hard for the young ones…"

01:03 – 01:38 (Narrated introduction, Tessa van Staden)
Families are the glue that holds society together. By the end of the year 2000, 13 million children had lost either their mother or both parents to disease. Families (and society) are not only threatened by physical disease and poverty but also by a collapse in communication and crumbling relationships. Our health, and that of the world, depends on the health of our families. Although Joseph Shabalala, founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, often travels with his band, he says his family remains close because of communication…

01:39 – 03:17 (Joseph Shabalala, founder of lead singer, Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
The communication with your family, at home - just sit down and talk and trust one another. Each and everything will be on a good channel. If somebody has a question, if you don’t have a answer don’t tell him that she or he is stupid! But talk to him or her very nice. Say, ‘I’m going to think about your question. It’s a beautiful question. It’s something new to me, but we’re going to talk about it.’ That’s why Black Mambazo has this way of spreading this culture, this tradition, until even in America they gave us a beautiful name – just like people who understand the language in Africa by saying, ‘inexplicable, physical, spiritual tradition’. And they said all those things… a dramatic introduction to an indigenous African tradition and culture. And I said, "Whoa! How did you analyze all of these things because you don’t know the language?" And they said the music uplifts you; the music itself can show you the way. That’s why now we thought, it is good to get together and respect one another.

03:18 – 03:26 (Narration, TvS)
Relationships should be the focus of all education, according to Arun Gandhi, founder and director of the MK Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence.

03:27 – 03:40 (Arun Gandhi, founder & director of MK Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence)
Children need to be taught about life itself, and the importance of life and relationships and all of these things. Our education needs to be comprehensive.

03:41 – 03:46 (Narration, TvS)
Joseph Shabalala agrees that family relationships will provide children with much wisdom

03:47 – 04:13 (Joseph Shabalala)
Stay in touch with your grandfather and grandmother. You’ll be surprised that she or he knows everything. Those people are prophets. They know something before, something which is past. Therefore, children should write new books – from your father, from your grandfather, from your grandmother. We need to learn that.

04:14 – 04:32 (Narration, TvS)
Unfortunately families are also the source of much pain and dysfunction. Domestic violence and abuse tears communities apart. South African Member of Parliament, Ela Gandhi, says non-governmental organizations play a vital role in counseling and assisting victims and their loved ones’…

04:33 – 06:04 (Ela Gandhi, SA Member of parliament)
I feel that you have got to start local; you’ve got to have your programs at local level. Something that starts at national level never gets down to the local level; so you start in your communities in different areas. In our area we’ve started a domestic violence helpline. The helpline is run totally by volunteers – men and women volunteers. They have a 24-hr service where people can phone-in. But then we found that there were a number of women that came and told us that look, if we go to court, who will support us afterwards? They’ll take the husband away, putting him in prison and he’s the sole breadwinner. So, we don’t want to go to court you know. We then said that we need to empower women, so we started courses to empower women: skills training, a wide range of skills. We provide training so they can get employment, but we also provide training so that they can be empowered. It’s not just employment but also empowerment -- to stand up you know?

06:04 – 06:18 (Ela Gandhi continued)
To be able to say, "to hell with everything; I can live on my own; I can do things and be confident." And that is what women need – that confidence.

06:19 – 06:45 (Narration, TvS)
In 1994 Johannesburg-based retired teacher, Thabasile Msezane, opened a kindergarten to supplement her income. The mother of two young school-going children herself, she soon met orphans who wanted to attend school too. Months later, her home became the Sithabile Child and Youth Care Center. These are the voices of some of the children who have become a part of the Sithabile family…

06:47 – 07:12 (Children from Sithabile Child and Youth Care Center in Johannesburg)
We like the place; we’ve made a new family. Ja, they’re like a second family to me. Mum Thabasile is my aunty. I started visiting the place when I was young, but I enjoyed it more when, in 1996, I got to know the children. (Children singing fades in underneath.)

07:14 - 08:00 (Children singing)
"When I remember what my parents have done, I will never go back anymore…. when I remember, when I remember what my parents have done, I will never go back anymore…. No, no, no, no…."

08:01 – 08:11 (Narration, TvS)
Arun Gandhi, founder and director of the MK Gandhi Institute for Non-violence) says society will only be truly transformed if its members combine love and justice…

08:12 – 09:25 (Arun Gandhi)
Justice you know, that’s the meaning of life. We are constantly seeking justice, we are constantly seeking a society where people are not exploited and are not discriminated against, and all of this needs to come, not necessarily always to the courts of law. You know, my grandfather once said that we can change people’s hearts by love, not by law. Unfortunately we seek to change everything by law alone and we want stricter laws and more enforcement of laws and that doesn’t really help us achieve a complete revolution. It helps us part of the way, but the other half of the way we have to go through education, through understanding, through introspection and all of that. We have to make that attempt ourselves and help others; to reach that level of understanding also. So it’s a combination of love and law can bring about a change in society.

09:25 – 09:30 (Narration, TvS)
That was Arun Gandhi, founder & director of the MK Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence.

09:31 - 10:15 (SHOW OUTRO)
Music, sponsorship, dedication, and KIT Web site.




Copyright (c) 2002 Knowledge iTrust, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herin belong to their respective owners.