Yazir Henri, the Direct Action Centre for Peace and Memory, and the Clowes Center for Conflict and Dialogue Studies

if i were an undergrad at UW, i'd probably be a CHID (comparative history of ideas) major. the faculty are inspired, the courses are fascinating, and the students - the students are extremely creative and original.

one of the best elements of CHID is its many opportunities (for students, but also for faculty and staff) for international collaboration. as part of the clowes center for conflict and dialogue studies, CHID is bringing to campus Yazir Henri.

details:

When: Wednesday, May 31, 7 pm
Where: Kane Hall 210, UW campus
More info: Contact Theron Paul Stevenson, CHID Director of International Programs, theron@u.washington.edu

from the press release,

Yazir Henri is the co-founder and director of the Direct Action Centre for Peace and Memory in Cape Town, South Africa. Since 1997, the centre has worked with former combatants, torture survivors and political prisoners. Henri joined Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Conference at age 16, when the apartheid government still held power over South Africa. He received military training in Angola and the Soviet Union, and returned to South Africa as an MK officer, only to be imprisoned for terrorism and treason. Henri emerged from the hands of the police, and from an ambivalent testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to re-define himself as a poet, writer and peace activist.

Henri will share his personal experience of the liberation war, detention, survival and recovery and explain how these have shaped his current beliefs. He will also describe his Centre’s response to the manifold challenges facing young combatants previously involved in the South African war for freedom, and the larger context of challenges that hamper the building of long term peace and human security in post conflict South Africa.

hope to see you there.