When culture and restorative justice values collide: Do you have suggestions?
Feb 24, 2010
A request for ideas from Dan Savou of Fiji:
I have tried in the past year to use the talking circle in restorative justice practices with my nieces and nephews and also with my siblings but I am posed with a challenge and that is how do I get people to talk when there is a culture of silence.. The problem I have is that in our Fijian culture, ‘silence’ is the norm.
In Western society it is considered rude to look down when someone is speaking to you while in our Fijian culture it is considered a mark of respect. In the Western culture it is considered normal to have both parties engaged in a typical conversation while in the Fijian culture the older or those who have a higher social standing is the one doing most of the talking. In my context, I am the eldest in my family and my father is also the eldest child, so I hope you can understand my predicament. Most of the time I am the only one doing the talking.
This is what one normally has to deal with in Fijian culture and my request to restorative justice practitioners is ‘are there options available which have worked which can bring people out their shells?’
Background
The indigenous Fijian struggles to live to within three different worlds. That of the Fijian culture, Christian ideals and modern society with its capitalistic and democratic demands. His behavior needs to change since each community’s demands are at times conflicting in nature.
When at home or the village he needs to adhere to the Fijian culture of silence and respect to be considered a part of Fijian society. He complies unquestioningly to his various traditionally defined obligations and responsibilities. His actions are usually focused on service to others. He achieves respect, acceptance and recognition within his group for being attentive, complying and respectful to those who hold traditionally defined authority over him. He should be one who is humble and not arrogant.
When he goes to church he is expected to fulfill his Christian obligation which includes taking part in church activities and giving financially.
When at work he is expected to be a capitalist and compete with with others, where to maintain his culture would mean being satisfied with the status quo even if others continue on to higher achievements. At school students are expected by parents to gain the highest possible marks. This can send conflicting signals to children, for to maintain his culture would mean to be satisfied with whatever grade is given at school and not aspire to higher grades unless one was higher up in the social order.
One also needs to note that throughout these three different communities there are many similar characteristics and it is only the contrasting ones that I am highlighting. Could this be the underlying reason that a high number of school dropouts are indigenous Fijians? Could this also be the reason that ninety percent of the prison population consist of indigenous Fijians? Are indigenous Fijians confused because they have to wear three different hats in order to adapt to society’s demand?
Challenges
The biggest question that arises now is whether or not restorative justice is relevant and does it have a place in modern Fijian society. Presently Fiji is going through a difficult time, socially, economically, religiously and politically. There are broad socio-economic forces that affect individuals which need to be addressed and this needs to be linked to how the indigenous Fijian has or has not adjusted to social change. Positive experience from countries where restorative justice has worked serves as an encouragement that Fiji can develop a model of its own that will be unique to its multicultural and diverse background.
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Dan Savou of Fiji raises an important question; one which deserves closer attention with those that develop restorative justice programs across cultures. New Zealand rj practitioners have wrestled with the same issues over the last thirty years. In pre-European culture, the deference to elders and reluctance of younger Maori to speak in the presence of elders was very much the case, but the impact of colonisation has meant that many of those values have dissipated. What we do have, is difficulty developing rituals of encounter that reflect cultural practise, and permit us to engage in restorative practise. <br /> <br />It seems to me that firstly, we must get underneath the accepted restorative justice processes, and be prepared to adapt the principles of restorative practise to one's own cultural practise. <br /> <br />In some areas of New Zealand, restorative practise follows traditional ways of dealing iwth conflict. I have been at tribal marae (meeting house) where the families of victims, offenders and the wider community gather for a discussion on the issue, with a view to resolution. The meeting will take many hours, and sometimes days. Elders will control the meeting, which can be facilitated by participants being seated around the four walls of the marae, and speak in turn. There is no distinction as to whether they represnet the victim or the offender, (they are often from the same family), but according to seniority and influence. It is assumed that everyone has told the truth, and the goal is to achieve community peace, regardless of the victims interests. At other marae, they hold a tribunal where the offender appears before elders, who challenge the offender about their actions, determine an outcome, and then move quickly to enfold the offender back into the community - a "challenge and embrace" process. In both processes, the victim does not have the same profile as they might in a European process - the goal is more about restoring community peace. <br /> <br />The Youth Court system in New Zealand has adapted these processes by establishing marae based Youth Courts, where elders sit alongside the Judge, and determine a course of action for the offender, which is sanctioned by the elders, and usually involves intense follow-up by both elders and the Court, with the offenders reporting back over successive weeks, on how well they have followed the Court's instructions, e.g. attending drug rehabilitation, making reparation, school attendance etc. <br /> <br />The only time I have seen the talking circle used by Maori is when they are in prison, which is a great leveller! The social standing they enjoy in the community doesn't apply to the same degree, and people are judged more by what they have to offer, than the status of their genealogy. <br /> <br />It seems to me that RJ can be adapted to most cultural situations, but we must be prepared to accept that there will be a shift in values, or in the primacy of some values over others. <br /> <br />For those Pacific nations that have a strong Christian influence, I think it is important to identify the scriptural integrity of restorative practise, and point to those elemnts, to strengthen the underpinning of what you do. <br /> <br />I suggest that the most effective thing we can do is to study the traditional processes for resolving conflict and promotiing peace, (short of warfare) and adapt our understanding of restorative justice, so that peoples from a particular culture can identify elemnts of their own culture in the process. It is difficult, but not impossible - and good for stretching one's creative side! <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Kia ora tatou. Good health to you all.