I have always delighted in and appreciated the clear and advanced thinking of Julian Weissglass [International Commonality Reference Person for the Transformation of Society]. 


In 2025, I was able to attend his thirty-fifth workshop on Healing from War and Genocide: Working for Peace. This gathering provided plenty of discharge time, and opportunities to share and listen to each other’s stories about our connection to war and genocide. It was an excellent time to Co-Counsel with and listen to a diverse group of Co-Counselors.


WITNESS TO PAST ATROCITIES


These workshops started in Poland in 2002 and included visits to two concentration and extermination camps located near Kraków, Poland. One of the Co-Counselors who helped Julian get them going spoke to us. It was such a logical and beautiful beginning. 


I attended two of the workshops in 2014, in Poland, with visits to the concentration and extermination camps known as Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. It was quite an experience visiting specific places where one million Jews and also Poles and many others were murdered or were worked, starved, tortured, and then murdered by the Nazi regime. I felt like a witness to the atrocities. I will never forget. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to visit these places. I became, if possible, an even more solid ally to Jews. 


My allyship continues to grow and grow as I learn and understand more about the evils of antisemitism and its dangers to us all. I feel lucky to have knowledgeable leaders about the oppression of Jews in my life, like Cherie Brown, Julian Weissglass, and Dorann van Heeswijk. 


THE DEEPER HISTORY OF GENOCIDE


Since the arrival of COVID-19, Julian has held his five-day workshops on Zoom. This has made his work available to many more Co-Counselors, especially those residing in Africa. It has also given me a bigger picture of war and genocide, not only in the Americas and Europe but in the land of my main heritage, Africa. 


Prior to these workshops, I only related genocide or attempted genocide to certain groups of humans. With Zoom technology, I have learned a great deal more about the workings of genocide and war. Julian reminded us that these particular ways of humans hurting humans have been happening for thousands and thousands of years. It was good to think about the early hurts of human beings that have led us to the situations we are in today. Julian reminded us why sharing RC theory and practice and taking action in the world is so important. 


JUST LISTEN


One key part of Julian’s workshops are the Sharing Our Stories groups, where participants are given safety and encouragement to tell their personal stories of war, genocide, and other traumas without being interrupted by directions or contradictions. The counselor simply provides caring and loving attention. 


Prior to these workshops, I felt uncomfortable listening to stories of violence, kidnappings, genocide, and war. However, as I have listened to Julian and to other people’s stories, I have recognized my difficulty: my need to figure out how to fix a person’s extremely grievous experiences. I can’t change what has happened in someone’s life. I just need to listen with loving and caring attention. My listening provides safety for a person to talk, discharge, and deal with their own experiences. 


Several days after the workshop, I woke up one morning with a clear understanding of how my key ancestors, Black African Americans, experienced genocide. Among many other things, our language, cultural connections, friends, and families were ripped from us. 


With the clear definition of genocide that Julian offered us at the workshop, I now have a better picture of the distresses that I face and of how racism and genocide affect my life. I’ve found the chapter on genocide in the pamphlet Draft Program for the Transformation of Society most valuable as I discharge and think about this topic.


I have also been thinking about what I want to do with my life. I am an elder. In July of 2025 I resigned from my job as Regional Reference Person for the state of Oregon, in the United States. I had held that position for over forty years. I think a lot of my continued work will include the sharing of RC theory and practice as well as working for peace for all, including this planet.