Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2020

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge unabated across the world, an important dimension to the entire health-care architecture is the challenge faced by female health-care workers. The risks and rigors involved in the care of Covid-19 patients are enormous both for female and male health-care workers and professionals. However, female health-care workers face more complex challenges like having to deal with work-life balance, inadequate representation in senior policy planning structures of health-care institutions and in many cases being at a disadvantageous position in situations of unpaid leave. This paper through in-depth interviews of female health-care workers will try to explore the multiple challenges they face and what can be done to ensure gender equity in the health-care architecture.

The postponement of the Ethiopia’s August 2020 elections (owing to the COVID surge) has been said to be the beginning of the Ethiopia November 4 Violence between Tigrayan groups and the national defense forces. Other reasons cited include the mutation of the conflict from a struggle for territorial expansion into a class struggle. Ethnic federalism and a reaction of the massive oppression and exploitation of the people of Ethiopia are also cited as probable reasons for the conflict. The contribution of leading scholars in influencing the existing literature highlighting the conflict has not been without a decry that they have overtime dominated the field, oblivious of the need to promote the participation of young minds in such contribution. The U.S. Institute of Peace Generation Change Fellows-Youth Advisory Council provides a platform through which youth provide thought leadership and amplify their voices in peacebuilding. The author, a member of the YAC, Kenya chapter, provides a detailed overview of the genesis and state of the Ethiopia conflict but moves ahead to provide strategic guidance on how non-violent communication can be used to improve relations and achieve sustainable peace. This article is largely a desk review, convening thoughts from key C/PVE, International relations, and security experts from the horn of Africa and beyond. The thoughts have been corroborated, compared, and contrasted but most importantly analyzed into critical lessons and recommendations for a better situation for Ethiopia. Excerpts from the views of the experts denote variated factors leading to the Tigray conflict; the postponement of the August elections, the ‘Federalism state’,’ a long struggle for perceived oppression among a section of aggrieved Ethiopians have been presented as causes for the conflict. The allying of Somalia to Ethiopia, the surge of refugees fleeing to Sudan but above all the hard stance by Ethiopia’s leadership on the situation are feared for escalation of the conflict’. The author highlights the five Pillars of Gandhian Nonviolence, managing negative and disruptive emotions, mending a dysfunctional communication ecosystem as well as anger management as key to addressing the Tigray Conflict. Like in the case of Gachacha courts of Rwanda, she appreciates the Oromia- the traditional Ethiopian justice System, a rich customary practice which, together with the above, could help change the situation.

At a time when the world mired by increasing cases of hate speech and action, intolerance and xenophobia, it is critical that there are efforts to re-look at our communication ecosystem. Unhealthy and dysfunctional communication ecosystems lead to conflicts and intolerance. In this backdrop, the endeavour should be to incessantly work for a communication ecosystem which is healthy and brings people together. It is time that efforts – at individual, local, national and international level be made to help evolve a nonviolent verbal communication ecosystem. While different societies across the world have inherent values to encourage nonviolent verbal communication, it would be prudent to look at the Indian tradition. This paper tries to explore how nonviolent verbal communication has been an integral part of Indian values and ethos. After delving on the ancient traditions of nonviolent communication, the paper tries to analyze the Gandhian model of nonviolent communication which has major traction at the global level.

In recent years, before the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, the international media narrative on Myanmar has been focused on the “Rohingya” issue presenting it as a case of a helpless Muslim minority being repressed by a powerful Buddhist majority. A so-called religious conflict has been overplayed, and the socio-economic conditions and development issues that have given rise to this conflict are being ignored. Myanmar’s attempted transition to democracy was hamstrung by a development dilemma that did not include merely minorities, but a major section of the rural Buddhist majority. This paper discusses the socio-economics of the Rohingya issue, and how geopolitical issues contribute to the conflict. The paper argues that a new mindful communication strategy is needed to report Myanmar’s development problems in a more balanced fashion.