Evolving a SE Asia Pacific
Mutual-Help & Self Help Trauma Support
Intercultural Network

A Small Micro-Proposal

Written 10 Oct1997. Updated April 2014.

All of the energy muted in the following sections did unfold in June and July 2000.

A summary of the unfolding action may be found at Communal Ways for Healing the World.

The action that unfolded in the proposed Support for Trauma Survivors Workshops are included later in this page.

SUMMARY

This Micro-proposal is part of a wider Laceweb Plan - Self-Help Action Supporting Survivors of Torture and Trauma in Se Asia, Oceania and Australasia - Small Generalisable Actions

This page contains the 'Micro-Proposal' referred to in Self-Help Action Supporting Survivors of Torture and Trauma on Bougainville - Small Generalisable Actions - Long Version .

All of the energy evolving in the following sections did take place in June and July 2000. A summary of the unfolding action..

The action that unfolded in the proposed 'Support for Trauma Survivors Workshops' are included later in this page.

The action proposed in this Micro-proposal is one of many stages towards the possibility of enriching a vibrant intercultural healing network evolving in the SE Asia Oceania Australasia Region.

Families and individuals from indigenous and small minority people living in the Far North region of Australia (An Intercultural Normative Model Area - INMA) and other countries in the Region have expressed a desire to share and receive healing experience in trauma support healing ways and to be a resource in evolving healing networks.

Ideas are evolving for a Laceweb Enabler Group link with indigenous and small minority people from the region for seeding a series of Small Healing Sharing Gatherings (the FNQ Gatherings) over 10 day periods at low cost bush safe havens in the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, Australia. Energies are engaged in evolving these safe havens.

Bougainvillians, West Papuans, East Timorese and Hmong (from Laos) refugees who are survivors of torture and trauma and living in the Cairns district, along with local Aboriginal and Islander people, have expressed interest in both hosting and being part of the Gatherings.

It may be that in the future, natural nurturers from Bougainville, Irian Jaya and East Timor may attend these gatherings. This way local people may come from their respective communities, gain healing experiences and return home. This may be preferred to Laceweb Enablers making a single trip to these overseas communities and unrealistically raising local expectations about revisits. Funding for travel is still problematic.

One such small Far North Queensland Gathering may be called 'The Second Small Island, Coastal and Estuarine People Trauma Healing Gathering Celebration.' (This did happen and was repeated).

The first 'Small Island' Gathering was funded by the UN Human Rights Commission. It was held on the Atherton Tablelands inland from Cairns, Northern Australia in June 1964.

Refer Report to the UN on the Small Island, Coastal and Estuarine People Gathering Celebration.

It is evolving that this Second 'Small Island' gathering be linked to the UN Peace Week June 18-25, leading up to the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and Trauma on 26th June 2000. (This did happen).

This is the second year running that local Laceweb people are hosted celebrations for this UN day in the Cairns region. The proposed Gatherings are also in support of the 'UN International Year for the Culture of Peace and the ‘Thanksgiving' to 'remember cultural diversity in developing a rich and harmonious international life' and 'the importance of gratitude in the personal and civil life of every human being'.

Similar gatherings are emerging for safe havens in the Darwin Top End Northern Territory, Australia area. This may involve East Timorese people. Ideas are emerging for similar involvement by refugee Aceh people from Western Sumatra, Moro people from the Southern Philippines, and Irian Jaya indigenous people. Pending further funding, Laceweb enablers may provide ongoing support to the emerging healing network.

Possibilities are being explored for an East Timor presence from an informal Darwin based trauma support network at the proposed June 2000 gathering in Cairns.

The focus of action and the open agenda during this proposed communal living gathering is the experiencing and passing on of healing ways. Refer Healing Ways Workshops Manual.

The Enabler Group have over 30 years experience in enabling these sharing gatherings. They also have studies in psycho-social trauma healing to the Ph.D. level.

PROJECT ENABLERS

The Project enablers (the Group) are an informal network of intercultural healers from a small social Movement called the Laceweb. This Movement emerged in part out of World pioneering work within Australia by Dr. Neville Yeomans in Family Therapeutic Communities and later as Coordinator of Community Mental Health for NSW in the Sixties.

Its early sustainable communities and eco-city origins can be traced to Neville's father P. A. Yeomans' Keyline work in the mid forties. The social cultural healing movement is now spreading throughout the SE Asia Pacific region. A more detailed background of the evolving of both the Group and the Laceweb is contained in the Wider Plan.

Other background material is in the paper Communal Ways for Healing the World.

Dr. Yeomans, a psychiatrist and socio-emotional consultant and other Laceweb enablers in Mutual-help and Self-Help Healing Ways have intimated their availability as enablers.

PROJECT ETHOS

Nothing will happen unless local people want it to happen. This proposal is expressed in tentative language for this reason.

THE AIM

To possibly evolve a small interlaced group of psycho-social healers reaching out of safe havens in the Cairns and Darwin areas among families and individuals from Indigenous and disadvantaged small minority people within Australia such as:

Bougainvillians
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders
Australian South Sea Islanders (descendents of indentured labourers), and
Australian based refugees:

East Timorese
Irian Jaya Indigenous people - West Papuans
Hmong people from Laos
and others

The possibility for the first and subsequent Gatherings is the sharing of experience firstly, in evolving self-help trauma support networks, and secondly in using healing ways to support survivors of trauma, especially women, children and adolescents, towards enriching all aspects of wellbeing.

THE WIDER FOCUS

The wider focus is trauma support for survivors and their people, including the possibility of evolving Wellbeing sharing networks extending from the safe havens of Cairns and Darwin. For example, there are extensions from Cairns to Bougainville based nurturer groups beginning work among over 150,000 traumatised people in Bougainville following over ten years of conflict.

RANGE OF PARTICIPANTS

This will be in part a function of the available funding and the numbers of nurturers wanting to attend in Far North Queensland (and later at Darwin Gatherings) from Australia and overseas - for example, some nurturers in Bougainville have been identified whom may be able to attend.

A small group of highly experienced Laceweb trauma enablers (the Enabler Group) are available to pass on healing ways. Various people from the above groups are beginning to identify natural nurturers among their communities throughout Australia who may come to these Gatherings.

Evolving Trauma Support Group(s)

Trauma Support Groups in an interlaced intercultural healing network may be extended as a result of this gathering. Following the Gathering, the attendees may then:

further enrich their nurturing experiences by being a resource to themselves and other people within the respective communities
be available as a quick response healing team in the wider context

JUNE AND JULY 2000 OUTCOMES

The following gives details of some of the action and gatherings that did take place in June and July 2000.

The UN Peace Week and the UN Day in Support of Torture and Trauma Survivors did go ahead with a very wide range of activities energised by the Laceweb. The following material lists the themes covered during the Trauma Healing Sharing Gatherings. There were three of these gatherings during the month.

SMALL TRAUMA HEALING SHARING GATHERING CELEBRATINGS 17–25 JUNE 2000

Attendees:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Anglos, Australian South Sea Islanders, Bougainvillians, East Timorese, Anglo-German, Hmong, Irish, Japanese, North American Indian and Papua New Guinea people.

Healing Ways

Resources:

Trauma Healing Workshop Manual
Healing Ways Encyclopœdia
Cultural Healing Action.

Themes: