The Two Faces of Empowerment in Conflict

Abstract

This article problematises Bush & Saltarelli's call for a new and comprehensive peacebuilding education which empowers children through demonstrating that alternatives to conflict exist, that they have choices and the capacity to change their own and their society's situation. It does so by exploring the various possibilities for empowerment available to young Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal, which are advanced by agencies administering services in the refugee camps and promoted by refugee political groups. Fieldwork demonstrates that some children simultaneously engage in humanitarian agency projects, which promote human rights and peaceful values, and with political groups advocating violence. Through their participation in agency projects, children learn awareness-raising methods, such as poetry and street theatre, which they also employ in their work with political groups. This article will consider the relationship between children's empowerment through their involvement in agency-initiated non-formal education projects and their engagement in violent political activities, suggesting that, like education, empowerment may show two faces in situations affected by conflict.