"As someone who for two decades has studied nonviolent movements in war zones, I see many parallels between these movements abroad and those that have been organized recently across the U.S. The communities I have studied - from Colombia to the Philippines to Syria - teach lessons about surviving in the midst of danger that Americans have been discovering instinctively over the past year."
"These experiences show that protection of their neighbors is possible. Violence can bring feelings of fear, isolation and powerlessness, but unity can overcome fear, and nonviolence and discipline are key for denying the powerful pretexts for further escalation and harm. But at the same time, the deaths of Americans Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were part of a nonviolent movement and were killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis, make it clear that acting to protect neighbors requires courage, and prospects are not always certain."
Community volunteers in multiple U.S. cities are organizing to protect migrants from ICE and Border Patrol enforcement by delivering food, providing Know Your Rights trainings, and creating alert networks with whistles and phone apps. Lessons from nonviolent movements in Colombia, the Philippines, and Syria show that building social ties, shared decision-making, information-sharing, and coordination enables communities to avoid or resist violence. Unity, nonviolent discipline, clear procedures, and training deny authorities pretexts for escalation. Protection efforts can succeed but involve danger and sacrifice, as illustrated by the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti; organization and discipline remain essential.
Read at Fortune
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