"Peace means: I recognize the good in others"
Silvia Marillán Romero is an agronomist, Mapuche and Methodist. Since April 2023, she has been coordinating the Methodist Church's peace project in Nueva Imperial, Chile - a challenging task. She explains what motivates her, what peace means to her and what advice has helped her in difficult times.
Silvia Marillán Romero lives in the south of Chile, about ten kilometers from the town of Nueva Imperial and close to her family. In this area, Araucaria, there are frequent conflicts and violence between the settlers, the Chilean state and the indigenous population. Mapuche population. This often involves the allocation of land and water and discrimination against the Mapuche.
In a climate of fear
There is a climate of fear, mistrust and mutual prejudice. The fronts are hardened. Together with her dedicated team, Silvia Marillán Romero visits Mapuche families in the villages, provides support in emergency situations and arranges legal assistance. The team initiates projects such as community gardens and small business groups. This strengthens the Mapuche community. Silvia Marillán Romero also takes part in the dialogue process between the conflicting parties, which the Methodist Church helped to initiate, and acts as a mediator in talks organized by the state. She has just attended a United Nations seminar in Chile: Representatives of indigenous peoples from several countries shared their experiences of their own peace processes.
Recognizing yourself and others
What does it take to achieve peace? The young woman is convinced: "First of all, it's about knowing yourself, your own issues and conflicts. Recognizing yourself, too." Then it's about recognizing and respecting others. And practising being together despite differences and seeing what we have in common. "The views and beliefs of others are equally important. It is important to recognize the good in others. When you recognize others in this way, then peace begins." It is important not to look out for one's own interests, but for the good of the whole, the community that lives together as in a house. Everyone has something positive to contribute to the community, then it can also grow.
Learning respect from an early age
Growing up in a family of pastors, her parents' attitude shaped Silvia Marillán Romero: "It was important to them to accompany people, regardless of whether they were in the church or not. I learned from an early age that you do your job well, regardless of the people you are dealing with and the work involved. That was my social education, in addition to my training as an agronomist." Growing up with Mapuche spirituality and being a Methodist is not a contradiction for her. "The Mapuche culture has helped me to recognize God in all areas of life, especially in nature. It complements each other. In my culture we talk about "living well, being well", in the Christian faith we talk about "life in abundance".
Good listener
Silvia Marillán Romero enjoys being in the villages and the people there say that she is very good at listening and accompanying others. It is important to her to serve others with this project and to use her faith and social skills for them. She wants to reach out to people, involve and appreciate them and contribute to their growth. To this end, she also wants to find new working strategies with the families in the villages. She started her work with great motivation. Then she gradually realized that there were also difficulties.
Heavy load and good advice
"Sometimes it feels like carrying a heavy load," she says. Some things don't go as she expected. "At the beginning, the project participants think: Oh, we're getting something now." She has had to learn that people have different characters and that she needs to communicate more clearly with some of them about what she needs from them. "I'm more "passive" in these situations and don't like conflict that much." Her father advised her to think about what was important to her, what her intention, her goal and her line were. He also told her: "There are a lot of things you can't influence directly."
Tackle new things and recover
In the meantime, she has become more confident and precise, better able to deal with conflicts and address difficult issues more clearly. Coordinating the peace project remains challenging and complex. In the team, they have redistributed the areas of responsibility and in the project they want to pay more attention to empowering people rather than taking things off their hands. Silvia Marillán Romero finds relaxation when she is with her family. "And cooking and playing with my three dogs and my cat is good for me. And being in the garden and in nature in general."
Nicole Gutknecht, Connexio develop / Sources: Interview by Flavia Contreras and Roman Gnägi with Silvia Marillán Romero and interim report by Silvia Marillán Romero. All photos by Roman Gnägi
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