Photos by Shehzad Noorani, Developing Images
Edited by Kris Herbst
Fazlul Huq's revival and reform of the traditional shalish form of conflict mediation in Bangladesh demonstrate how social entrepreneurs devise new ways to ensure that the law serves everyone – not just government officials and elites who wield it to exploit and control. Such innovations strike at the roots of despair, violence and terrorism.
It is no accident that terror emanates from societies that suppress entrepreneurialism and popular participation in civil society. Seeds of terrorism find fertile ground where problems simmer and people suffer from a lack of power and respect.
But when the law and its institutions serve people, they begin to grasp control of their lives and invest in the success of civil institutions. By mediating conflicts when the state fails to respond, emerging citizen-based institutions like the Madaripur Legal Aid Association offer non-violent solutions that help build civil societies and protect human rights.
Nobody disputes that humanity is facing a global economic, social and ecological crisis. What is less clear is the spatial manifestation of this crisis, and what actions provide hope for how humanity can survive the crisis and evolve into a new order.
