Break Down Interpersonal Barriers through ‘Play’

Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development)

I recently watched an anime show, ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc’. The family of Tanjiro, the anime’s main protagonist, was attacked by a demon, and only he and his sister survived, but his sister became a demon. To find a cure for his sister and avenge those he’d lost, Tanjiro joined the Demon Slayer Corps. Young comrades were trained to fight the demons. In one episode, their superior, Muichiro, was teaching them swordsmanship. Muichiro was often expressionless and trained them rigorously. His personality and training style made the trainees fearful, frightened and tired. Tanjiro knew that although Muichiro was strict, he was worried about the trainees and did not want them to be killed by demons because of their poor skills. To soften Muichiro’s attitude and ‘save’ his fellows, Tanjiro proposed to compete with Muichiro in throwing paper planes – if Tanjiro won, Muichiro had to treat his trainees with gentleness. Although Tanjiro lost in the end, his comrades joined in the competition one after another, and everyone regained their smiles in the heaviness. The tension between Muichiro and his trainees was also resolved.

I was moved by this scene of Muichiro and trainees throwing paper planes. As you can imagine, under the haze of demons, everyone faces the moment of life and death at any time, and the situation is tense. Muichiro knew there was a vast disparity in strength between the comrades and the demons. He was heavily burdened with everyone’s lives and urgently needed to improve the trainees’ strength. Still, in terms of talent, strength, and combat experience, the trainees were far behind Muichiro, and it was difficult for them to withstand the harsh training. As a result, tension was formed between Muichiro and trainees, and the gap was difficult to bridge. Tanjiro brought the two sides closer with the simplest mini-game – paper plane throwing. This reminds me of ‘Play for Peace in Lebanon’, one of CEDAR’s community peace projects in Lebanon, which uses football as a medium to break the deadlock among Lebanese residents. Like Tanjiro’s paper plane throwing, the partner uses simple games to create peace in an environment full of tension. This method is not limited to the plot of the animation.

In Lebanon, people are accustomed to dividing themselves by ethnic and religious affiliations (there are 18 officially recognised denominations, including the Maronite Christians, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Shia Islamists, and the Sunnis, etc.). Socio-politically, the sectarian system has prevented Lebanon from building a genuine civil society, leading to nepotism and corruption, which have been criticised. Moreover, the conflicts in neighbouring regions caused the influx of refugees and high national debt, resulting in constant political and resource competition among factions and races.

In addition to the problems at the national level, there is also tension at the community level. At CEDAR’s project site, people are of different backgrounds, including locals, Syrians who have fled to Lebanon for many years, Palestinians and other impoverished families. There is a wide range of social problems, such as drug addiction, depression or family breakdown, among young people. The local security problem is so severe that many girls dare not leave alone. Parents cannot pay for their children’s school fees due to financial hardship, and their children are forced to drop out of school and become child labourers to earn money to support their families. The country has a long way to go, and people are full of physical and mental pressure, which is also more likely to lead to domestic violence. Peacebuilding, therefore, brooks no delay.