Schools out! But I haven't finished my homework. I haven't brought you up to date. Saturday school was cool. The topic was mediation. We did a Darfur role-play which was pretty instense. We covered Geert Hofstede's Dimensions of Culture and William Ury's Third Side.
The idea is that WE have a part in bringing peace as a THIRD SIDE. The conflict has two sides and we are the third side. [Not to be confused with another great American idea for bring peace and stability: York Harding's 'Third Force'.] Irene listed the roles that a Third Sider can take and invited us to consider which roles we can play in our everyday life to help deal with conflict. We then had to discuss this in groups. The roles were:
Preventing conflict: The Provider, The Teacher, The Bridge-Builder. Resolving conflict: The Mediator, The Arbiter, The Equalizer, The Healer. Containing conflict: The Witness, The Referee, The Peacekeeper. Irene described each role. The Provider helps enable people achieve their needs: education, help them to help themselves. The Teacher: giving skills to handle conflict; problems solving. The Bridgebuilder: build relationships between communities, dialogue. The Mediator: natural role in family, school; alternative to conflict... deprofessionalization, suggest solution. The Arbiter: promoting justice, encourage negotiation, decide what is right. The Equaliser; democratizing power, bringing powerful to the table, supporting the weak: the strong don't need mediation. The Healer: lingering fear, anger, humiliation... listen and acknowledge, apology, climate for reconciliation. The Witness: warning signals of conflict escalation, speak out, patrol, get help. The Refereee; Set limits on fighting, remove offensive weapons, strengthen defences without creating offensive capacity. The Peacekeeper: if limits are broken - intervene to prevent conflict; pull people apart.
So I scratched my head a bit. Which roles do I fulfill? A few of these roles seemed familiar from having had three kids: the Mediator, The Peacekeeper. But how would I describe what I do now? The Provider? Try to help people fulfill their needs (like the need for peace)? Somehow it didn't sound right when we discussed it. You can kind of tell: someone argues back against that idea and off we go. Then it clicked. My role isn't there! Its not on the list! My role: The Enjoyer. Yes, I can do that. I might even become good at it: an Enjoyer of peace.
S'all for now. Gotta go.
