Planting Peace

Hello all...  a few notes about today, with Gopar and Sani leading us:  The sessions began with a couple of rousing camp songs that got the group up and moving. Followed by a devotional, in which I talked about "listening" (theme for this morning), based on Samuel, hearing something, but not sure what...  and ending with a story about listening and peace work, being corporate. We do things together ... we need each other, even to listen.  Samuel needed Eli. Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10 needed each other ... to figure out that the Gospel was for gentiles and jews alike.

Our first session was about listening.  Gopar and Sani are excellent teachers.  Very engaging,  very quick with exercises and engaging conversations.  Just before lunch,  we took both of them to the CBC for a live interview that went for 30 minutes, in which there were asked questions about their work, about Nigeria, about why Peace Making events are needed in Alberta, about what we are hoping to accomplish with "Planting Peace".   Really good, sympathetic interviewer and Gopar and Sani did a very classy job. They don't stumble, and speak with such conviction.

Afternoon session, on "speaking/intervention" included a lengthy discussion on "every conflict is nurtured and fed".  The graph shows a latent stage,  followed by escalation, then crisis (where people may shoot at each other), then a frozen conflict and post violence period.  Conflicts can continue to run through this cycle, or then can be interccepted at any point, with a problem solving approach.

There was quite a bit of discussion around the question of whether all conflict needs to reach that crisis point and if that is the case, what does that mean for peaceful conflict resolution. Gopar did make that comment that the community in the crisis stage is close to a peaceful settlement than where the conflict sits,  for long periods of time, in a latent stage.  Gopar said finally,  that "violence can bring fast change.  But that change does not last".

We watched a documentary, which was really a speech by a young woman from Nigeria, who has become a successful writer, and who talks about the "Dangers of the Single Story", and  what it means to the world when a population or a person are distinguished by only one characteristic that happens to be a characteristic of only a few in that group.  But it sticks, and quickly, the entire group has the same image.  After reading a book about an American young man, who was a serial killer, she thought that if she was stereotyping with only one story, she would consider that all American young men are serial killers.  A very compelling speech.  I suspect it can be easily downloaded, with a "live" performance.

This evening, most of the group went to the Alpha House, and from there, we split into 4 groups, and went for a 2-hour walk through an area where homeless people tend to sleep ... and walk... and become victims of pimps, and thieves.  Very amazing people that work at the Alpha house. We are attaching a story written by Aylam, of Israel,  about their group's interaction and walk, this evening, for your enjoyment and encouragement.

Abe