Mediators Beyond Borders: Pathways to Peace and Reconciliation.

Source: (2009) Peace and Conflict Monitor, January 2009.

While listening to news about the latest disasters from wars to terrorist attacks
around the world, I sometimes fantasize about what would happen if, instead of
dropping bombs on civilian populations, mediators by the tens of thousands
were parachuted into war zones to initiate conversations across battle lines; if,
instead of shooting bullets, we organized public dialogues and shot questions at
each side; if, instead of mourning the loss of children’s lives by visiting equal or
greater losses on the children of the enemy, we became surrogate mourners,
turning every lost life into the name of a school, hospital, library, road, or olive
grove, dedicated to those who died because we lacked the skills to get along.
I realize these are wishful fantasies, yet within their whimsy lies a startling truth
that surfaces when we ask: what would we do after parachuting in once we hit
the ground? We can then begin to see that it is possible for us to have an impact,
even on the willingness of embittered, intransigent opponents to avoid war and
terrorism by building people’s capacity to promote alternative ways of
expressing, negotiating, and resolving their differences. I began referring to this idea as “Mediators Beyond Borders.” (excerpt)