It's been a good but busy past few days as we draw nearer to the end of the "induction" period for me and my fellow long-term volunteers (LTVs). Yesterday we had a very interesting session with Paul, the center director, about a little bit of the history of Corrymeela and the role of Christianity in both its history and philosophy. He ended up talking very little about the religious aspect and instead told some fascinating anecdotes about his work as a mediator and facilitator over the past 20 years in Northern Ireland. Paul talks a lot about the importance of stories, which, as anyone who witnessed my academic journey at college would know, is right up my alley. He often references the fact that no matter what, people approach the subject, symbol or event at hand based on their own experience. For example, when he walked into the room yesterday I, along with Sara and Tiff, was singing songs from the Sound of Music. He explained that his father, who hated musicals, would turn off the TV when he saw Julie Andrews come on, and that walking into the room like that brought him right back there to his living room as a kid. A symbol that is specifically endowed with meaning, like the Bible, will evoke a huge range of reactions based entirely on that person's context and experience. Such is the challenge, he discussed, when mediating conflict--everything, from the terms used, to the venue, to the affiliations of those involved, will have an impact great or small on the discussion. He also told us about Ray Davey, the founder of Corrymeela, who was greatly impacted by his witnessing of Dresden three days after it was fire bombed when he was a POW in Germany. As he witnessed the massive death and destruction around him, he questioned what it meant that he was in the British Army, fighting for the "good guys" that were also capable of committing such horrendous crimes against civilians. What does that say about those considered "good"? The center was founded in 1965, prior to the start of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland, but as a direct result of the sharply segregated society that created such ready antagonism.
As he talked about reconciliation, I wondered a lot about letting go, how people are able to move past all the hurt and trauma of the conflict, violence, war. He said that in the case of a post-conflict society, peace and justice stand at odds to one another, as do mercy and truth. There are those who demand for only the truth, only mercy, and neither alone will leave anyone feeling healed or able to move forward. Likewise, those who demand justice may never feel satiated if they do not also have a desire for peace. Those who aim to quiet people down for the sake of peace without addressing the issues of justice are not facing the issue at all.
Then tonight we were given a talk by Derick Wilson, one of the first members of Corrymeela, a university professor who is truly inspirational in his involvement not only with the peace process but in his general involvement in creating a just society. He also talked about Ray Davey, about the experience of growing up in a place so segregated, where difference was absolutely not tolerated when the "other" was a political threat, and was politely tolerated when the "other" was a minority too small to be threatening. He talked about rather than fixing relationships between people of creating patterns of relationships in which people interact and mix with one another. He spoke beautifully and i tried to take as many notes as possible. At one point, when he talked about the importance of Corrymeela as a safe and private space for those seeking sanctuary from the conflict, be it political leaders who needed to meet in secret with the opposing party or families that were literally exiled from their neighborhoods by paramilitaries, he cautioned us against wishing we had been a part of Corrymeela then: "You do not need to be in the middle of the sorrow of naked violence that occurs when people go to those measures to scapegoat and blame." He encouraged us to be a "community that learns together", emphasizing that having highs and lows is OK as long as we have them together. "Your being together in a diverse community," he said, "is gold dust for what the world needs." We need to redefine "community" as it often stands as determining a group apart from, and often better than, others. "This is not a place for experts," Derick asserted, adding that the fact that we are young and inexperienced, that we are seeking to find ourselves and looking to grow mirrors the experience of those that come here who are also trying to find new ways to grow and be. With a laugh he insisted that "everybody's not the same! If we were all the same, we'd fight more!" because isn't it the case that we fight with those who remind us of ourselves deep down, whether or not we admit it. Corrymeela needs to be a place where each person is viewed as a gift to one another--not as a problem, as many groups of people are (such as those in prison, for example). It is our role as part of Corrymeela to help people experience what it is like to be a potential gift to other human beings. Derick also placed an emphasis on facilitating processes between people who are different in order to foster new relationships and, ultimately, new structures. The value of a residential experience in a world where people don't live together is that it provides a space for the head (thinking) to meet the heart (feeling) and the gut (believing). If victims can come here and reconcile, the rest of us have no excuse. Finally, Derick ended with the thought that real change happens when people truly commit themselves to one another and take risks for one another.
Much food for thought, which I will have time to contemplate over the next few days as we go camping as a group on Rathlin Island, a small island just off the coast that we can see from the center. Whee! Peace be with you xox
No comments:
Post a Comment