Gabi Hunt
\n<\/b>Managing Editor<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
On April 5, the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations held its third annual \u201cAll Conflict is Local: Personal Experience, Reflection, and Conflict Resolution\u201d conference. <\/span><\/p>\n Professor Zheng Wang, the organizer of the conference and director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, opened the discussion with a few remarks. Specifically, he emphasized the Center\u2019s mission of highlighting students from around the world who have had \u201cdirect contact with conflict.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Next, Dean Andrea Bartoli offered a few opening remarks about conflict, which he described as a \u201c[fundamental] human choice.\u201d When talking about traumatic events and conflict as a choice, Dean Bartoli went on to say, \u201cConflict doesn\u2019t happen to us, we choose what to do with conflict.\u201d He then concluded by calling attendees to open their minds and hearts to experiencing what others have lived through when listening to the presenters, because he believes active listening to be the heart of diplomacy. <\/span><\/p>\n Oluwagbemiga Oyeneye began the first round of presentations. His presentation, titled \u201cReligion, Morality, and Healing,\u201d focused on sharing and reflecting on the ethno-religious conflict in Plateau State, Nigeria. He explained that the title of his presentation, \u201cAre they for us or are they for them?\u201d is often the rallying cry used to polarize the sides of the conflict \u2014 and also a question one may be asked that will determine whether their life will be spared or taken upon invasion of their village. <\/span><\/p>\n Oyeneye shared that the conflict over land ownership, particularly of Jos \u2014 which is between the Muslim Hausa and indigenous populations \u2014has affected him on a personal level by preventing his contact with friends who are members of other groups. For example, he can no longer visit with his Muslim friends, who he once lived peacefully and prayed with, for fear of death if he were to step into their village. He emphasized that the silent killings and disappearances of people who mistakenly walk into communities opposite their identity remains common.<\/span><\/p>\n After Oyeneye finished this presentation on Nigeria, Meagan Torello switched gears to talk about the legacy of conflict in Northern Ireland, which she studied while living abroad there. In her presentation, Torello described the socioeconomic forces that protracted the polarization between Protestants and Catholics, particularly the discrepancies in education levels (Catholics are disproportionately better educated, leading to better opportunities for their community, but the disenfranchisement of Protestants).<\/span><\/p>\n In her studies, however, she found that the current state of the conflict indicates a \u201cgreat level of self-reflection and healing.\u201d She recounted a particularly moving story, where she interviewed two men: one whose best friend had been killed by the other. She encountered both interviewees at the same time, and was surprised to find that instead of conflict breaking out, the two men hugged.<\/span><\/p>\n Next, Michael Hamilton gave an insightful presentation on the Golden Rule, which he described as \u201cnot a maxim of timeless wisdom, but of existential consideration.\u201d He emphasized that the Golden Rule \u2014 \u201cdo to others what you want them to do to you\u201d \u2014 exists in some iteration in nearly all religions\u2019 ethical foundations. He believes that inherent disrespect of the Golden Rule bodes all conflict, particularly the current wave of divisive nationalism. He ended on a positive note, though, describing humans as capable of returning to Golden Rule reciprocity: \u201cwe are fallible, messy, yet extraordinary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The final presenter in the first panel was Emanuel Hernandez, who spoke on the urban-rural divide in Colombia. His presentation was particularly unique, in that it focused on conflict that is widespread \u2014 5.7 million people have been internally displaced in Colombia as a result of systemic violence \u2014 but widely unheard of, especially among more affluent people living in the urban areas. The main takeaway of his presentation was that advocacy is the most promising avenue of bridging gaps in understanding and experiencing conflict, and that the Jesuit presence in Colombia has been particularly integral to advocacy efforts. <\/span><\/p>\n The second panel, \u201cDomestic Conflict, Justice and Sustainable Development,\u201d featured three presenters: Erick Agbleke on conflict in Togo in the 1990s, Kristal Corona on restorative justice in Cambridge, MA, and Pallavi Shahi on India\u2019s sewage system workers. Agbleke began the discussion, recounting his family moving to Ghana to escape an 8-hour military rampage after the Togolese government changed, and in particular, to help his father avoid having to take on the role of primary bodyguard of the reappointed prime minister, Koffigeh. <\/span><\/p>\n Corona brought the discussion back to the United States, where she talked about how restorative justice as an alternative to punitive measures encourages people \u2014 particularly young, at-risk students \u2014 encourages releasing aggression and anger in healthy, productive ways. According to Corona, restorative justice prevents mass incarceration, and gives disenfranchised students a chance at leading better lives. <\/span><\/p>\n Finally, Shahi shed light on the sewage workers of India, individuals from India\u2019s lowest economic strata that clean the sewage systems at low pay and grave danger to themselves. She emphasized the Indian legal system\u2019s failure to address the issue when sewage cleaning was made illegal; instead of eradicating the work, the Supreme Court\u2019s decision to make sewage work illegal has only erased workers\u2019 rights and complicated the compensation mechanism for those who have died from noxious chemicals. Because of this legal limbo, sewage workers have become the \u201cnew age untouchables.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n At the end of the presentations, Professor Hugh T. Dugan, the moderator of this panel, gave a profound answer summing up the takeaways of the conference: \u201cThe status quo is unacceptable. We need more consequences [for injustice]. We reward market disruptions in Silicon Valley; we must think about [how to award] disruptions in other fields.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations held its third annual \u201cAll Conflict is Local: Personal Experience, Reflection, and Conflict Resolution\u201d conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3448,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1397,1354,1258,389],"tags":[705,1414],"class_list":["post-6692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-april2018","category-world","category-1258","category-diplo-news","tag-seton-hall-university","tag-center-for-peace-and-conflict-studies"],"yoast_head":"\n