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Empathy: The Opposite from Shame
= = 1 = = BUILDING BRIDGES & LISTENING in Northern Ireland "To
disarm an enemy, build a bridge," says British Joanna Berry. Hear their
story. Dignify
them.
Empathize.
"There is no 'other;" there is no 'enemy," Jo says.
"Humanity heals together." Disarming with Empathy Jo Berry TEDxTalk -- 03 June 2013
-- 10 min video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coljnvVH18o Jo Berry
has worked for over 10 years to resolve conflict around the world. Sixteen
years after her father was killed by an IRA bomb, Jo first met with the man
responsible, Pat Magee. Her
preparedness to try to understand him opened a path to empathy that continues
to develop. Their
unusual relationship has been told in the BBC documentary "Facing the
Enemy", and was featured in the film "Soldiers of Peace." She
founded Building Bridges for Peace and advocates that empathy is the biggest
weapon we have to end conflict. One
citizen, Jo has spoken over 100 times with Pat Magee and reaches out to areas
of conflict including Lebanon and Rwanda. = = 2 = = BUILDING BRIDGES & LISTENING in Palestine and Israel The
Sulha Leadership Conference -- http://www.sulha.com -- gathered
young adults, ages 18-22, from different religions and nations where so
many people's fear of each other leads to hatred, racism, and violence. In a safe
place, the young women and men overcame pre-conceptions and reached out to each
other as human beings, emerging with determination to continue expanding their
face-to-face work. These 21st
century citizen-leaders then created plans for bringing more people together
to see each other as equal human beings -- Step #1 for creating a true
Middle East community of familiarity and cooperation. Then on May
23-24 a follow-up core group of 20 met for two days in The Pluralistic
Spiritual Center at Wahat al-Salam~Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace) -- http://www.nswas.com
-- near Jerusalem. They
re-united and planned the next, big Sulha Tribal Fire for inviting a larger
circle of families, friends, and guests for a one day event of sharing stories,
hopes, and fears. MORE
INFORMATION contact the inspired creator and facilitator trainer, Elad
Vazana -- EladVazana@gmail.com SEE inspiring
photos: Young Leadership Seminar for Peace: Humanizing the "other" http://www.havayati.co.il/database/database/seminar2013/Leadership_Seminar_Report_2013a.pdf = = 3 = = BUILDING BRIDGES & LISTENING in Palestine and Israel The
Arab-Hebrew Theatre of Jaffa hosts bilingual plays -- in Hebrew and Arabic
-- that increase understanding between people and bind the audiences and the
actors in a common, fun experience. The
theatre is compiled of two theatre ensembles -- The Local Theatre, which is
Jewish, and the Arab Al-Saraya Theatre. They
operate independently but also perform as one ensemble. It was
established 13 years ago to bring Jaffa back to its golden era of living
together. The
theatre is like a home for Jaffa society and also for Lod, Ramla, and the
south. Actors and
audiences say they love this theatre as if it were their own home. And
theatre plays an important role in constructing culture among all ages because
it tackles various social issues. Creative Coexistence at Arab-Jewish
Theatre May 16, 2013 -- 6 min video
(Arabic, Hebrew, English) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExuVnoa1FEQ "Theatre
engages with these issues in a positive manner. "It
makes one think in a different way and be more attentive to others," says Arab Omar Saksak, who heads the Saraya Associaiton Jewish
director Hanoch Ra'am described the play with two girls, one Arab and one
Jewish, who repeat each other's lines -- Arabic then Hebrew -- and the other
way around. "It
deepens one's understanding of each other," Ra'am says. Actress
Anat Hadid adds: "Theatre creates a way of knowing the 'other,' who is
quite similar to 'me.'"
"During our work here, I discovered we're quite similar in our
aspirations, in our perspective, in the things we want. "We
want peace and common language regardless of religion and specific
language." "We
all have the same soul here and this is what characterizes this place." Hadid
seems to be describing us family family and our "place" -- Earth. = = 4 = = BUILDING BRIDGES & LISTENING in West Africa The
Middle East and all humankind would do well to pay attention to Africa. There are
already new Mandela-like African champions alive and effective, with
largely-untold stories, even as Nelson Mandela is fading,
Increasingly, there is so much to illustrate and learn from West Africans. In Cote
d'Ivoire is a brave, determined citizen, Offuh James Offuh, who receives e-mail
at ufpaci@gmail.com Notice how
Offuh and a few inspired, courageous, effective citizens are doing what no
government, U.N. agency, or other institution has imagined or felt able to
begin. SEE their
June, 2013, Step #4 -- PHOTOS of the people, as they
moved from fear to confidence: Confronting Fear: First Dozos-Guerre Reconciliation
in Duekoue June 2013 -- Ivory Coast, West
Africa http://traubman.igc.org/vidnigeriaivorycoast.htm
These and hundreds of other success stories are preserved at http://traubman.igc.org/messages.htm |