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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
June 18, 2006
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| May 24, 2006 |
Sean O'Boyle |
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| Guest Educator Sean O'Boyle from the Glencree Reconciliation Center in Dublin, Ireland. |
Guest Educator Sean O’Boyle asked participants to define 'conflict.' They raised their hands and answered, “It is when two opposing forces exist,” “a frustrating struggle,” and “when two or more groups have trouble finding common ground.” They further described 'conflict' to be as simple as whether to eat or not to eat dessert to as complex as the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Sean then asked them to explore if they thought that conflict only has negative connotations or positive ones as well. They felt that conflict can be positive when it allows people to learn and gain deeper understanding. Conflict also allows one to discover parts of oneself that were previously unknown.
From Bilbao to Dublin, Sean lead workshops and lectures on the issues of conflict, reconciliation and Northern Ireland. As the International Coordinator for the Glencree Reconciliation Center in Dublin, Sean works for reconciliation in the conflict hot-spots of Haiti, Colombia, the Middle East and Sri Lanka. Started as a response to the violent conflict in Northern Ireland, the Glencree Center works with individuals and groups to overcome prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination by building relationships and clarifying communication. |
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| Participants fighting for chairs in a communication and relationship-building exercise. |
In the exercise “Peace Through Chairs,” Sean divided a group of thirty participants into three groups. He gave each group a separate task: a specific way to arrange chairs on the stage. At the sound of “Go!,” the three groups rushed to the stage and began pulling the ten chairs in opposite directions. When only considering their priorities, none of the groups were able to accomplish the tasks they were given. When they began to communicate with each other, the three groups understood what each of their tasks were, and they cooperated to accomplish each task. “Everyone was trying to do something different. In order to resolve the issue you have to consider the other perspective,” said a participant. |
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| Sean's Irish humor kept participants actively engaged in his lectures. |
Sean’s latter lectures dove further into the elements of conflict and reconciliation. Some of what he covered included looking at intra-personal and interpersonal conflict. Participants examined the different levels of conflicts: intra-personal conflict and interpersonal conflict. After sighting different examples of intra and interpersonal conflict, participant Audrey Howatson commented that the exercise helped her look at conflicts in her daily life in a way she never had before.
Using a power point graph, Sean illustrated the different consequences of conflict when negatively and positively expressed. “When our needs are different from others we automatically think that we are incompatible with others, we shut down and don’ t talk to people and that becomes conflict,” said Sean. The graph showed that when conflict is constructively expressed, it allows for personal, political, social growth and change. On the other hand, when conflict is suppressed, it continues to cause suffering to the parties involved until it is addressed. Resentment and acts of injustice increase and in the worst case it ends up getting expressed destructively because people become so exacerbated and desperate that they feel that violence is the only answer. |
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| Sean leading an exercise in which participants snapped their fingers and stomped their feet to simulate the sound of a storm. |
Sean identified the steps needed to be taken for reconciliation. First is to recognize the “elephant in the room,” the unspoken issue, and identify all the parties involved. Second is to explore other perspectives and consider that the other party might be right or have a valid point of view. Then, they are able to approach and begin communication. Sean believes that good communication is the key to preventing conflict. “If you have a relationship with someone or a group it is unlikely you will have violent conflict. Even if conflict starts, at least you have a relationship to resolve the conflict,” said Sean. He encouraged Peace Boat participants to dialog and build relationships between people of different cultures and values. |
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