One of my college professors was an Israeli member in low-level peace talks, in his case focused on the transportation link between Gaza and the West Bank. He told me a great story of particularly heated conversations with his Palestinian counterpart during discussions in Rome, and leaving the room feeling such anger and frustration that he didn’t think he could speak with the man again. That night, on the bus back to the hotel, the two men sat in silence for a long time, until the Palestinian leaned over and asked, “Do you know anything about watches? It’s my wife’s birthday, but I don’t really know what to get her.”
Years later, the men have stayed in touch and continue to use their friendship to negotiate tough times, all because this late-night shopping session reminded them that it’s important to buy good gifts for your wife’s birthday, no matter your nationality.
This story has stayed with me as a “model” for conflict resolution and post-conflict programming – it’s about building trust between people at an individual level. We do this in Lebanon [18] and the North Caucasus [19], and through youth and theater in Central Asia [20]. Localized, community-level peacebuilding doesn’t ever make the front page, but I believe it’s because of these kinds of efforts that future conflicts are prevented and peace is maintained. That said, conflict mitigation is never easy – and I look forward to continuing a conversation about what works, what doesn’t, and what new and innovative ideas could be making a difference.
Katie Sheketoff [21] is a Program Officer at IREX.
*Photo Source [22]