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CTP Open House Makes Peace 'Big News'

By Melvin Mason, Daily News-Record

An EMU program is aiming to turn the world around and make it a much more boring place.

Students are hoping to reverse anger and aggression through the Conflict Transformation Program.

The program hosted its annual open house on Saturday. The event serves as a fund-raiser, said program co-director Ruth Hoover Zimmerman.

But it’s also a way for local residents to get information about what the program does and how its graduates are working to encourage peace.

Saturday’s event featured video presentations about conflict resolution and discussions with students and their efforts to build peace.

The conflict transformation program includes the EMU master’s degree program, a summer peace-building institute and an institute for justice and peace-building.

Students in the program have come from all over the world, Zimmerman said, because they want to make a difference in their communities and the world. Many of its students are working in peace-building programs or agencies committed to reducing conflicts.

"There are lots of things we can learn on a daily basis," Zimmerman said.

Making Discoveries

Odelya Gertel, 30, said she’s learned a lot in the program, which she entered as a Fulbright scholar. Gertel wants to use what she’s learned to change the acrimonious atmosphere in her native Israel between Palestinians and Israelis.

She’s already working to reduce the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians through the Peres Center for Peace.

Growing up, Gertel was afraid of Palestinians. Discovering more about yourself is one of the big things someone has to do to resolve conflicts, Gertel said.

Ending conflicts "starts with our own well-being and with our own habits," said Gertel.

Her Palestinian friend, Huda Abu Arquob, 34, cited empathy and seeing another side as human beings as a huge step in resolving issues. Listening to other voices is also a big part in bringing about peace, she said.

"You need to transform the violence into a different message," said Arquob, a teacher at a school in the West Bank.

With so many people intrigued by violence and conflict, Zimmerman jokingly suggested the program may make the world more boring.

"Peace is not news. Drama is news. Violence is news," she said. "It’s difficult to make peace big news."

— article by: Melvin Mason, Daily News-Record; posted November 8, 2004