Author Archive: directorifi
United Nations Peace Conference Emphasizes Justice and Forgiveness
Today’s Zaman (an English-language daily newspaper in Istanbul, Turkey) – A United Nations peace conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, on United Nations Day (Oct. 24), developed “five tools as the modus operandi of peace building” including justice and forgiveness.
Although Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen was unable to be at the conference with the more than 800 participants from 50 countries who attended, he sent a message that was read by German historian and author Jochen Thies. In his message, Gülen emphasized the importance of investing in human beings while stating that “building peace means building peace-loving men and women.”
Professor Thomas Michel of Georgetown University (Washington, DC), was one of the conference speakers who underlined the importance of justice and forgiveness as tools to achieve peace. He said one is not possible without the other and that without serving justice no forgiveness should be expected from the victims of oppressors. According to Michel, the way to make people forgive their oppressors is to increase dialogue among groups with animosity against each other.
After day-long intensive workgroup meetings, the conference suggested five tools as the modus operandi of peace building: interfaith dialogue, justice and forgiveness, education (especially to foster intercultural understanding), forming institutions to promote peace, and for peace speech to replace the hate speech that is prevalent, especially in social media.
Just three weeks prior to the Geneva conference, University of Wisconsin educational psychology professor Dr. Robert Enright laid the foundation for “forgiveness as a peace tool” at a 2-day work session hosted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Professor Enright, co-founder of the International Forgiveness Institute, served on an international “Expert Group” that is developing intervention models aimed at ending gender-based violence around the world.
Globally, according to the UNFPA, 1 in 3 women face gender-based violence, usually at the hands of someone she knows. Furthermore, 1 in 4 women, including adolescent girls, have been subjected to intimate partner or non-partner sexual violence. Those risks of violence are compounded in countries experiencing conflict and are negatively impacting broader peace initiatives in those countries.
Dr. Enright said he is hopeful that the forgiveness programs he has been operating in Northern Ireland for the past 12 years; in Liberia, West Africa for 3 years; and the one he just recently started in Israel-Palestine after 3 years of groundwork there, will soon be employed around the world to address violence and peace issues.
“If students are introduced at age 4 to the inherent (built-in) worth of all people, which we do in our Forgiveness Education Programs, would the amount of violence go down, perhaps dramatically, and would that increase the likelihood of peace?” Dr. Enright asks. ”The world needs forgiveness education.”
Dr. Enright’s Forgiveness Education Message Resonates with the United Nations
Just three weeks after International Forgiveness Institute co-founder Dr. Robert Enright laid the foundation for “forgiveness as a peace tool” at a 2-day work session hosted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in New York City, a United Nations Peace Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, has labeled “justice and forgiveness” as essential tools in peace-building.
Dr. Enright, a University of Wisconsin educational psychology professor, was named to serve on an international “Expert Group” that met Sept. 29-30 to begin developing intervention models aimed at ending gender-based violence around the world. Gender-based violence is compounded in countries experiencing conflict and is negatively impacting broader peace initiatives in those countries.
The United Nations Peace Conference in Geneva, held on United Nations Day (Oct. 24), developed “five tools as the modus operandi of peace building: interfaith dialogue, justice and forgiveness, education (especially to foster intercultural understanding), forming institutions to promote peace, and for peace speech to replace the hate speech that is prevalent, especially in social media.”
One of the Geneva conference speakers, Professor Thomas Michel of Georgetown University (Washington, DC), emphasized the importance of justice and forgiveness as tools to achieve peace. He said one is not possible without the other and that without serving justice no forgiveness should be expected from the victims of oppressors. According to Michel, the way to make people forgive their oppressors is to increase dialogue among groups with animosity against each other.
Although Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen was unable to be at the Geneva conference that was attended by more than 800 participants from 50 countries, he sent a message that was read by German historian and author Jochen Thies. In his message, Gulen underlined the importance of investing in human beings while stating that “building peace means building peace-loving men and women.”
“That is exactly what our Forgiveness Education Program is designed to accomplish,” according to Dr. Enright. ”It is our hope that the same forgiveness program we have been operating in Northern Ireland for the past 12 years; in Liberia, West Africa for 3 years; and the one we just recently started in Israel-Palestine after 3 years of groundwork there, will soon be employed around the world to address violence and peace issues.”
“If students are introduced at age 4 to the inherent (built-in) worth of all people, which we do in our programs, would the amount of violence go down, perhaps dramatically, and would that increase the likelihood of peace?” Dr. Enright asks. “The world needs forgiveness education.”
Teen Forgives Best Friend Who Shot Him and Others
Uinterview.com (a celebrity video network) – Nate Hatch, cousin and best friend of Jaylen Fryberg, the teen who opened fire on his friends in a school cafeteria on Friday, Oct. 24, tweeted his forgiveness to Fryberg who shot him and others before turning the gun onto himself.
Hatch, 14, was reportedly meeting Fryberg and a group of four of their friends for lunch in the cafeteria of Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Washington, when Fryberg took out a gun and opened fire, killing two students and seriously wounding two others. Fryberg later died of his self-inflicted wounds.
Just days after the shooting, Hatch tweeted that he had forgiven Fryberg. In a goodbye note to his cousin, he wrote “I love you and I forgive you, Jaylen. Rest in peace.”
Hatch suffered facial injuries in the shooting and is listed in satisfactory condition after undergoing surgery to repair his broken jaw at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.
“It’s sad and it’s tragic. . . but it’s better to have forgiveness because that will help the healing process,” according to 17-year-old Dominique Reyes, a member of the same Tulalip Tribe to which Fryberg and Hatch belong. “We have to move on, and we can’t do that with hate in our hearts.”
Read more:
“Washington school shooter texted lunch table invites to victims”
Voices for Peace and Justice in the Holy Land – Nov. 7-8, 2014
Don’t miss this upcoming conference, “Voices for Peace and Justice in the Holy Land” – November 7-8, at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison, WI.
Hear stories and perspectives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and secular writers and activists concerned with peace and justice in Palestine/Israel. Learn ways to work for justice and peace here in the United States, and meet others who share your interest.
Sponsored by Friends of Sabeel North America, this event begins with registration at 12:00 noon on Friday, Nov. 7 and runs through 5pm Saturday. There will be plenaries and workshops throughout each day. On Friday evening enjoy a Palestinian dinner and cultural program of poetry and Debke folk dancing.
The cost of this event is $85 (full conference) or $50 (for one day). Online registration is available here, or print a pdf registration form to mail in. For more information, visit https://fosnamadisonconference2014.wordpress.com.
Friends of Sabeel – North America (FOSNA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt Christian ecumenical organization seeking justice and peace in the Holy Land through non-violence and education. Sabeel, which means “the way” in Arabic, is an international peace movement initiated by Palestinian Christians, who seek a just peace through theological and moral principles and adherence to international law and existing United Nations resolutions. You can learn more about FOSNA and Sabeel at www.fosna.org.
Minnesota Man Urges Forgiveness After Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 Disaster
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS/KSTP-TV, Saint Paul, MN – By now you know the story. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed near the village of Hrabove, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on Thursday, July 17, 2014. All 298 people aboard the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight died making it the deadliest airliner shootdown in history.
The Boeing 777 plunged out of the sky over territory held by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. According to a report by the Dutch Safety Board (193 of those killed were Dutch citizens), the plane was likely struck by multiple “high-energy objects from outside the aircraft,” causing it to break up over eastern Ukraine.
For Drew Ryder of Willmar, MN, that Thursday started out as just another typical day at the office–until his phone rang about 10 a.m. It was Ryder’s uncle calling from Amsterdam “totally distraught” saying he had terrible news: Ryder’s brother, Arjen, and sister-in-law, Yvonne, were on Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.
Ryder says he found the news difficult to process, especially as the days wore on and evidence mounted that a deliberate missile attack brought the plane down. Even so, Ryder says his faith has prevented him from participating in the hatred responsible for the attack.
“It doesn’t create for me any need for revenge,” Ryder told KSTP-TV. “If we react in anger and ask for retribution, all we’re doing is continuing the violence.”
Ryder says that if he were able to meet the people responsible for the airline tragedy, he would look them in the eye and say, “I forgive you for what you did.”
Ryder added, “I’m actually praying for those people. We as Christians are asked to forgive those who wrong us.”
Read the full story: “Willmar Man Loses Brother and Sister-in-Law on MH17, Urges Forgiveness“
