The UK’s first peace circle, in London in April and May, gathered women born in Afghanistan, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Somalia, Sweden and Vietnam, as well as Britain.
Perhaps the most moving part of the process was the generosity with which participants shared their stories – of flight and exile, of childhood and motherhood, of learning to live with other people and themselves, of opening up to other cultures, of working for peace on a family, community and national level.
Such questions as ‘Why is it so hard to apologize and forgive?’ kept recurring. The group included Muslims, Christians and a Parsee. ‘My previous experience of that kind of group study has only been in a Christian context,’ commented one participant. ‘Here I felt that our different faiths were helping us to understand each other, rather than being a barrier as they are sometimes held to be.’
‘I have learnt to listen more deeply and to understand people beyond their words,’ wrote another. ‘The sessions have spurred me into dialogue for peace with the people I meet. I ask them what that word means for them and we have a discussion. It always makes people think of who they are hating most and how reconciliation is possible.’
For a third, the circle had brought a realization ‘that we are already peacemakers. Talking about it gave us more confidence in what we have done and can do.’ This peace circle was a pilot – and from the reactions of those who took part, this will be the first of many in the UK.
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