Description
Working with Turkish Cypriots during the many conflict resolution workshops we attended together, I learnt how they perceived the conflict, just as they learnt how we understood the conflict. What started out for me as an attempt to solve the Cyprus problem through reconciliation from the ground up with conflict resolution workshops (as opposed to from the top down with negotiations) became a personal journey of discovery. I began to become aware of the fact that everyone has their own truth concerning a situation, which is valid as a partial truth, based on their personal experiences; I became aware that there are many narratives which one needs to listen to in order to get a greater understanding of any situation.
I have come to realize the power of narratives and partial truths. We are each trapped in our own understanding of the conflict and believe it is the truth. In fact, all narratives contain only part of the truth, so in order to solve conflicts we need to be able to listen with an open heart and mind to the other side’s narrative.
KATE CLERIDES
