I know that quite a few of my readers are still a little delirious from the Carnival festivities in Trinidad last month! I hope each of you experiences a few moments of the same exhilaration that Carnival creates at some point this month. We all need a little “madness” sometimes.
“To observe people in conflict is a necessary part of a child’s education. It helps him to understand and accept his own occasional hostilities and to realize that differing opinions need not imply an absence of love.” ~ Milton R. Saperstein.
A: While researchers differ in their views about the nature and extent of a child’s participation in his parents’ mediation, they seem generally supportive of the idea that a child’s voice should be heard. Mediators though have been cautious in putting this into actual practice and you may find that it only happens in a minority of cases. Perhaps there is room for a Caribbean
Over the past few weeks, the region’s newspapers and airwaves have been replete with stories about children who had been physically or sexually abused, neglected or abandoned by their parents or guardians. That our children need care and protection is quite clear. A few territories—Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana and Jamaica come most readily to mind—have set up organizations dedicated to child protection. The
A: No you do not have to be over 18 years of age to be a mediator. In fact, in November, 2011 the Governor-General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allen, in his address at the opening ceremony of the 14th Annual Conference for Presidents & Governors-General of the Caribbean Community, urged Caricom heads of state to do more to effect positive change in young people
WE’RE BACK! HAPPY NEW YEAR to each of you! I wish you good health, happiness and prosperity in 2012. It seems like a long time since we last chatted. I know that MEND was missed in December, 2011. I got a lot of calls and e-mails from anxious readers seeking their monthly dose of “peacemaking”. Sorry we left you hanging. A couple challenges
“Man must evolve for all human conflict, a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr., American civil rights activist.
To get a better understanding of what mediation IS, it is important to know what mediation is NOT! The November, 2011 meeting which took place in Port of Spain, Trinidad, between Mrs. Sita Gajadharsingh-Nanga–the Principal of the Tunapuna Hindu Primary School, Mr. Satnarayan Maharaj–General Secretary of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, and Dr. Tim Gopeesingh–the Minister of Education in the Government of Trinidad &
When I began my studies in mediation some 7 years ago, I was drawn to the definition of conflict resolution presented by the theorist Cordula Reimann (2003) to the effect that conflict resolution is the elimination of the violent and destructive elements of a conflict leaving it as a conflict expressed in a non-violent way. It has been my experience in both litigation and
“The entire legal profession – lawyers, judges, law teachers – has become so mesmerized with the stimulation of the courtroom contest that we tend to forget that we ought to be healers of conflict. For many claims, trial by adversarial contest must, in time, go the way of the ancient trial by battle and blood. Our system is too painful, too destructive, and too ineffective
