PEACEBUILDING: PROMOTING PEACE THROUGH A GLOBAL CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 1

Peacebuilding: Promoting Peace through a Global Cultural Perspective

Blessing Baysah

Global Studies and World Languages Academy

December 14, 2016

Table of Contents
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Abstract 3

Introduction 4-5

Limitations 6

Literature Review 7-8

Body 9-15

Conclusion 16

References 17-18

Abstract:
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In order to limit the amount of conflict prominent worldwide and bestow peace, it is

imperative that prejudice subside and knowledge, global awareness, dominate. The research

written explores three cases: Rwandan Genocide, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, and Americas

Race Crises. These cases pertains to a period of social unrest aligned along matters of culture

specifically race, religion, and ethnicity. The cause of the social unrest of the three cases varies,

yet the reasoning behind their occurrence can be traced down to prejudice, a prejudice; in

consequence, of a repetitive biased one story narrative of the other. This paper offers a solution

to eliminate this prejudice by proclaiming that global education primarily that of the youth will

help to promote peace in areas where prejudice reins and takes with it the seeds to conflicts. The

cases are testimonies to the power of this proposed solution.

Intro:

Hands up don't shoot ! Hands up don't shoot! This line made its prevalence through the cries

of protesters icking from years of injustices within the African American community. It became
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famous in Ferguson, Missouri from Ferguson to Chicago, Michigan from Chicago to Baltimore,

Maryland, and from Baltimore to Charlotte, North Carolina then from Charlotte, to the american

public. These protesters seek one thing: to bring an end to the epidemic still plaguing this nation-

race. From the writing of the Constitution, to the Civil War, to the election of the first African

American President, the issue of race continues to manifest . This disease has left the nation

infected and battling many symptoms, mainly division. Because race is woven within the very

string of Americas DNA, a good majority of americans will think and behave along the lines of

race explicitly, or implicitly, intentionally or unintentionally, black, or white. It has divided

America inherently into black America and white America. Moreover, race is intertwined within

the foundations and blocks upon which this nation was built. Whatever is produced in the nation

attains the essence of race, whether it's institutions, media, or policies created at capitol hill. With

the help of history propelling it forward, racism shielded and is still shielding itself in the socio-

psychological depths of our minds, much like a snake hidden secretly from its prey. However, the

difference between racism and the snake is that once the snake has bitten its victim, the victim is

aware of the venom and the snake the bite. A victim of racism ,at times, is not all aware of it

neither is the racist. Racism has developed ,for the most part, from one of intentional malice and

oppression to the unintentional. Those protesters utterance of the line at the top of the page came

from African Americans that have lost their loved ones at the

hands of the police, simply due to this phenomena of racism. The recent issues of continued

police brutality and the shootings of unarmed African Americans, conveys the many effects of

the symptoms of racial division. According to research, police brutality accounted in

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2016 for 263 black lives, 263 American lives. The protests, constant shootings of unarmed blacks

, and the violent that at times erupted at those events, evokes a sense of social unrest. These times

shed light that peace is desperately needed in society. Yet trying to promote peace means solving

the problem at hand, a problem that has developed intrinsically throughout the course of time.

One main method to promote successful and long lasting peace in circumstances where social

unrest is prominent along the lines of race, ethnicity, and religion is to break down stereotypes

driven by society. These methods require assistance from the youth, the future generation, via the

learning of global cultures. The education of global cultures to the youth predominantly about the

history, community, and beliefs of the groups present around the world, and within their borders,

enhances the level of understanding between the different sides of the civil conflict in order to

bring forth empathy, communication, and interrelation; it has the power to recreate social

divisions that have build up over time and clear the way for a new future free of social unrest.

Limitations:

Sample Size - This research seeks to understand the relationship between teaching global

cultures to the youth and how well it helps breaks down stereotypes and promote understanding

about the various groups within society that have been portrayed in a one way narrative. As a

result of the lack of institutions that actually carry out this method of teaching, the test will only

be conducted in Tallwood high school. Tallwood high has a program designed to teach
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adolescents about the various different cultures prominent throughout the world. The fact that it

will be carry out in a high school limits the sample size to adolescents.

Longitudinal effects - This research is fairly new therefore there are very few studies on the

topic. The contents in this paper is of theories regarding the socio-physiological, old research on

peacebuilding, and a mixture of case studies. The cherry-picking method was also applied in the

selection of the case studies in this study due to the limited amount of institutions that are

actually carrying out this strategy.

Bias - The Study argues the importance of global cultural education and how it can help build a

more peaceful world. This idea was derived from a much beloved academy, the Global Studies

and World Languages Academy, whose mission is to teach students to embrace and value the

world.

Information This research claims that the implementation of the study of global cultures in the

field of peacebuilding in areas where social unrest is prevalent along ethnic, religious, and racial

lines will bring about a more peaceful and harmonious atmosphere. Because the scope of the

study was primarily focused on promoting peace through the Socio-physiological the focus of

this paper is solely attributed to the mental- emotional part of peacebuilding not the physical.
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Case Studies: Religion and Ethnicity

The Jewish-palestinian conflict is one of the most prominent social unrests within the middle

east; it has prolonged for decades. The palestinians say that their land, palestine, has been taken

over by the jews, and they also fear that the jews will threaten the sacredness of Islam within the

borders of israel to the palestinians, their homeland palestine. As a result of this mindset, the

palestinians usually take up arms and commit unlawful atrocious acts in the name of the

liberation of palestine, which the jews perceive as terrorism. The jews insist that according to the

Torah, the jewish holy book, they are the rightful owners of the land. The jews, acknowledging

the predicament of the situation, have continue to build up their defense and protect their holy

land against whosoever threatens their peace, mostly the palestinians. However, just as the

palestinians various liberation groups : Hamas, Fatah, have damaged the jewish community both

physically and mentally in their fight for liberation so has israel to the palestinians in their

attempt to safeguard Israel. There have been bountiful endeavors by the international

community to bring an end to this conflict, but the peace treaties usually fail after years of

exertive effort. Furthermore, peace talks are rarely successful which is a result of

misunderstanding and lack of trust between both sides. The palestinians due to their loss of

confidence in the jews ,for the most part of the negotiations, disagree on allowing the jews to
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take full ownership of Israel, Palestine in their perspective, on condition of israel giving back to

the palestinians the lands it has taken form the west bank. Even though zionist jews did not

behave hostile towards the palestinians that inhabited the lands at the time they started to lay

foundations in israel, jews believe that israel is the rightful homeland of the jews and none else.

Consequently from generation to generation, the jews and the palestinians acquired and are still

acquiring a narrative that paints the other side as the enemy without full understanding of each

other and why the other side have become the enemy. Fortunately both palestinians and jews do

not have to obtain this narrative as the only narrative any longer. It is attributed to the newly

developed school in Jerusalem call Hands in Hands whose primary goal is to gather the youth

of israel, jewish and arabs, mostly israeli-palestinian, to educate both of the other through

communication, language, history, and community. This method helps bring about peace; it

allows the students to understand the perspective of the other and eliminates this subjective and

one way narrative that both sides have of the other. With the youth learning about both sides, the

narrative that each had of the other widens and it sparks a conversation between the two sides

and increases the possibility for peace in the future. An interview was conducted in the year of

2012 by a journalist from America that showcased two girls, one arab and the other jewish, who

attends Hands in Hands. The answers to the journalist questions were very mind blowing and

this excerpt fully exhibit the effect that this school has on the youths attending. The journalist

asked the girls how their distant family members react to the other side in comparison to the

girls reaction. Areen Nashef, the arab girl, told a story about how her cousin reacted in a

mortified way to the fact that she had a sleepover with Yael Keinan, the jewish girl ; her cousin

believed that jews were inherently dangerous people primarily because she lived up north in

Haifa which is one of the hotspot in the conflict. Areen then told the journalist that she
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understood her cousin fear but she counter that perspective by saying that Jews are not scary

people, and Yeal is my friend. Yael who is apart of a group of jewish youth , a Zionist left-

wing youth group, spoke of their backlashed when they learned of her relations with the other

side, the arabs . In addition the two girls explain to the journalist that jews know nothing about

palestinians, and palestinians no nothing about jews. Yael then proceeded to explain that the idea

the other gets of the other is mostly spread by an incomplete, biased picture of the other through

the media, but the difference between her and some parts of the young jewish community is that

her school gave her the missing pieces of the picture painted of the other by creating an

atmosphere where jews and arabs can learn from each other while holding constructive

discussions.

Case Studies: Ethnicity

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Conclusion:

If we are to have peace on earth.. our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class,
our nation: and this means we must develop a world perspective. this quote
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References: