There is an island, and on this island
live two kinds of people, The Greeks and The Turks. The island is named Cyprus. The two groups had for the most part lived in
peace until a conflict occurred between leaders, and a terrible battle
separated the two groups. Now, the
groups now live within their own borders, however life coexisting isn’t really
a life at all.
There are reminders everywhere of what
happened; the UN is still there, in a place known as the buffer zone, where the
barbed wire and condemned buildings that litter the once beautiful tourist
filled paradise. The hatred between the
two groups isn’t true, murderous, blood thirsty hatred, but more of a case of
residual pain from the long grown over separation from the tear in 1974. The division has caused more problems than it
has solved; while the intervention of other countries such as the U.K. has kept
the peace, but until laws change for fairness and equal treatment of all
parties, the island will not unite.
Cyprus is going broke, and Northern Cyprus isn’t recognized as a
country. Peace negotiations have started
between the two to see if they can get along so the country can function as a
whole.
There is belief that Peace Journalism
may help the two sides come together that is why it was very important that we
take a trip around the world. I was
scared the first night; it was hard being so far away, but it for me a little
fear was worth a chance to make a difference in the a place that needed it.
The class we had on Tuesday at EMU was
filled with a mix of students from several different parts of the world. They were a great class eager to learn. Most
of all the students I met were PhD. And
they are all unique. Watching Steven lay
the foundations of Peace Journalism at this level was amazing, after being in
his classes, how he lays down the principles and weaves his magic, applying it
to life.
On Thursday and Friday, there were
seminars in Nicosia, at the CCMC. Even
though there was barbed wire outside, it was so fun, meeting new smart people,
in a group panel, learning all their views and applying the fundamentals of
peace journalism from classroom theory to application at a real life level. The only way to teach peace journalism is to
teach peace journalism.
I am so glad we went there. The people are smart, well spoken, kind. There is no wonder peace journalism had its
start here. They were the first to start
teaching it. But like Prof. Dr. Abdullah
Y. ÖZTOPRAK says when we met him, "That's why you are here, peace
journalists."
For more information, see the upcoming
article in The Peace Journalist April 2014.
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