Winning Credibility

46. Another learning we gather from peacemaking experience is that there is a profound longing for peace even in the heart of the sternest combatant. But peace at what terms? At whose terms? Not certainly at the cost of a party’s central interests. Not certainly at the price of having to compromise their honour or damage their image. If the peacemaker wants to retain her credibility, it must be clear to the contestants that she is not going to sell out the gains they have made during a lengthy struggle or compromise their future; that she understands that they were compelled to resort to violence only because they wanted to convey a message most powerfully, especially to the opponents.

47. Carl Jung once said that the strongman must somewhere be weak, and the cleaver man must somewhere be stupid…otherwise it would not be true to reality. In the same way, the violent man must somewhere be peaceable.

48.  Thus, even the fiercest fighters are looking forward to an era of peace. That is why they keep a little door open for the peacemaker, which they can snap shut any time they feel threatened. It is this hidden entry point that the peacemaker tries to target. But often, sadly, that secret door remains bolted and barred. And the peacemaker says, since I am helpless the Lord will help me.

49.  The peacemaker ultimately finds the “Open Sesame” formula when she has established a welcome presence in the subconscious of the warrior-group. If she and her community have been around for a significant period of time in beneficent services and non-controversial activities among the groups in collision, exhausted belligerents may turn to her as a peacemaker, or welcome her when she takes her own initiative. Her ability to build up confidence-generating relationships with the parties concerned is the key to her success. Those who have fought hard for justice need not consider themselves excluded from the privileged position of becoming peacemakers, if they have always taught non-violence, sought to be fair with all parties concerned, consistently avoided exaggerated ego-claims, have a special skill for establishing warm-hearted relationships with people, and their universal outlook on public issues is well-known.

50. The peacemaker begins by interacting with the two groups in hostile relationships. If she presents herself as a self-appointed mediator or arbitrator, she will be rejected. If she has already earned a measure of credibility through the evidence of neutral stands and convincing works, she begins with an advantage.

51. Criticizing one party to the other is not the best way of proving her neutrality. A commitment to humanity that comes through in one’s words, deeds, and relationships is far more convincing. This quality is far more important than some techniques that she may have picked up in a recent conflict-management seminar. A universal outlook, a sensitivity to human pain no matter who suffers, a keen desire to come to the assistance of people in anxiety, these are some of the qualities that a peacemaker needs to cultivate.