From the PHP retreat at UFM, March 2022:

Sue WIlliams, a Quaker from Northern Ireland, shares a series of stories about people showing remarkable humanity in conflict situations, drawn from her experience in international peacebuilding. Our reader was particularly affected by stories of the author’s experience with child soldiers in Africa, as well as the story of an older woman who finds a drunken, dangerous-looking intruder in her house–and proceeds to offer him tea and to listen to what he needs.

In each story, the person in crisis needs very simple things: tea, listening, a story. We can transform conflict by centering on human needs. Standing in our humanity in grief and vulnerability creates a safe space for healing, and becomes a form of discernment: lifting someone’s concern, being with our feelings, and speaking the truth until we move to a better place.

Even in extraordinarily difficult circumstances, under pressure, people often manage to behave with great humanity. With all the drama in conflicted or violent situations, it can be easy to overlook this and to assume that everyone switches to a dog-eat-dog approach. This collection of stories, drawn largely from the working life of the author in conflict transformation and mediation, illustrates a variety of examples of extraordinary humanity, which can show us that there is a place to stand and a way to be human in inhuman situations.

Even in extraordinarily difficult circumstances, under pressure, people often manage to behave with great humanity. With all the drama in conflicted or violent situations, it can be easy to overlook this and to assume that everyone switches to a dog eat dog approach. This collection of stories, drawn largely from the working life of the author in conflict transformation and mediation, illustrates a variety of examples of extraordinary humanity, which can show us that there is a place to stand and a way to be human in inhuman situations and it can help us to notice examples of this around us.

This is a collection of stories about heart connection, from Williams' experience working with people in desperate situations of conflict and breakdown. They illustrate how people can respond with humanity, with connection and kindness, caring and commitment, by responding from the heart, rather than from fear or ideology or rules. These stories remind us to notice how ordinary people do this, and to collect our own stories. And they ask us to reflect on our own opportunities for kindness and connection in challenging situations. ( )