conflict stories

8/8/2019 Conflict Stories

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ConfictStories

In thIs act IvIty, the participants are introducedto the concepts o negative peace, positive peace, and

structural violence.

t imE rE qu irE d : 30 m inu tE s

i n t E n d E d F O r G r A d E s 6 - 8

M

aterials

Needed

newsprint and markers

copies o the resource titled Conict Stories, one or each group o three participants

Activity StepsOrganIze the partIcIpants into groups o three. Distribute one conict story rom

the resource (Victor, Paul, Ana or Tanya) to each group. Instruct the groups to read the story and

develop two endings, one that is peaceul and one that is not.

InvIte each grOup to join with another group to share their conict stories and the endings

they created. Provide each group with a sheet o newsprint and a marker. Ask them to discuss the

elements o peace and conict that emerged in each story and write them down on the newsprint.

IntrOduce the partIcIpants to the ollowing terms describing dierent states o peace

and conict:

Negative peace is peace achieved through the absence o war and the reduction o vio-

lent conict.

Positive peace is achieved through the absence o war and violent conict but also

includes reducing or removing actors that harm individual quality o lie and cause

conict to happen. Positive peace requires economic and social justice, elimination o

poverty and discrimination, and a healthy ecology.

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Structural violence is not open physical violence but the less obvious violence caused by

poverty, racism, sexism, and human rights abuses. Whenever institutions or social sys-

tems give some people power while depriving others o their basic human rights, it can

be said that structural violence exists.

InvIte the grOups to discuss and determine which o the three states are reected in their

conict stories.

nOw InvIte the grOups to classiy their class, school, community, and country as being in

a state o negative or positive peace.

prOvIde each grOup with a sheet o newsprint and a marker. Ask the groups to each cre-

ate a timeline based on one o the conict stories, extending beyond the devised endings to include

uture possible outcomes o situations involving negative or positive peace or structural violence.

InvIte the groups to share their timelines.

cOnclude by InvItIng the partIcIpants to join you in prayer. Pray or the end to

violence and conict throughout the world. Pray or those parts o the world currently involved in

conict. All government leaders will work towards peace and justice. Pray or peace within amilies

and communities. Pray or peace within all hearts.

Copyright 2009 by World Vision Inc., Mail Stop 321, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716,

[email protected]. All rights reserved.

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VicorVictor is a student in a school with students o

many dierent races and nationalities. Some

students in this school do not get along well

with people o cultures dierent rom their

own. The school has no program to help stu-

dents understand these dierent cultures and

their ways o communicating.

One day, as Victor is walking down the hall, two

students call him a racist name. Victor reports

the incident to the principal. The principal tellshim that he is sorry about the name-calling, but

because no one actually got into a fght, he eels

it is best to ignore it or now. He tells Victor that

i there are any more problems with these two

students, he should talk to the principal about

it. Victor leaves the ofce eeling angry that the

principal doesnt care enough to do anything

about the situation. He tells two riends about it

at lunchtime. The boys decide to . . .

Pul

Paul is 14-years-old and uses a wheelchair toget around his school. The building is all on one

level, and the doorways are wide enough or

people with a range o dierent physical abili-

ties to still be able to attend the school. Paul

has many riends in his class; he helps coach

the volleyball team ater school and is a peer

conict mediator.

One day, Pauls literature class takes a trip to a

local theater to see a drama perormance. When

the class arrives at the theater, the students

discover that a steep ight o stairs lead to the

entrance, and there is no ramp. The theater

manager says that he is sorry and that i Pauls

teacher had phoned ahead, he would have told

her that the theater is not easily accessible or

people with disabilities. Two o Pauls riends

decide to . . .

an

Ana is 12-years-old and a reugee who has just

moved to the United States rom a war-torn

country. Her ather and older brother both

disappeared during the war, and the amily does

not know what happened to them. She and her

mother now live with her aunt and uncle in

your community. Ana is silent most o the time

but becomes angry and violent over even the

smallest incident.

The other day a girl in your class accidentallybumped into Ana while lining up to get on

the school bus. Ana turned on her and began

shouting in her own language. She then started

pushing the girl away rom her. You and your

riend decide to . . .

tny

Tanya is in the seventh grade. She wants to play

ice hockey, but the only teams in her community

are or boys. Tanya is a good skater and has been

playing road hockey with kids in her neighbor-

hood. Her parents encourage her to try out orthe local boys hockey team. She registers, and

the coach welcomes her to come out or the frst

practice.

During the practice, the male players bully

Tanya. They say nasty things to her under their

breath and, when the coach isnt looking, try

to trip her with their sticks. By the end o the

practice, Tanya is in tears and ready to give up.

She decides to . . .

(Victors and Pauls stories are rom Susan Fountain,

Education or Development: A Teachers Resource

or Global Learning; London, England: Hodder and

Stoughton Publishing, 1995. 1995 by Hodder and

Stoughton Publishing. All rights reserved.

Permission to reproduce is granted. 2008 by

World Vision Inc.

Resource | Confict Stories


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About World VisionwOrld vIsIOn Is a Christian relie, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to helping

children and their amilies break ree rom poverty. Our work is motivated by our aith in Jesus Christ. We

see a world where each child experiences ullness o lie as described in John 10:10. And we know this can

be achieved only by addressing the problems o poverty and injustice in a holistic way. Thats how World

Vision is unique: We bring nearly 60 years o experience in three key areas needed to help children and

amilies thrive: emergency relie, long-term development, and advocacy. And we bring allo our skills across

many areas o expertise to each community we work in, enabling us to care or childrens physical, social,

emotional, and spiritual well-being.

wOrld vIsIOn resOurces educates Christians about global poverty, inspires them to social justice,

and equips them with innovative resources to make a dierence in the world.

For more inormation about

our resources, contact:

World Vision Resources

www.worldvision.org

[email protected]

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