Synopsis
As a People committed to peace, Friends have nonetheless, from time to time, sought to build close relationships with perpetrators of violence, with groups and individuals who may be labeled “oppressors” or “terrorists.” Why? What part do such relationships play in efforts to end differences and build peace in troubled situations? John Lampen, who has served as a Quaker peace working in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, draws on his own experiences and the accounts of other peace workers to explore the controversies, risks, rewards, and possible benefits of reaching out in friendship to perpetrators of violence.
About the Author(s)
John Lampen, a member of Stourbridge Local Meeting in Britain Yearly Meeting, lived and worked in Northern Ireland from 1983 to 1994 with his wife Diana, as described in this pamphlet. Then they became freelance consultants/trainers in constructive conflict handling. Based in Britain, they have participated in postwar reconstruction, often working with children and teachers, with repeated visits to the former Yugoslavia, South Africa, Uganda, Denmark, the former Soviet Union, and the United States of America.
Among John’s books are Mending Hurts (the 1987 Swarthmore Lecture at Britain Yearly Meeting); The Peace Kit: Everyday Peacemaking for Young People, The Worship Kit, and Findings: Poets and the Crisis of Faith (PHP #310). He edited No Alternative: Nonviolent Responses to Repressive Regimes and (with Brian Phillips) Endeavours to Mend about Quaker work in today’s world.
Pendle Hill Pamphlet #412
