Why Cyprus first? Cyprus as a “conflict-resolution incubator”
Jay Rothman, a conflict resolution practitioner who has experience in Cyprus, states,
“For the past three decades, conflict resolution experts and theorists have gone to the island of Cyprus with two goals in mind: to attempt some progress in the long stalemate between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and to simultaneously test and refine theory and practice in the field. In effect, the conflict in Cyprus has become an incubator for conflict resolution scholars as they apply their skills to a relatively non-volatile but nonetheless deeply intransigent conflict."
Reasons Cyprus is an island, naturally removed from unrelated conflicts. However, donors view its location as strategic since it is closer to some of the troubled Middle East capitals than to either Athens or Ankara and since three continents intersect just to the southeast of the island. Solving a conflict between Christians and Muslims in the post-9/11 era would be a welcome sight. Also, a Cyprus solution will enhance Turkey’s E.U. application, and a thriving Islamic democracy is a good model for Iraq, Afghanistan, et al. The population's physiological needs are met, unlike in Darfur, where students in a new school might be too starved to focus on learning.
The Cyprus stalemate is relatively non-violent, unlike Israel, Iraq, Colombia, and other places. There have been only five conflict-related deaths in the last 30 years.
There is a clear line of divide between the opposing sides. Greek Cypriot children don’t interact regularly with their Turkish Cypriot children in equal-status situations and vice versa. This minimizes confound variables and make it easier to detect effects of the independent variable, which would be the school. This situation is unlike Belfast (see map), where there is not a clear line of divide and where there are some equal-status, after-school activities that meet on a regular basis. The capital city, Nicosia, hosts two governments that both see themselves as a national government.
There is already the presence of U.N. peacekeepers, who would guard the school. Both sides view U.N. troops as relatively neutral, unlike Korea.
The population is small. There are less than one million people on the whole island. Thus, fewer participants are needed to affect attitudes across the population, unlike with the Punjab in Pakistan and India. There is a highly literate population that can manage resolution effort in the long run and also comprehend cutting-edge research. Cypriots have major connections to prospective donors. Both sides have offices in the U.S. and U.K. One side belongs to the European Union, the likely chief benefactor of any resolution effort. This is sadly not the case with Timor.
There is a local cooperative learning association, the Cyprus Association of Cooperative Learning, and they could hopefully provide local assistance for training the Cypriots who will teach at the school. As Cyprus is a former Crown colony, a large percentage of both sides speak English, a language seen as relatively neutral compared to Greek or Turkish.
Memories exist among older people on each side of peaceful, integrated living back in the early 1950s and beforehand.
