Author: Nasema Zeerak (Page 2 of 2)

The first day of our program, after going through the history and the theories of conflict resolution, we watched the movie, Parzania. The movie is about the Muslim Hindu conflict in Gujrat inspired by a true story. It was especially difficult to sit and watch through for me because when it comes to a conflict I always see how individuals experience a conflict. In the conflict between Muslims and Hindus, there are many stories where families lost their loved ones, but what I really admired about the movie was that it had followed the story of one family through this conflict. Hindu Muslim conflict has been around for a long time in Gujrat, but how this prolonged conflict affects individuals and families is often times ignored. The mother in the movies says: “ I and my husband can’t communicate anymore, my daughter will never forget what she has witnessed and for the rest of her life she will fight the demons she has witnessed.”

This is so true. Conflicts have all become numbers, but we must not forget that all these numbers are human beings who each experience these incidents in different ways and it influences how they view the world around them forever.

Having said that, watching this movie and the discussion afterward was a great way to start out peacebuilding program. For me, it was a reminder that in all the conflicts around the world today, there are individual human beings who are being affected and it will take them a lifetime to come in terms with what they have witnessed. It will take them a lifetime to recover and transition into a normal life, or at times they might never be able to go back to their normal lives.

My name is Nasema Zeerak and I am a second year International Policy and Development student at MIIS. I became interested in conflict resolution after taking my first conflict resolution course at MIIS in 2016. It was both theory and skills based course where we explored the root causes, dynamics and resolution of conflict by analyzing complex conflict situations.

While I learned a great deal in this course, I understand that conflict resolution and ultimately peace building is a complex and multifaceted task that requires resources and long term commitment.

One of the most important things that I learned and I am looking forward to exploring more in SPP is the relation between peacebuilding and development. The cost of war/conflict is missed developmental opportunities. And post conflict societies often face challenges in making a transition from conflict weakened socioeconomic development to a self-sufficient economy. I am excited to learn about the characteristic of post conflict societies and the challenges it faces in making the transition to sustainable development. In preparation for SPP, I came across this paragraph in one of our readings;   

 I find this very interesting and as an aspiring development practitioner, I am hoping I can explore and examine peacebuilding techniques in post conflict societies where there is continued animosity and hostility between groups. Development efforts will fail to succeed in the presence of such conflicts among groups in the society. I am also excited to explore what has been done and what is the progress in the field given that peacebuilding is a relatively new discipline. I am positive that I will learn and grow with and from the great cohort of practitioners and those experienced in the field.