There is no country that has not experienced some form of violence which has fractured its society. In these violent encounters the victors impose their will on the victims who nurse their wounds, hurts and lost dignity … awaiting their day of revenge. Mother Lanka is no stranger to such scenarios.
Can we think of a time when there was no conflict? There is no ‘conflict free’ society. What is of importance is to examine what lessons we learn from a particular conflict. What is essential is to scrutinize and see what efforts we can make to transform conflict into becoming non-abusive and non-violent. As Sri Lankans, our duty is to learn from past experiences and transform conflicts into opportunities for creating a better Sri Lanka.
As a missionary and visionary congregation, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), has left a lasting impression in Sri Lanka’s education history. The Oblates who celebrated their bicentenary in May 2016 took a brave initiative to face the challenge of building sustainable peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka by establishing The Oblate Institute of Higher Learning (OIHL) which awards a ‘Diploma in Peace Studies’.
OIHL’s Diploma in National Reconciliation and Peace-building consists of four certificate courses (60 credit hours each), namely, Certificate Course in Conflict Transformation, Psychological Counselling, Inter-religious Dialogue and Social Engagement.
The courses are conducted by eminent local and foreign resource persons and cover conflict transformation from a transcendent perspective. Participants will gain skills in using conflict transformation methods such as, transformative mediation and non-violent communication.
The course on Social Engagement will take students out of a classroom setting and help them get immersed into concrete conflicting situations. Their field exposure to war-memorials and war affected areas of ‘border villages’ of Horowpothana, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mullivaikal and Vavuniya under the direction of experienced animators will give them new insights into the root causes and consequences of conflict and war in Sri Lanka.
More information could be had from OIHL website www.oihlomi.org or write to [email protected] .
- Fr. Eric Lakman OMI, Academic Secretary OIHL