NONVIOLENT PEACEKEEPING TECHNIQUES
PEACEKEEPERS: WHAT THEY ARE, WHAT THEY DO
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In numerous demonstrations of the past it has been found that the effectiveness and nonviolence of the action has been greatly enhanced by the participation of people with special skills. These specialized participants, or peace-keepers, perform specific facilit-ating roles for the action. Even if you have not decided to specialize in the role of peacekeeper, however, you may find yourself in a conflict situation in which peacekeeper skills will be useful. In a nonviolent action everyone is, to some extent, a peacekeeper.
Peacekeepers: help set the tone for the action; help act as a communication network; help provide emergency medical and legal aid; help maintain the internal self-discipline of the action; may volunteer to act as mediators between authorities and demonstrators.
Peacekeepers help to maintain the nonviolent self-discipline of the demonstration. Peacekeepers have primary responsibility to the participants in the action, but they should be prepared to protect legal authorities, workers, and non-participants from demonstrators if necessary.
SOME GUIDELINES TO HELP PEACEKEEPERS DO THEIR JOBS:
1. Be warm, friendly, and helpful. The tone of the demonstration depends on how you respond to your fellow demonstrators, police, the media, and workers. Our attitude should be one of openness, friendliness and respect toward all officials and participants. Peace-keepers are not junior police, and this is no place for authority trips.
2. Be creative. Nonviolence does not mean being aloof or failing to act. You must be creative in your attempt to inter-vene and resolve a conflict.
3. Be firm, but not rigid. If you have agreed to be a peacekeeper you must have agreed to uphold the nonviolent principles of the demonstration.
4. Be forthright. Deal fairly and honestly with people engaged in conflict, no matter what they have done.
5. Be calm. It is a rare person who does not become angry or afraid under stress. Don’t think that you are weak if you have fears. The important thing in being a peacekeeper is learning how to control your feelings by remembering the overall goal of the action.
6. Be forgiving. Give up resentment over the wrong you are trying to set right. Gandhi said, "Hate sin, and love the sinner." This applies to conflicts between demonstrators as well as to conflicts with police, workers, onlookers
7. Work as a team. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Use and rely on the support you can get from other peacekeepers and from your fellow demonstrators.