A lion, a zebra, a dolphin, chameleon and turtle are illustrated on the whiteboard. The walls around me are covered in posters, with words written by the hands of those new to English. I begin thinking about how the imperfections I so easily pick out in their English are probably just as visible in my attempts to write in Arabic. Students begin to filter into the classroom, and a familiar language that I can’t comprehend begins to fill the air. Three o’clock comes and the eyes of the class focus on the animals in the front of the room. I am sitting in on a session of a Refugees United for Peaceful Solutions (RUPS) conflict resolution course, and as the class begins, I learn that each of these animals represents a different style for conflict resolution. Students discuss the merits of each style in Arabic, and I am left depending on my nonverbal senses to figure out what is happening. There is no shortage of information. The members of the class are enthusiastic about their discussion, and participation is easygoing and ubiquitous. Their faces and bodies show me their passion even as the meaning of their words escapes me.
After the class is over, I timidly approach the leader of the discussion, Amira, for an interview. The response I get is overwhelming. I end up with not just one interviewee, but Kathy Kamphoefner, co-director of St. Andrews, asks the rest of the RUPS graduates to talk with me and soon I am surrounded by nine people. Since I had just found out I would be sitting in on this session an hour prior, I don’t have a comprehensive list of questions, but it doesn’t matter. Excitement exudes from the faces of everyone surrounding me, and some people are quite literally on the edge of their seats, waiting for their turn to share their experiences.
The RUPS leaders begin to explain their mission to me. Refugees come here to Egypt and inevitably face conflicts with one another and the Egyptian population. Cultural and dialectic differences as well as arguments over rent or territory cause tension and sometimes violence in the refugee communities. The RUPS program is committed to the prevention of violent solutions and uses conflict resolution techniques to solve problems. The graduates of the program use the skills they have learned to help mediate disagreements and teach conflict resolution methods to the members of their communities.
The organization was originally just classroom sessions in the Adult Education Program at St Andrews, but has since evolved into its own separate organization. The program began in January 2008 as one trial class. Those first students would go on to form an advanced class that would write the charter and goals for the RUPS organization. Refugees United for Peaceful Solutions is now comprised of three separate levels, a beginning class, an advanced class and a class for training new RUPS teachers.
The impact of the RUPS program becomes very clear to me through the stories of its graduates. A woman named Amani tells one of her favorite stories about the application of her RUPS training. She lived in an apartment building where two men were at odds with each other, and there seemed to be no resolution in sight. Using her skills as a RUPS graduate, Amani served as a mediator for the conflict, and now the former adversaries are the best of friends. It is an encouraging story, but I quickly realize it is not unique to Amani. Everyone in the group has had a similar experience, and it is heartwarming to see just how committed the members are to their roles as educators and mediators. The inspiration this program has provided these refugees is astounding. In fact, optimism is the defining characteristic of the group. The members not only have hopes for refugees in Egypt, but many hope to one day return home to bring this sort of mediation to their communities. Abdel Rahim is a particularly optimistic RUPS leader. He makes no effort to restrain the smile that spreads over his face as he speaks. “The RUPS program is very nice. The reason I say it is very nice is because if we study here and the community knows this is the way of negotiation, we can end violence.”
The classroom session that I sat in on was a relatively new evolution in RUPS. Until recently classes were only offered in English, but demand was so great that Arabic classes had to be added. It seems that since it began, RUPS has just continued to grow. Recently, graduates of the program were hired to provide mediation training for the Psycho Social Training Institute of Cairo. Kathy Kamphoefner, Co-Director of St. Andrews, has faith that the organization will continue to expand. “The next step is to take training out in to the refugee communities,” she says. “We have already been in contact with members and they have been receptive to the idea.” It seems unlikely RUPS will stop expanding, and the city of Cairo is better off for it.
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This post was written by Sean Eagan, a volunteer with StARS since March 2010.
The Prospect of Peace
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