Conflict, violence and nonviolence were on the agenda last week for young Quakers from across Europe and the Middle East, who spent seven days exploring the issues in depth at a residential event in Northern Ireland.

European and Middle Eastern Young Friends (EMEYF) brought together twenty Quakers aged 18-30s at the Moyallan Centre in Portadown. They examined the Northern Irish conflict as well as considering the many challenges of the Quaker Testimony to Peace at both personal and political levels. The group included Friends from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Syria.

‘We had a fascinating week’, said Anya Whiteside, a British Friend living in Brussels, who was one of the organisers. ‘I learned so much about the conflict in Northern Ireland from many of our speakers and found our visit to Belfast particularly hard-hitting’.
Several Friends admitted to feeling demoralised as they looked up at the huge wall separating Protestant and Catholic areas of West Belfast, but others said that they chose to focus on the progress that has been made. They were given a tour of sites of political significance – including both loyalist and nationalist murals and IRA graves – by Sean O’Boyle, who has contributed heavily to peace work in the province. They also visited the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, where they were met by Green Assembly Member Brian Wilson.

The gathering heard from Northern Irish Quakers about their role in the peace process and engaged in workshops exploring personal involvement in conflict and the challenges of active nonviolence.
In their epistle at the end of the event, EMEYF cited the role of Jesus in pointing the way towards nonviolent strength. This point was welcomed by participants who do not define themselves as Christian as well as those who do.
‘It was inspiring to hear about the influence of Quaker peace work in Northern Ireland’, said Anya, ‘as well as to share our own experiences of conflict as a group of young adults from across Europe and the Middle East'.

The EMEYF epistle is available from www.fwccemes.org.