Broken Together (38 page)

“Are
you okay?” Rafael whispered.

“Yes.
Just thinking.” After seeing the university and the shantytown, I felt guilty
about our luxurious accommodations. How would our students perceive those
accommodations? Would they think we were above spending time at their
university?

 Momka
parked next to a cluster of palm trees when he pulled in front of the hotel.
“Will you require my services dis evening?”

“No,
thank you,” I replied. “We’ll be working here at the hotel for the rest of the
night.”

“You
will eat dinner?” he persisted.

“Yes,”
Rafael answered, “but we’ll be eating here at the hotel.”

“You
should try dee ground nut stew. My cousin is dee chef here dis evening, and
ground nut stew is his specialty,” Momka announced proudly.

I
smiled. I was beginning to think Momka was related to everybody. He must have
come from a very large family. “Thanks, Momka, for taking such good care of
us.”

He
beamed at me.

We
met the rest of our group inside the hotel. “I’m going to pay for the
conference room and the food for our training,” Cory informed us. “Let’s eat in
the restaurant by the pool so we can discuss our agenda and strategize about
the training.”

“We’ll
grab a table,” Kadyn offered. Sammi and Brogan remained with Cory. The rest of
us joined Kadyn.

Emmanuel
intercepted us when we crossed the lobby. “You have decided to hold your
training here?”

“Yes.”
Rafael slipped him a tip while shaking his hand. “Thank you for securing the
conference room.”

A
wide, toothy smile brightened his face. “Dis is why I am here.” His eyes met Kadyn’s.
“I have learned dee meaning behind your name.”

A
single eyebrow rose on Kadyn’s face.

“Kadyn
means fighter,” Emmanuel revealed.

I
sucked in a breath. “Kadyn! That’s so true. You served in the military, you
protect our borders, and you fought to save me!”

Emmanuel
looked relieved. He seemed pleased Kadyn was fighting for honorable things. “I
have also learned dee meaning behind your name, Jase, but I would like to know
dee relationship between you two.” His chin rose toward Rafael.

“Rafael
hired me to protect Kristine,” Jase answered carefully.

“So,
dee Archangel Rafael assigned a healer to Kristine, dee woman who follows
Christ. I am not surprised.” Emmanuel’s eyes softened when they met mine. “God
has sent two healers and a fighter. You are protected on all sides.”

Every
time Emmanuel revealed something about our names, something inside me slid into
place. “What about Shae?” She was standing next to Kadyn with her mouth agape.

“I
do not know dis name, Shae,” Emmanuel apologized, “but I will learn dis for
you. You are a peacekeeper too?”

Shae
nodded. “Yes. Kristine and I work for the same NGO.”

He
offered her his hand. “I am Emmanuel, the concierge for dis hotel.”

“It’s
a pleasure to meet you,” Shae murmured sweetly.

“I
will look for you tomorrow.” Emmanuel bowed before walking away.

“How
fascinating,” Shae mused.

We
continued on into the restaurant. “Can you accommodate a party of nine on the
deck?” Kadyn asked the hostess.

She
counted out nine menus. “Yes. We can pull two tables togeder if you would
like.”

The
deck offered a stunning view of the beach and the outdoor pool. Rafael and Jase
helped our waiter pull two tables together before we ordered our drinks. Sammi,
Cory, and Brogan joined us a few minutes later.

We
ordered quickly so we could focus on the training. Rafael, Kadyn, and I took
Momka’s advice and ordered the ground nut stew. Sammi and Shae ordered the
potato leaf stew. Cory ordered okra stew, and the rest of the guys ordered a
creole dish named
Krin Krin
. We added a couple orders of cassava bread
and plantain chips to share before our waitress walked away.

Cory
waited for the small talk to die down. “We’re going to have to mediate their
conflict,” he finally announced.

The
waitress returned with our drinks. We were trying the palm wine and Star Beer she
recommended. Each of us had sparkling water. Kadyn was drinking Sprite, no ice.

“I
agree. They won’t have any credibility as mediators or trainers if they are embroiled
in a violent conflict.” Sammi grimaced after tasting the wine.

“We
can’t squeeze this in without taking something off the agenda.” Shae sighed. “I
think we should remove secret societies and tribal initiations from the
agenda.”

I
shoved the palm wine aside. The milky drink was far too bitter for me. “I think
we should proceed as planned tomorrow morning. Our students should have a good
understanding of the theories and the strategies we’re applying before we
mediate their conflict.”

“Agreed,”
my teammates quickly replied.

“We
should change the fishbowl exercise,” I opined. The fishbowl exercise was
scheduled to take place after the initial instruction, before the students
started practicing in simulations. During the fishbowl exercise we formed a small
circle inside the student circle so our students could observe us applying the
various strategies and techniques.

“So,
you don’t want to mediate the mining conflict during the fishbowl exercise?”
Cory surmised.

I
took a breath and slowly released it. “No. I think we should mediate a conflict
far more appalling than that. We need to choose a conflict that will prove
heart wrenching for them. They need an ‘a-ha’ moment that will force them to
connect the dots between the conflict we are mediating and the conflict they
are currently immersed in. The conflict we choose should motivate them to
resolve their own conflict.”

The
waitress delivered the entrees, bread, and plantains.

Sammi
reached for the bread. “What do you have in mind?”

I
glanced apologetically at Cory, Kadyn, Jase, and Shae. “I want to draw on the
darkest time in American history, so they know we aren’t judging their country.
I want them to understand we’ve been there, that our country has overcome a
similar conflict, and they can do the same.”

“Go
on,” Cory murmured cautiously.

“I
want to mediate the segregation of public schools,” I confessed.

Sammi
leaned forward. “You want to mediate Brown versus the Board of Education?”

I
nodded, then cringed when everyone fell silent.

“That
could work,” Shae mused. “Race, like ethnicity, is tied to identity. Since
their political groups are formed on the basis of ethnicity, they are fighting
over which ethnic group governs their school, and they’re discriminating
against one another on the basis of ethnicity with their unwritten rules about
who is entitled to walk into a classroom first.”

Deep
in thought, Cory rubbed his jaw. “Someone on our team would have to argue that
blacks should not be allowed to attend white schools, that they should not be
treated equally. If our students value their education, they’ll be outraged that
someone would suggest such a thing. Maybe, if they look beyond their own
conflict, at what happened in our country, they’ll realize they are on the fast
track to making that same mistake. Essentially, this is the same argument their
political groups are making… One ethnic group is fit to govern their school
while the others are not. That same ethnic group must receive special
treatment, such as entering the classroom first, or the nonconformists will be
met with violence. What a crock.”

Sammi
stifled a giggle. “How could they not connect the dots when they refer to their
political groups as the blacks and the whites?”

“It’s
risky,” I admitted, “and it’s going to require some acting on our part. If we
really want to get their attention, then Sammi or I will have to say some
pretty hateful things… things that are contrary to our beliefs.”

Cory
nodded. “It’s not like Shae or I could argue those points. It has to be someone
who’s white.”

“If
this situation were playing out in real life, we’d assign co-mediators whose
race or ethnicity mirrored the conflicting parties. We will need a black and a
white mediator as well as a black and white student if we’re going to model
this appropriately,” Shae stated. “Think about the advice you would give our
students if they were going to mediate the conflict between their two political
groups. You’d recommend they co-mediate with a member from each group.”

“You’re
right, Cory agreed.

“I
think that’s a terrible plan,” Rafael interjected. “If Kristine behaves like a
racist and acts convincingly enough to drive this point home, those students
might think she hates black people. That could make her a target while she’s
here. The same holds true for Sammi if she argues against equal education for
black people.”

“We’ll
make sure the students understand this was an act when we debrief.” I knew
Rafael was right, but I also knew this conflict would resonate with our
students better than any other conflict we could possibly dream up.

“What
if Brogan and I act as the white students who are fighting for segregation and
Kadyn and Jase act as the black students who are fighting for desegregation?
That way, all four of you can mediate the conflict,” Aidan suggested.

“I’m
game,” Jase stated.

“Me
too,” Kadyn agreed.

“We
can’t ask you to do that,” Cory objected.

“You’re
not asking, we’re offering,” Brogan insisted. “I would just ask that you
provide the same debrief afterwards, so the students understand this is an act…
that neither of us would advocate for such a hateful thing.”

Sammi
and Cory exchanged worried looks.

Shae
bit into a plantain chip. “This wouldn’t be the first country we had to flee when
things got ugly.”

Kadyn
laughed.

Rafael
groaned.

“Okay,
Sammi and I will write a one page briefing. We’ll distribute the briefing to
the students so they understand the history behind the conflict. I’d like you
two,” Cory pointed to me and Shae, “to coach these guys.” He gestured toward
Brogan, Aidan, Kadyn, and Jase.

“You
should include all the really ugly stuff… the civil war, the KKK, and the
church burnings,” I replied. “Those students should be horrified before the
fishbowl exercise even begins.

Cory
nodded his agreement. “We’ll proceed with our instruction on theories and
strategies tomorrow morning. After we break for lunch, we’ll distribute the
briefing and begin the fishbowl exercise. If all goes well, we’ll mediate their
conflict on Tuesday. We’ll hold off on the simulations covering vigilante
violence and the excessive use of force by law enforcement until we’re done
mediating their conflict.”

“When
we mediate their conflict, we should encourage them to mediate from the table,”
Shae advised. “Each student should bear some responsibility for mediating that
conflict. That experience will help them mediate that very same conflict among
their peers.”

“I
couldn’t agree more.” Suddenly famished, I dug into the ground nut stew. The stew
tasted like peanut butter, but there were chunks of tomato, diced chicken, and
spices that added a fair amount of heat.

We
reflected on the day’s events while we ate. Sammi and Cory went to work in the
business center shortly after dinner. The rest of us commandeered chairs on the
opposite side of the pool so the other hotel guests wouldn’t overhear us
practice the fishbowl exercise.

Rafael
and I lingered by the pool long after our friends retired. A few random couples
remained on the deck, enjoying the balmy night.

“I
love how passionately you fight to right the wrongs in this world,” Rafael whispered
admiringly. He was sprawled out on a lounge chair, absently caressing my arm
while I snuggled against his chest.

“You’re
the same way.” Our entire circle of friends seemed to be hardwired that way.

He
drew me to my feet as he stood. “Dance with me.”

I
eyed the other patrons nervously. “The other guests…”

He
tucked my hand against his chest as he began to sway. “… will see two people
who are deeply in love sharing a romantic moment.”

I
relaxed into his arms. I felt exhausted, but I was far too nervous about the
training to sleep. “I’m worried about tomorrow.”

“Don’t
be,” Rafael whispered. “God’s going to work a miracle, just you wait and see.”

*
* * * *

The
tension eased from my shoulders. I loved our hotel room. The glazed porcelain
tiles looked like hard wood floors. A large contemporary mural hung above the
bed against a dark gray wall. The bed linens were soft and luxurious, the
mattress so comfortable I was secretly plotting to take it home with me.

“Well?”
Rafael demanded.

“I
don’t know.” I couldn’t think. The man was sitting on my bottom massaging my
back while I was lying half naked in bed.