Peace in the Face of War

Such encounters may be the beginning of a road that leads to reconciliation,
but we need to find a way to keep people moving along it. This may involve
arranging regular conferences, seminars or private meetings between
religious and political leaders, or it may mean something more informal,
such as a meal together. All of this sounds easier than it actually is. In fact,
progress can be excruciatingly slow. Once I thought we could achieve things
quickly, but it did not take long to discover that in Iraq you have to operate by
Middle Eastern, not Western, time. Something that in Britain or America you
might hope to accomplish in a day can take over a year here.
In the meantime, our task is often just to get to know people’s concerns and
to hear them tell their stories in the way they want to tell them. This in itself
can be very difficult: time and time again I encounter views I know to be
seriously flawed or grossly inaccurate. Everything requires tact and patience.
The fact is, however, that while summits can produce stirring declarations
(and I have been involved in many of them), on their own they will achieve
nothing. It is the individuals that come to such gatherings who can make the
difference – as long as we invest enough time and money in working with
them. And they, too, need to spend time meeting with others, on their own
side and the other side, who also have the influence to make a difference.
In August 2007, I met in Cairo with a number of Iraq’s most distinguished
religious leaders. When Abu Ragif, a Shia ayatollah, and Dr Abdel Latif, a
Sunni sheikh, said they wanted to meet at least once a month, I thought they
were being far too ambitious – they didn’t even live in the same country. And
yet that is what has happened. One of Iraq’s most senior Shia leaders has
been sitting down regularly with one of its most senior Sunni leaders. This is
how change is brought about. Declarations are all very well, I have learned,
but they must be followed by action – and it is relationships that make this
possible.
Once we have established relationships – and set up the congresses or
institutes or whatever that will sustain them – we then have to dedicate
ourselves to developing them. Every day, we have to address the various
issues they throw up, and this involves meeting with all the different parties
involved – diplomats, politicians, soldiers, religious leaders and terrorists.
Every meeting is different in character.
All of the diplomats I talk to in Iraq work for one or another member of the
Coalition. Generally, my engagement on this front is at a very high level, as I
usually deal with the ambassador of a country or his deputy. My conversations
with these people are always wide-ranging. Some governments are involved
in funding specific aspects of our work with religious leaders and so their
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