Nonviolent Communication
INSPIRATIONAL, 2 Mar 2015
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service
Prof. Dietrich Fischer
Psychologist Marshall Rosenberg (born 1934) was invited to speak at a meeting of a group of young Palestinians in a refugee camp on the West Bank. The Israeli police had recently entered the camp to quell protests. The ground was strewn with tear gas shells labeled “Made in USA”.
When the organizer introduced him as an American citizen, one of the young men shouted, “Murderer!” Instead of getting angry or defensive, Rosenberg asked,
“Do you feel upset that my government is paying for weapons and tear gas that are used to oppress you?” The young man shouted, “Of course!” Rosenberg continued,
“Would you rather wish that that money was spent to create jobs and build schools, hospitals, roads and water supply systems in Palestine?” “Exactly!” the man replied. Rosenberg asked him,
“Would you wish that more Americans came to visit here to understand your difficult situation?” The man agreed wholeheartedly. He said all he wished was for his children to be safe, to be able to play on the streets without fear, like normal children. After some more conversation like this, that man invited Rosenberg to a Ramadan dinner at his home!
Rosenberg has coined the term “nonviolent communication” for a method of dialogue that does not blame others, but expresses our own observations and feelings, and shows that we understand our dialogue partners’ concerns by expressing them in our own words.
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Dietrich Fischer, born in 1941 in Münsingen, Switzerland, got a Licentiate in Mathematics from the University of Bern 1968 and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from New York University 1976. 1986-88 he was a MacArthur Fellow in International Peace and Security at Princeton University. He has taught mathematics, computer science, economics and peace studies at various universities and been a consultant to the United Nations.
Excerpted from Dietrich Fischer’s Stories to Inspire You – TRANSCEND University Press-TUP.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 2 Mar 2015.
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