Random thought…
Random thought…
…for a Friday afternoon. I’ve been doing some research on an indigenous tribe in Chile and the long-standing dispute they’ve had with the Chilean government since the 16th century. I’m researching with the question in the back of my mind of whether this conflict could be mediated by a third party, but the more I research, the more issues come up that would be relevant to resolving the conflict. Why is this tribe demanding sovereignty? Because their land was taken away by the government. But also because a Chilean power company built dams on their land. And because they feel they’re being economically discriminated against. Also, their tribal leaders are being detained in prison and aren’t given fair trials… the list goes on.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to me, but I suppose that thinking practically about ways to manage this conflict made the enormous, rather daunting nature of the dispute really hit home. Even the cases that we deal with at the mediation firm I’m working at seem multifaceted and overwhelmingly complex; but this international conflict takes that complexity and multiplies it by 100.
But I do have faith in mediation (it might be a little naive, who knows). I’ll be interested to see whether that sort of solution would be viable as I continue researching.
However – there will be time to ponder how to save the world later. For now, happy long weekend!