We recently held a peace lunch at Cannamore as a way of sharing our concerns for everyone experiencing conflict in the Middle East.
Recent news from the region has been devastating, and we wanted to address this with students as we knew that many of them had questions, concerns and ideas about what was happening. We wanted to create a space where they were able to discuss their thoughts about what was happening, and develop an understanding based on facts rather than misinformation online.
We aimed to highlight the similarities between the different groups by using food as a common ground. Our wonderful chef prepared food that is typical of the region as a way of focusing on the similarities between people, rather than the differences. She also made mint tea for us all to drink.
We listened to our history teachers explaining the context of the conflict in the region and the role of the United Nations, along with a talk on how to differentiate the facts from the disinformation when browsing news stories online. Student contributions to this were invaluable and it was great to see how knowledgeable some students were.
We ended with a focus on preserving positive mental health when faced with such devastating news stories.
