On 16 October, at St James Church in London, we partnered with The Forgiveness Project, whose founder, Marina Cantacuzino, facilitated the conversation between Patrick Magee and me. Over 250 people were there; some came having heard me on the LBC in the morning.
A week later, I spoke in Belfast with Pat Magee at Clonard Monastery, a place I could never have visited before the Peace process. We had a huge audience and were interviewed by Steve Stockman. After the talk, I spoke with people for an hour and a half, and as well as hearing the positive impact on them, I was invited to facilitate and speak in their communities.
In addition to two public events in London and Belfast, I have facilitated and spoken with community groups in Belfast and will be back there soon.
I responded to many media invitations and know I have achieved as much as possible in spreading kindness and compassion and deepening our humanity.
I also spent time in Northern Ireland with young people who shared with me their dreams for a more just world and asked such deep, profound questions. Some of the feedback was that they now knew the power of listening, were going to be more curious and that their identity was more than their behaviour, which meant they could build their self-esteem.
Testimonials
Susie’s words touched me deeply, and, incredibly, she managed to attend both public events.
“To hear their voices, their perspectives, Jo’s commitment to understanding who killed her father, Sir Anthony Berry, is beyond words. She talks about shared humanity, empathy, building bridges, loss, grief, uncertainty and her perspective on forgiveness. Pat talks about what led him to join the IRA and how he feels now and respectfully navigates political questions. Together they talk about hearing the pain of each side.
I always leave the space from hearing their voices, their perspectives and their unity together enriched, in total admiration and filled with gratitude. The importance of hearing their journey from dehumanising the enemy to seeing the human. The impact this can have on our own self development when they speak, reminds me of how we can be influenced/shaped by what we hear and the learning I take from them both.
Other Testimonials
Amidst the sadness, the event was ultimately an uplifting tale of reconciliation. Thank you very much for sharing your inspirational story at St James; Piccadilly on Wednesday. I knew nothing of your work until I watched the BBC documentary exactly a week ago and when I searched online to find out more about the work you and Pat have done, and I came across Wednesday’s event when I was spending the day in London anyway.
I think you and Pat are probably the two most courageous people I will ever come across. Your courage has taken very different forms but in coming together I think you have a message that the world needs to listen to.
I’m travelling back home after attending the event at St James Church tonight and I just wanted to say thank you for yours and Pat’s time this evening and for relaying your experiences to a room of complete strangers. It must, on occasions, prove to be a very difficult task.
I wish I could articulate something more profound than this but I found the discussion incredibly inspirational and very moving.
I hope this makes sense, but I left the church with a sense of hope that we can make a difference as people if we see each other with humanity and empathy.
We heard about letting go of our need to be right, to listen carefully with empathy to our opponents stories, to allow space for change, to feel anger without hurting others, not to try to change the past (through revenge), dealing with accusations of betrayal. for continuing to hold open a space for listening; curiosity &; understanding across deep divisions.
