One of the very interesting and rewarding experiences of my ministry as a priest was when I served as a volunteer mediator at the Osceola County courthouse in Florida. I never saw it as separate from my ministry, but one that complemented it in very important respects. Those who believe in the sacred/secular dualism (separation of life into sacred and profane categories) may frown at what appears to them as a profoundly secular endeavour with which a person of the cloth should have no association. But the experience benefited me intensely and enhanced my ministry in important ways.

For one, it gave me an opportunity to see another aspect of life with which the clergy hardly interfaces. We tend to have an inherent disdain for matters that relate to the courts. At the most fundamentalist level, it is often seen as devilish. But my experience in “secular” mediation was all-encompassing and buttressed my Christian identity as an ambassador of reconciliation. I came to understand, and gladly so, that what I did was not a mere adjunct to my work as a priest, but one that was integral to it as I sought to bring people together and settle disputes with a sense of peace and finality.

So you can imagine my delight when the Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck announced the Government’s intention to introduce professional community mediators. According to the minister, the new Mediation Act establishes a framework for community, court-directed, and other forms of mediation in addition to training and registering mediators across the island. In the words of the minister, the intention is to have mediation available “across every nook and cranny of Jamaica”. He envisages mediators working not only in communities, but in schools, businesses, and even government agencies. Where schools are concerned, mediation would be integral to the broader restorative justice strategy which is already being pursued.

The community mediator concept could represent one of the most transformative initiatives in communities across the island. They could become trusted local peacemakers helping Jamaicans to settle conflicts constructively. This would strengthen relationships and ease the pressure on the courts, thus contributing to safer communities.

There is no doubt that a great deal of the conflict-resolution matters that reach the courts would not have gone there if there was a robust mediation machinery in communities. These incidents are a large contributor to the backlog that we have in the court system. Well-trained mediators could stave off a lot of these incidents before they reach the courts. Lawyers, who are themselves mediators, would see the need to refer clients for mediation rather than proceed to court with matters that could be easily resolved by people sitting down and talking about them.

The aim is to make Jamaica a more peaceful society. In this regard, the vision of community mediators is not divorced from the work of the Ministry of National Security and Peace. It is a necessary complement of what is envisioned by that ministry and I can see both ministries working together on community peace initiatives of which community mediation would play a significant role.

From a counselling and community-development perspective, this would represent an interesting shift from justice being seen as a focus largely on punishment to one of restoration, dialogue, and the healing of relationships.

The big question is training, especially of young people, who would want to become community mediators. I can see the churches, which are the most deeply embedded community organisations, playing an important role in this regard. The Government, if it is really serious about this important initiative, must begin to craft strategies with the necessary budgetary support to get recruitment and training on the ground.

It is not enough to dream or articulate great transformative initiatives, which we are very good at. The proof is in implementation. Minister Chuck would be well advised to not let this one die in a file in his ministry. He and the ministry is onto something that can be quite transformative.

We are a nation of communities, and people will respond to well-thought out initiatives that will ease burdens and cauterise pain. Get on with it, Minister.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He writes a Substack — The Healing Self — on substack.com. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.

Raulston Nembhard