Professional Negotiators Mediators example essay topic

I decided to surf the internet in search of inspiration, and I found it on the mediate. com website. Robert Benjamin's article "Hotel Rwanda and the Guerrilla Negotiator" definitely caught my eye... particularly since I had checked the DVD out from the library last Friday but hadn't yet watched it. Benjamin's article piqued my interest enough to do some additional research on Rwanda, and passion was born. While a colony of Belgium, Rwanda was separated into two tribal groups which many say was based on physical characteristics such as the wideness of the nose: the common Tutsi (majority), and the upper-class Hutu (minority). For many years, the Tutsis were powerful and mistreated the Hutus. In 1962, Rwanda gained its independence from Belgium, the power shifted to the Hutus, many of whom wanted to exact their revenge on the enemy Tutsis.

In 1993, Canadian General Romeo D allaire was put in charge of the United Nations Mission to Rwanda to facilitate implementation of the Arusha peace accords after they were signed by the Hutus and the Tutsis. That mission was derailed when the Hutu president's plane was shot down by Tutsi rebels. The president's assassination was the precipitating event of what would become known as the genocide in Rwanda". When people ask me, good listeners, why do I hate all the Tutsi, I say: read our history. The Tutsi were collaborators for the Belgian colonists, they stole our Hutu land, they whipped us. Now they have come back.

We will squash the infestation". -- ITEM Hutu Power Radio Then, I watched the movie. In a recreation of actual events, we are taken to Kigali, Rwanda's capitol, shortly before the 100-day genocide began. Ultimately, at least 800,000 - some say over 1,000,000 - were killed.

Paul Rusesabagina is the central figure of the story and Benjamin's designated Guerrilla Negotiator. Rusesabagina managed the exclusive Hotel Des Miles Collins (owned by a Belgian company) and developed a network of powerful allies (including a crooked Hutu army general) - plying them with bribes with the hope they would be available should he ever need a favor. A Hutu married to a Tutsi, and the father of three young children, Rusesabagina initially refused to believe the rumors of increasing hostility and brutality against the Tutsis (routinely called cockroaches by the Hutu rebels). When Rusesabagina can no longer ignore the growing violence, his wife compels him to include Tutsi relatives (those who can be found), neighbors, and friends in their exodus to the safety of the hotel.

As the UN refugee camp reached overload, Rusesabagina is continually asked to provide sanctuary for more Tutsi refugees. Through continued wheeling, dealing, and manipulation, Rusesabagina is directly responsible for saving the 1,268 lives. He and his wife adopted two surviving nieces and now reside with them and their own three children in Belgium. Benjamin points out that almost every scene in the film showcases the power of negotiation "as a means of survival even in the face of vile and irrational human behavior", adding "there is much to be gleaned from the gritty style of negotiation that is compelled in those circumstances".

Benjamin calls this "guerrilla negotiation", adding "borne out of necessity, not ideology, he or she operates solely by their own wits, earning credibility and trading on their ability to convey a personal sense of authenticity". Armed with Benjamin's perspective in my mind, I found it easy to spot the ongoing negotiation he noted... and just as easily realized I probably wouldn't have categorized it as such if I hadn't read the article first. Clearly, Rusesabagina reads people exceedingly well, recognizes what it will take to get what he wants / needs from them, masterfully communicates what they need to hear, and triumphs. Perhaps the most moving example in the movie is when Rusesabagina is ordered to execute his own family and instead manages to buy their safety. As Americans and Europeans are evacuated, Rwandans are left to fend for themselves. International news agencies downplayed the seriousness of the 11 uprising, and few world leaders were informed.

Even as he initially downplays the seriousness of the situation to his superiors in Belgium, Rusesabagina unrelentingly hopes that help from other countries will arrive soon. His hopes are dashed when the UN's Colonel Oliver admits that UN troops are there to keep peace and have been ordered not to act to stop the violence. As Oliver tells Rusesabagina, "We " re here as peace keepers, not peace makers". With no intervention or foreign aid from the world powers, the violence in Rwanda continued.

According to Benjamin, former President Bill Clinton "refers to his inaction as the biggest regret of his presidency". Rusesabagina is amazingly versatile in his ability to quickly analyze critically dangerous situations and implement the negotiation style and / or strategy - including deception- with the best chance of success. Benjamin notes "watching Rusesabagina effectively maneuver and manipulate the situation as best he could makes much of our academic discussions about interests and needs, or Pollyanna ish discussions about party empowerment and recognition, seem pale and irrelevant by comparison". Benjamin suggests that principled and collaborative styles of negotiation often may not be practical, and he compares Rusesabagina to Terry Waite who successfully negotiated for the release of two Anglican priest hostages with Omar Khaddafi. Says Benjamin "Effectively the same question -- -should one negotiate with terrorists? -- -was at issue.

Those of us who are professional negotiators and mediators are sometimes left to wonder if all of the ethical and professional requirements with which we have carefully saddled conflict management practice haven't seriously compromised and neutralized our ability to be effective". Benjamin wants us to realize that although (blessedly) the conflicts most people encounter each day don't come anywhere near the genocide in Rwanda, the parties involved may still fear that they are "life threatening". Negotiation will only be accepted by them if they can see how it increases their changes for survival. Benjamin supports the 'develop your own style' approach we " ve been learning in class saying "The best negotiators sense how to turn disadvantage and adversity to their advantage. They are less concerned about models than with effective results".

Categorizing Rusesabagina's demonstration of the true character of authenticity as arguably the critical factor in negotiation and mediation, Benjamin supposes that professional negotiators / mediators may be critical of Rusesabagina's periodic dishonesty. Benjamin's position, however, is that Rusesabagina "understands that if people are to be shifted, that must happen with their own reasons, not persuaded by his. He needs to make a deal; peoples' lives hang in the balance. To do that, he has to be taken seriously by all sides. All he has to trade is his authenticity. There is an honesty to his authenticity, but it is not necessarily the same thing as being honest".

Benjamin's analysis of the negotiation skills portrayed in the movie helped reinforce for me that while conflict resolution comes in many shapes and sizes, it is part of our lives each and every day. My goal in learning to mediate is to help people experience a positive impact on their future by resolving whatever conflict they face. After surviving the genocide, Rusesabagina, his wife, their three children, and two nieces (whom they adopted), relocated to Belgium where they still reside. While running a taxi company, Paul continues to lobby for international intervention in Africa and expects to tour the world next year to promote the book he's currently writing. Rusesabagina spoke to a number of business leaders at the Carter Center (a human rights organization founded by former President Jimmy Carter) in Atlanta, Georgia, in early June 2005. Sharing his experiences during the genocide portrayed in the film, Rusesabagina said "When the most serious things started, we saw (the world) turning backs, closing ears and eyes, and running away".

He then turned the group's attention to the atrocities presently occurring in Burundi and the Darfur region of Sudan. "What is going on in Darfur is exactly what had been going on in Rwanda; the government is killing its own citizens". Rusesabagina's allegation that Sudan's government is aligning with Arab Janjaweed militias is supported by an international commission but denied by the government. Citing ongoing struggles in Rwanda, Rusesabagina charges that many citizens have been jailed without clear justification and donated money to aid in the country's reconciliation has vanished. "We need the international community to intervene and help us (to do) justice, and then after doing justice, dialogue". Lobbying the group to invest and volunteer in Africa, Rusesabagina added "What Africans need as a whole is not only someone who will come and pay their education but it is also to change the systems in Africa.

To help us to change, to find lasting solutions. Africa is ruled by dictators. And those dictators should know that one day they also can be brought to justice". On July 15-17, 2005, the Save Darfur Coalition is promoting a national weekend of prayer and reflection for the people of Darfur to coincide with legislation being introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. Noting that many delayed intervening in Rwanda in 1994 because they weren't sure the killing was genocide, Rusesabagina has stated "What is happening in Darfur according to the definition is genocide".

Citing the cry initially associated with the Holocaust and now also with Rwanda of "never again" as the most abused words, Rusesabagina charges "When they were saying that in 1994, it was happening again and again and again and again. So, 'never again' to me is not enough.".