To settle a matter like this, first it is important to talk about it. We need to establish their reasons for needing the orange (from Kou Tabata, 6th grade, Yamauchi Elementary School, Shobara City) and who should get priority, i.e., who needs the orange more (from Reina Michishita, 6th grade at the same school). If either party is causing trouble for the other for some reason, we need to investigate the underlying source of their dissatisfaction, which may not be the orange.

It may also happen that one party needs only the orange peel to bake a cake, and the other just wants the flesh of the orange to make juice. In such a case, we can easily find an agreeable solution just by asking their reasons.

For example, in Sudan, conflict had been occurring for a long time between the northern part of the country, where the capital is located, and the southern part. When talks were held about each side's preferences, it was agreed that the south would be allowed to establish a separate government in exchange for sharing with the north some of the profits from oil production in the south.

In northern Sri Lanka, Ms. Seya (right) listens to refugees who have been displaced within their own country as they talk about the state of conflict and the kinds of help they need (September 2007)

When we consider motivations and priorities, it is natural that our action will differ depending on whether we are one of the interested parties or whether we are a neutral observer (from Yuri Kubota, Sagotani Junior High School, Hiroshima City). In the real world, if the parties concerned cannot settle a conflict by themselves, the United Nations or some other country may be able to mediate and find a solution.

However, if you had a dispute at school or at home and the person trying to make peace seemed to play favorites, you would be upset. Similarly, the United Nations should try to play a neutral role in the mediation of conflicts. Nevertheless, important resolutions of the UN must have the agreement from all five permanent members of the Security Council, which are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China. Those countries have often been observed to take biased points of view toward specific conflicts.

Even though some countries may regard a solution as fair, other countries may criticize it, as in the case of the armed interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, as far as possible, we try to devise a method for decision making that can be supported by everybody, including the parties involved in the conflict.

Several people, including some second-year students at Gion Higashi Junior High School, suggested that each side has to be satisfied with half the orange, but they should try planting the seeds to produce many more oranges in the future.

This is a good idea, and in fact, such cases exist. This is the peace-building process that has been used in countries that have experienced conflict. They develop a peace agreement that establishes a way to grow the "peace seeds," then they make a big mutual effort to realize it. They have to follow the agreement carefully and trust the other parties involved. This takes time, and much patience is needed.

Again using the orange as a model, we need a third party such as the UN to check on the seeds' proper growth, and we need other countries such as Japan to provide assistance in obtaining water and fertilizer. Although it may take a long time, this will reduce the possibility that conflict will break out again, and it may enable the parties involved to help others with similar problems.

Sometimes we encounter a case in which the items in dispute cannot be so easily shared. Starting with the next issue, I'll introduce some specific examples of how we can grow peace seeds.