It’s disheartening when you wake up in the morning of an exciting day, that has you debuting as a speaker at an International Mediation symposium, and you read that some armed ‘idiots’ have stormed into the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, shooting at sight and holding those in the campus hostage. Within seconds, the initial gloominess turns to anxiety and fear, as you realize you have friends studying in that campus – friends who are the future of conflict resolution in that country and ambassadors of peace to the world.

August 25, Thursday, 7am Bangkok time – it felt like sharp sun rays piercing through my cellphone as I desperately tried to scroll for updates on the unfortunate news. In a couple of hours, I would be speaking on ‘Prison Mediation and Restorative Justice – as methods of Post-Conflict Healing’ at the World Mediation Organization Symposium, hosted by the Thailand…