Kate Kinahan knows how to defuse tensions–often her very
presence is enough.
When two families in the same Nanjing apartment block started
feuding over noise levels, the local community mediation team was
called in.
The quarreling neighbors fell silent as the young blond European
woman stepped into the fray and began speaking to them influent
Chinese.
Soon the dispute was forgotten and the neighbors were asking the
soft-spoken foreigner where she was from.
"South Africa," said Kate, 27, the only foreign community
mediator in Gulou District, in Nanjing, capital of southeast
China's Jiangsu Province, and one of only an unknown but probably
tiny number in China.
Since studying law at Nanjing University from 2003 to 2007, Kate
has been combining her knowledge of China and self-effacing exotic
appeal to help allay the growing social pressures of her adopted
city.
Speaking in Chinese, she explains, "Mediators can assuage the
deeply felt concerns of people and improve their communities."
Seeing sense
Her path to mediation began before she arrived in China and she
sees a need for greater mediation in the international community
too.
"Many foreigners know little about Chinese culture and hold
extreme prejudices against China. One can only understand things in
China better after having lived here for several years. What is
unreasonable to outsiders can make sense to the people here," says
Kate, who arrived in the southern Yunnan Province to learn Chinese
in 2001.
She persuades the noisy neighbors to see things differently. One
of them, 5-year-old Pan, says, "Kate told us not to have negative
expectations and to try to trust each other. I had been retaliating
to the problems, but her words made me see sense. She told us to
collect evidence in case legal invention was necessary. I had never
thought of that."
Kate first saw the mediation system in action when she visited a
classmate's home in rural Jiangxi Province as a student.
A man had seriously beaten his wife and village cadres, who
serve as mediators, came to persuade the man to stop. "The wife
said she was afraid her husband would beat her again after we left.
Rural people desperately need legal information to protect
themselves. Local mediators complement legal workers in areas with
scarce legal services."
China's community mediation system was set up at the foundation
of People's Republic in 1949. It went into decline in the two
decades of reform and opening since the late 1970s, but was revived
earlier this decade to deal with a rise in conflicts caused by a
rapidly changing society, says Wu Yingzi, a professor of mediation
with Nanjing University.
Booming Jiangsu Province is seeing rises in marriage, family,
relocation, pollution and redundancy problems, says Zhang Xinmin,
deputy-director of Jiangsu Provincial Judicial Department.
Jiangsu is taking a national lead in improving the mediation
system at county, city and district levels, pooling community,
administrative and court mediation resources to ease the burden on
courts, says Zhang.
A friend in need
A Christian who grew up in rural South Africa and was heavily
influenced by her English immigrant parents, Kate sees a natural
role for herself in the system.
"When I was young, my parents ran a kindergarten during the
apartheid system when blacks and whites went to separate schools.
They tried to improve understanding by accepting both black and
white kids.
"My friends were black. I hugged them in public and I am used to
being stared at, so I'm not uncomfortable as a mediator in China,"
she jokes.
Before coming to China, she experienced community development
work in Kampuchea and Australia, where she learned the importance
of listening.
"I remember NGO members getting irritated when they asked a
village what was needed most. The villagers said a football field,
but the NGO members were trying to explain the need for a medical
service.
"Eventually they helped build a football field and something
unexpected happened. The villagers loved football so much that they
entire community gathered there. It was on the field that they
discussed medical problems, and they decided to tackle it by
themselves.
"If you want to help people, you must work with them and be a
friend."
The common good
Kate deals with the minor mediation cases involving community
quarrels and is yet to graduate to major social issues such as
relocations.
But her work is made easier by the public acceptance of
mediation and its avoidance of costly lawyers, says Yao Qiming,
deputy head of Nanjing Gulou District Judicial Department.
The district is experimenting with "community law classes" and
legal workers, including Kate, will lecture the public on issues
such as property, marriage or inheritance, says Yao.
Kate recognizes the public appreciation. "The mediation service
reaches every corner of the country, providing a free service–a
rarity in many countries. It's about spotting nascent problems and
intervening quickly.
"But I'm still a student and not an expert," says Kate,
indicating the English book on law open on her desk.
Her modesty is evident. Dressed casually with light black
sweater, jeans and sneakers, she cycles to work, a 20-minute
journey.
Complimented on her fluent Chinese, she has a modest smile and a
traditional Chinese response: "No, it's far from good."
At home in her rented apartment, she posts song lyrics on her
blog, which also carries photos of her big family in South
Africa.
"My parents support my life. Their support is important to
me."
Her work in China has changed her view of the world. "Chinese
pay great attention to poverty problems as the welfare system is
not that advanced. People work hard to improve living
standards.
"Sometimes they give up their personal ideals for the
collective. For example, many criticize the family planning policy
in China, but there is a reason for it. People understand it's a
transition stage in development and they follow it for the
country.
"If you want to help others, first you should put aside your
values and beliefs for a while and try to see things as they
do."
In the eyes of colleagues, Kate "likes thinking and analyzing".
"She often enlightens us with a different cultural perspective,"
says Xue Tao, director of Haining Street judicial office under
Gulou District Judicial Branch. "She will first stress personal
feelings, when we will consider social influences when dealing with
a case."
Asked whether her future is tied to China, Kate says, "I want to
settle down in China.... Sure I could marry a Chinese and it will
also help me know Chinese culture better.
"If something is worth doing such as helping those without a
voice, it deserves a lifetime."
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(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2008)
