Sue Diaz
Our host, Jenni Prisk, interviews Peace Writer, Sue Diaz, who tells the story of Hamsatu Allamin of Nigeria, a Women PeaceMaker at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego during 2016.
Listen to Sue’s compelling narrative about Hamsatu’s experience searching for the school girls taken by Boko Haram.
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Excerpts from Interview
- “We rarely are listened to the way we as writers must listen to the peacemaker.”
- “Often the stories that need to be told, are the most difficult to tell.”
- “Everyone knows the boys in Boko Haram…Hamsatu bridges the gap between negotiators and the boys.”
- “She can stand in the shoes of the boys…I have been able to see the humanity in them through her.”
Sue Diaz Biography
Diaz is an author, educator and freelance journalist whose work has appeared in a variety of regional and national publications, including Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times and Readers’ Digest. The award-winning series she wrote for The Christian Science Monitor about the war in Iraq and her personal connection to it was syndicated nationally and internationally. Those pieces were the starting point for her most recent book, Minefields of the Heart: A Mother’s Stories of a Son at War (Potomac Books), which explores the impact of war on the souls of those who fight and those who love them. A passionate believer in the power of story to effect change and an advocate of writing as a path to healing, Diaz has also conducted writing workshops for war veterans at the San Diego Vet Center, the Naval Medical Center and Veterans Village of San Diego.
The interview takes place at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego where Sue spent concentrated time with Hamsatu while she was in residence as a Women PeaceMaker in the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ).
More About The IPJ Peace Writers
Since 2003, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ) at the University of San Diego has welcomed four women peacemakers each year from around the world.
The women reside at the University of San Diego Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies for two months and share their stories, which are documented by four Peace Writers.
These Peace Writers tell their story of living in conflict and building peace in their communities and nations. The Peace Writers interview their PeaceMakers daily and produce a document that includes narrative stories and complementary components, such as a historical summary of the conflict and a table of best practices in peacebuilding as demonstrated by the work of the PeaceMaker.
Monica McWilliams, Chief Commissioner, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission comments on the importance of this program:
“You are writing women into history. You are making sure their stories are not forgotten. You are making sure those stories are passed on to the next generation.”