Škakljikaš

Dear people,
as you might have heard, Adam Curle passed away. We were very happy to be inspired by him and thank him for his time and energy he shared with us.

Adam in Latinovac, 1996

We would like to give you his words and Barbaras’ to pounder.

May he rest in peace.

Peace

What’s peace? Now first of all it’s really
Not a simple issue of no-war.
It’s no-injustice, no-intolerance, no-hatred
It’s thinking good, not bad of everyone.

It recognises one humanity
In which all lives are precious
And worthy to be loved and given help
Towards fulfilment.

Peace is an inner state
Reflected outwardly in actions,
In loving care for anyone in need.
Its qualities are wisdom
And compassion.

Our work for peace is work for harmony among all beings.

Adam Curle
(Extract from an unpublished poem)

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Adam Curle, who passed peacefully away in his sleep on 28 September 2006.
Adam Curle was described by Elise Boulding refers as ‘one of the great Quaker peacemakers of our time’.
Adam Curle was the son of Cordelia Fisher and Richard Curle, born on the 4 July 1916, in L’Isle Adam, France. Although he was christened Charles Thomas William Curle, his family very soon nicknamed him ‘Adam’ after his birthplace, and that name remained with him throughout his life. His mother was a member of a large family of seven brothers and four sisters, and many of his relatives on his mother’s side were highly educated and very well known in their time, including politicians, bankers, and high ranking officials. When Adam was very young, his mother, a committed pacifist, planted the seeds in Adam’s mind which led eventually to his lifelong commitment to peace.
Adam Curle began his academic career with a Diploma in Anthropology at the University of Oxford. He then joined the army, serving from 1940-46 during World War II. He spoke little about his first army role, save that it was in ‘intelligence’ work. He was not afraid of battle, and personal danger seems never to have been a concern for him, but even as a young man, the thought of the massive troop movements associated with war filled him with horror. Precisely how and exactly when he made his lifelong commitment to peace activism remains unclear, perhaps it was a gradual process, but given what we know of his early life experiences, it is very easy to understand how his personal courage and his commitment to conflict resolution led him into the dangerous international peacemaking activities that he subsequently undertook.

In the latter part of the Second World War, Adam Curle applied to serve as Chief Research Officer in the Civil Resettlement Units (CRUs) set up by the government to rehabilitate returning prisoners of war. Two men involved in this work, Ben Morris and Roger Hodgkin, were significant influences on him during this time, and he describes them as ‘…two wise men in my life that showed kindness and right living’. The work of the CRUs also helped him to develop his understanding of the psychological effects of trauma. Ben Morris remained his close friend until his death at the age of eighty.
After Adam Curle left the army, his growing interest in psychology and the effects of war led to the development of connections with the people who were setting up the new Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London. Some of the Tavistock Institute’s founders were still serving in the army and others were, like him, now civilians. He eventually became a staff member there from 1947-50. His writing at this period reflects a continued interest in anthropology and sociology but also an increasing interest in psychology. In 1950, he was appointed to the post of Lecturer in Social Psychology at Oxford. In 1952, he accepted an appointment as Professor and Head of Department of Education and Psychology at Exeter University.

In 1956, Adam Curle was asked to go to Pakistan as adviser on social affairs on a project for Harvard University. From 1956-59 he advised the Pakistan Planning Commission on Social Affairs. During the period 1959-61, he was Professor and Head of Department of Education in the University of Ghana, travelling extensively, helping the government to develop education, social and development plans.

In 1962, the Harvard Centre for Studies in Education and Development was founded. Its purpose, through research, teaching, and fieldwork, was to develop education policy, essential to create the conditions for peace. It maintained a very practical approach, with large field projects in many countries, including Nigeria, Tunisia, Central America and Barbados. Adam Curle became actively involved in these research projects and during his time at Harvard from 1962-73 he and other members of the centre helped to develop and implement other research in a number of countries. At Harvard University, Curle was initially a Visiting Professor of Education, and then the first Director of the Centre for Studies in Education and Development, and subsequently Professor of Education and Development. During this time, he was consultant to the government of Pakistan on education under the auspices of the World Bank, and was directly involved with Pakistan’s first five year development plans.
In 1973, Adam Curle was appointed by the University of Bradford in England to the chair of the first university department of peace studies, a pioneering project instituting peace studies as a new academic discipline in the United Kingdom. He retired from this post in 1978, and he lived in London with his wife, Anne, continuing to actively support peace work in many countries until his death.
Adam’s first major contributions to the academic theory of conflict resolution were Making Peace in 1971 and its companion work, Mystics and Militants in1972, emphasising the need for psychological change within the process of ‘conciliation’. Curle later drew upon his experience in anthropology and psychology to extend his thinking to activities designed to prevent conflict or to create and sustain the conditions for post-war peacemaking. Adam has always held that the peaceful response to any conflict begins within each individual, in their heart, extending to thoughts and then becomes apparent in outer actions.

Adam Curle not only mediated at top level in many international conflicts, but he also worked at grass roots level in the community, and he campaigned for many years about globalisation. In addition, he was a gifted teacher and a prolific writer. He published over 264 books, papers, articles, monographs and poems. His last book Fragile Voice of Love (2006), reflects upon the effects of conflict, and the generalised attitudes of greed and commercialism that create and perpetuate conflict. He forcefully points out how damaging are the illusions to which so many of us cling – particularly the illusions of separation and of the happiness which we delude ourselves can be gained from materialism.

Adam travelled to Croatia many times and he wholeheartedly admired and supported the brave and hard working non governmental organisations in Croatia who worked throughout the war and afterwards to combine healing of the psychological wounds of war and peacemaking, working to create a culture of peace. In particular, Adam Curle often expressed his love and admiration for all the staff and volunteers who work with CWWPP, Dodir nade, the Bench we Share, Mir I dobro and the Centar za mir. He was extremely proud of all their work for peace in the community, and shortly before his death he spoke very lovingly of everyone with whom he had worked for so many years, and sending them his greetings. He has never forgotten his friends in Croatia and they will never forget him.

Barbara Mitchels 30 September 2006