Children are hostile. Play is rough and language coarse. There is little regard for adult authority. Stealing and fighting are rampant. Students carry knives and razor blades in their schoolbags. The pencil is used as much for stabbing as for writing. In some primary schools in Jamaica, this has been the scene for a generation or more of students.

Now that picture is slowly changing. The children themselves say the pencil-stabbing rate is falling; the pushing and kicking are less frequent. Today, students are painting peace-and-love murals, and when they have a problem, they go to the Peace Table. Located in a corner of the classroom or under a breadfruit tree in the schoolyard, the table is a special place where they encourage each other to "talk it out, not fight it out," and "attack the problem, not the person."

The children come from inner-city communities called Waterhouse, Arnett Gardens, Tel-Aviv, Jones Town, and Rema. These areas, like numerous others in Kingston, the island's capital, share the same problems: violent crime, high unemployment, lack of recreational facilities, poor waste disposal facilities, substandard housing, and inadequate public utilities. The young face enormous odds, and survival often means resorting to violence.

In 1994, an alliance of government, church, business, and citizen groups took note of a disturbing trend: the intergenerational learning of violence. Concerned about what this was costing the nation in terms of socioeconomic development, they founded PALS (Peace and Love in Schools) Jamaica, a program whose goal is to break the circle of violence by focusing on children and incorporating a nationwide conflict resolution curriculum in the primary education system. All 360,000 students and 10,000 teachers in the country's 792 schools have received the PALS course materials. Thirty-eight education specialists have been trained in the techniques of training teachers, and have trained 6,000 teachers, school administrators, and guidance counselors to date in the techniques of imparting conflict resolution skills to children.

An intense PALS curriculum, called SUPERPALS, is currently under way in 10 Kingston schools and one in St. James parish. These children live in the midst of violence generated through economic need, political rivalry, gang feuds, drug deals gone sour, and domestic disputes.

"Violence has become the accepted way of settling differences in Jamaica," says PALS director Janilee Abrikian. "The violence of the 1980s and 1990s has affected our whole society, and in the communities SUPERPALS is targeting, the level of violence is so great that a virtual state of war exists. Control of community space by gangs has eroded mobility within the community. The presence of violence prevents the installation or maintenance of infrastructure, which in turn exacerbates crime and war."

Jamaica's homicide rates are among the highest in the Hemisphere: in a population of some 2.6 million, 900 people were killed in 1996, and 780 the previous year. A 1996 study carried out by the University of the West Indies and the World Bank on urban poverty and violence in five Jamaican communities indicated that despite the poor living conditions and the need to create an economic infrastructure, the first and most urgent demand by citizens was for peace.

Established as a nonprofit foundation, PALS Jamaica was spearheaded by the national media, whose shareholders include the Gleaner Company Ltd, the island's largest newspaper chain; the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, the largest private radio and television network; the Independent Radio Company Ltd.; Radio Jamaica Ltd.; the Jamaica Herald; the Jamaica Observer Ltd.; and Island Broadcasting Services Ltd. Oliver Clarke, chairman of the board of directors of the Gleaner group, notes that "the media hopes to use its level of leadership to bring a high profile both to the problem and the possible solutions, thereby changing society's attitudes toward violence."

Other representatives on the PALS board of directors include the Ministries of Education, Youth and Culture, and Health; the Jamaica's Teachers' Association; the Jamaica Association of Teacher Educators; the Jamaican Council of Churches; and the Peace Education Foundation. Funding comes from international, national, and private business concerns and includes the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and the Governments of Jamaica, the Netherlands, and Japan. Private sector contributions come from a variety of sources, including the Agricultural Credit Bank, Alumina Partners of Jamaica, the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Ltd., the Kaiser Bauxite Company, the National Housing Trust, the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, Petrojam Ltd., and the Private Sector Organization Jamaica.

"Our conflict resolution program," Abrikian says, "is based on the belief that children can be taught skills to deal constructively with conflicts; that they can learn that conflict--when channeled into positive action--stimulates creativity and problem-solving ability. We teach them to say clearly what they want, listen to what the other person is saying, let others know how they feel, understand how the other person feels, overcome shyness and speak up for their rights, respect the rights of others, control impulses and irrational behavior, develop strategies for taking turns and sharing, and take responsibility for their behavior. Those who learn these skills become more confident learners in their other studies and become responsible, caring human beings."

The PALS instructional materials consist of six workbooks, one for each primary-grade level, and provide a variety of activities for learning: stories and dialogues, topics for discussion groups, exercises in role-playing and problem-solving, making scrapbooks, interviewing classmates, practicing mediation, and tips on creative writing and drama techniques.

One of PALS' proudest achievements to date, says Abrikian, has been the holding of two annual Peace Day in Schools, a joint PALS-Jamaican Teachers' Association initiative. "The children held marches and banner competitions, and received peacemaker awards. Success stories are highlighted--there is a gold mine of human interest stories for the media. Media support in helping us launch two large-scale advertising campaigns has increased awareness about the effects of violence on the community, enabled us to tell the public about PALS and its progress, and served as a call to action to all Jamaicans to help to build a peaceful society.

"The most insidious forms of violence," she adds, "are also the most subtle--the daily violating of people's dignity, self-esteem, and human rights. By encouraging schoolteachers to recognize the importance of creating a caring and nurturing classroom, they can build a learning environment in which the worth and dignity of each member of the class is assuring.

"PALS Jamaica can make a long-lasting impact once today's activities become a tradition. The community will regain its vitality. Positive conflict resolution will become a way of life."

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Roberta Okey is the Editor of Perspectives in Health.