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Although Mediation is sometimes perceived in the UK as having "come from the USA", in fact, it seems likely that Mediation originated in the Far East, where Mediation has a long and honourable tradition of resolving conflict. The fable of the Mediator and the Seventeen Camels, however, comes to us from the Middle East, and like all the best fables, it is a bridge to the truth...
"Once upon a time, a Mediator was riding through the endless wastes of the desert on his camel. The Mediator had been riding for a long time and as he scanned the sea of sand that surrounded him, he was pleased to see the palm trees of an oasis on the horizon. He turned his trusty camel towards it and made for the oasis.
But, as the Mediator neared the oasis he realised that all was not well. Raised voices drifted across the sand towards him, and he caught the unmistakable glint of sunlight on drawn swords. By the time the Mediator arrived in the oasis it was apparent that a full blown conflict was about to break out. Anxious to help (or, perhaps, seeing the opportunity for an unexpected bit of business!) the Mediator enquired as to what the problem might be.
The sad story was soon told. An old, and important member of the tribe had died. He had provided for the distribution of his worldly goods in his will, and, as was common in those days, in that part of the world, he had divided his goods between his three sons, giving the most to the oldest, and least to the youngest. The eldest son was to receive one half of the estate, the middle son was to receive one third of the estate and the youngest son was to receive one ninth of the estate. That in itself would not have triggered a conflict, for the principle was not unusual, but the difficulty lay in the fact that the man's estate consisted entirely of seventeen camels.
In a part of the world where wealth was measured in camels this was a significant number. The difficulty, however, was that seventeen is a number that can be divided by neither two, to give the eldest son a half, nor by a third nor a ninth to give the next two sons their proper shares. Hence the impending conflict. The eldest son, not unnaturally, felt that he should have a bit more, but his younger brothers, again understandably, felt that as their older brother was already receiving the most it was he who should give something up. The only compromise that had been suggested was to kill all seventeen camels, to weigh the meat, and then to divide the estate that way. Unfortunately, whilst it was superficially attractive this solution was, in the searing heat of the desert, and before the age of the deep freeze, simply not practicable. So swords had been drawn, and the members of the family were about to fall upon each other, when the unexpected chance that a Mediator should suddenly appear out of the desert gave them a glimmer of hope, and they enquired of the Mediator whether he could help.
A fee was negotiated, and paid by each of the brothers out of their own assets, and the Mediator then said "I shall give you my camel". The Mediator's suggestion provoked amazement, with some asking how that was supposed to help, and others questioning the Mediator's sanity. The Mediator went on to explain:
"Now you have eighteen camels. Eighteen is divisible by two, so the eldest son can have nine camels. Eighteen is divisible by three, so the middle son can have six camels and eighteen is divisible by nine, so the youngest son can have two camels".
Satisfied, and overjoyed to have avoided a conflict, each of the sons took his camels and returned to his tent. Moreover, since nine plus six plus two comes to seventeen, the Mediator's camel was left over and the Mediator was able to climb back onto his trusty camel and to resume his voyage across the desert".
And the moral of the story is? Probably to check your maths when drafting a will, but also, and more importantly, that the input of an independent Mediator can transform even the most difficult of disputes.
