Forgiving increases peace, and there’s no better time to focus on the theme than on the International Day of Peace. None of the current emojis says ”I forgive you”. FCA Network for Peacemakers is one of the partner organizations in the Forgivemoji campaign, launched in Finland this autumn, crowdsourcing ideas for an emoji to be used for forgiving. The winning emoji will be introduced to the official Unicode collection at the end of this year.
The ultimate goal of the Forgivemoji campaign is to get forgivemoji added to the list of emojis. In November this year, the campaign team will decide on the best idea and send it to the Unicode Consortium. Unicode manages the emoji list and provides framework for services and device manufacturers to use them.
Unicode updates its emoji list once a year. For example, in 2019, Unicode announced they would be adding 59 new emojis to the selection, with variations totalling at 230. The process of introducing a new emoji can take two years, and the application must include explanation for the use and frequency of the emoji.
On the campaign’s website www.forgivemoji.com, visitors can vote from a selection of emoji designs or submit their own artwork and sketches. The original idea for the forgivemoji campaign came from a surprising source – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Currently, the ELFC is celebrating their #rauha (Eng. peace) theme year, which highlights peace as a national focus in Finland.
”In our modern digital communication culture, emojis are an essential way of expressing human feelings beyond words. We were surprised to realise that the official emoji selection has dozens of different cats and even two designs of zombies, but there isn’t an emoji for forgiveness. Through crowdsourcing ideas for the design of an emoji for forgiveness, this campaign also strives to promote a message of peace and mutual understanding the world over,” says Mr Tuomo Pesonen, Communications Director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, one of the founding organisations of the #forgivemoji campaign.
Partnering with a Nobel peace laureate
To kickstart the campaign, the ELCF partnered with various charitable and peace-building organisations, including Felm, Finn Church Aid, Helsinki Deaconess Foundation, and the National Movement for Reconciliation. Another important partner is Crisis Management Initiative CMI, the conflict-resolving organisation founded by former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mr Martti Ahtisaari.
”Our vision comes from President Ahtisaari – all conflicts can be solved. What people has started, people can end. Emojis are a modern way to use dialogue and forgiveness is an integral part of that dialogue,” says Elina Lehtinen, Director of Communications & Fundraising at CMI.
Sara Linnoinen from Finn Churd Aid’s peace network highlights the role forgiveness plays in creating peace.
”Peace is vital for people to be able to lead safe lives in their home countries. Forgiveness is a very important part of peace-creation,” Linnoinen says.
With the support of FCA, psychotherapist Rowda Olad works in grassroots-level mental health care and participates in the reconciliation work in Somalia.
”In Somalia, people talk about invisible wounds, dhaawac yada qarsoon,” says psychotherapist Rowda Olad and describes how shocked she was to see the state of the entire nation’s mental health when she arrived in Somalia in 2016.
”A young boy was driving the moped taxi, tuktuk, at breakneck speed through central Mogadishu. I asked him to slow down. ’You’re going to get us killed!’ I yelled from the back seat. ’What does it matter if we die,’ the boy replied.”
”I was extremely shocked.”
Rowda says she immediately noticed that especially young men were not only fearless but also very angry. But in fact, almost everybody in Somalia seemed to be suffering from psychological traumas caused by the civil war and the violence, or from post-traumatic symptoms resulting from them.
”There is a lot of crime, as well as disregard for other people’s possessions or lives. Whenever there was an explosion in Mogadishu, people rushed to see what had happened, whereas the natural reaction would be to run away.”
”A person who is not afraid is not psychologically healthy,” says Rowda. “Seeing mutilated humans and bodies or victims of explosions is traumatising, especially to children.”
She witnessed and recorded all this during the first year after she and her family moved back to Somalia in 2016.
Psychological trauma changes a person’s world view and behaviour. In Somalia, aggressive behaviour can be seen often in everyday situations.
”Even during high-level political meetings, people may lose their temper at the drop of a hat.”
As a refugee in the United States
Rowda, who was born in Mogadishu, has her share of war trauma. The civil war began when she was seven years old.
Her siblings and other relatives scattered all over the world. With her uncle’s family, Rowda fled to the state of Ohio in the United States. She went to school and studied, but once she graduated from high school, she could not decide straight away what she wanted to do when she grew up. So, she volunteered to do social work with AmeriCorps. She helped Muslim immigrants, the Somali diaspora, young and old alike – and saw and experienced lots of things that could only be explained by the people’s backgrounds.
She started a volunteer group for young Somali women and became interested in studying to be a psychologist and psychotherapist. She also became fascinated with facets of Somali culture; what causes things? Why do we do this or think like this?
Rowda dreams of establishing a national mental health care system in Somalia. Photo: Kristiina Markkanen
Rowda studied, graduated, and worked as a psychotherapist. When the situation in Somalia began to settle down and the first post-war parliamentary election was held in 2016, even Rowda decided to move back to Somalia.
Rowda got involved in politics and initially worked in regional administration, but mental health care became more and more attractive. She dreams of founding a national mental health system in Somalia, entailing the entire structure, creating the foundations and the missing words for the work.
”For us, a person is either insane, waali, or not insane. There is no in-between, there are no other words. People who become seriously mentally ill are put in the hospital and forgotten there.”
”It is shocking,” she says.
Mental health care step by step
Rowda started her work in Somalia with small steps. She has been engaged in volunteer work and has spoken about mental health to representatives of the Ministry of Health.
”First, my aim has been to open people’s eyes to the role of mental health in people’s behaviour and actions, and from there, I have slowly expanded the idea to the national level.”
Rowda believes it is impossible for reconstruction and national reconciliation work to succeed without dealing with the trauma experienced by families, individuals and entire communities as well.
When people are traumatised, their capacity to function is impaired, which affects things such as their ability to work.
”The productivity of the entire nation, including entrepreneurs and civil servants as well as farmers, remains low.”
Rowda has started her own practice in Somalia, and with the support of FCA among others, has began a form of preliminary mental health care that she calls psychoeducation.
The purpose of the work is to talk about mental health and to provide different population groups with information. Topics include stress, depression, and how to overcome psychological trauma. What is considered ordinary grief and what kind of suffering is bad enough to require treatment.
The work also includes mental health care for prisoners and prison wardens. Inmates in the prisons of Somalia include both petty criminals and former terrorists, and it is important to get them too to commit to the development of Somalia.
A prison in Somalia. Photo: Jari Kivelä
”Even in prison, I provide mental health education for groups, during which we talk about how the human mind works. I also do clinical work, give diagnoses, and offer individual therapy to those who need it. Sometimes I have to refer an inmate exhibiting severe psychological symptoms to hospital treatment.”
Working with inmates, Rowda goes through their identity and the paths that led them to prison. Those who grew up surrounded by war and violence may not have the kind of identity that allows them to see themselves as citizens of an organised society.
”For example, when I ask them who their role models are, they don’t say that as a child they wanted to be a doctor or a teacher, but might reply that they admire their father who was a war hero.”
Rowda says that she will soon start working with the families of inmates as well. This is difficult because many families have moved. However, the Somali culture is very family-oriented, and Rowda believes it is possible for criminals to become rehabilitated into society if they receive strong support from their family and community.
Even therapy is a completely new concept in Somalia. There are only doctors and psychiatrists who work in hospitals and prescribe medication. If a doctor gives a person medicine, the person gets better.
”When I tell a patient I am offering them treatment, they expect medication, not discussion.”
She also hopes that mental health issues become part of reconciliation work. Rowda believes there will be no real peace in Somalia before recognising trauma and overcoming it is taken seriously on the national level.
Text: Kristiina Markkanen
Translation: Leena Vuolteenaho
Rowda Olad visited Finland in June for the National Dialogues Conference for peace work organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Felm, CMI, and Finn Church Aid.
Promising progress has been made to improve public service delivery in Jowhar, Somalia. A new initiative will contribute to strengthening of stability in the country through decentralized service delivery and improved accountability in decision-making.
The process to establish councils to strengthen local governance structures providing services was kicked off in an official ceremony that took place in Jowhar in May, 2019. The purpose of the new councils will be to provide access to basic public services such as education, healthcare, water, sanitation, public transport and administrative services, and engage citizens in local development.
The initiative is part of a project implemented and supported by Finn Church Aid (FCA) and funded by the European Union.
The Vice President of Hirshabelle, H.E Ali Abdullahi Hussein, launched the initiative in Jowhar, the capital city of Hirshabelle, on May 28, as part of a ceremony that welcomed a wide range of representatives from governmental and regional levels, as well as traditional elders and youth groups.
“Local councils in the Jowhar district will support State’s development initiatives to decentralize local governance. It will improve the opportunity for citizens to participate and contribute to local decision-making and increase access to public services in the local level. In the longer run, Jowhar will have a representative local council that is freely and fairly elected”, H.E Ali Abdullahi Hussein said.
In his speech, the second Deputy Speaker of Hirshabelle Regional Assembly, Hon. Anab Abdullahi Isse, urged clan elders and the Ministry of Interior and local government of Hirshabelle to ensure the enacted 30 % quota for women’s representation in the local councils.
FCA´s project aims to strengthen local governance structures in Somalia for more accountable and inclusive Federal Member States, which also supports the implementation of the Wadajir National Framework. Furthermore, it aims to strengthen gender and youth inclusive governance in the local administration and is thus aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly with SDG 11; “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
The project is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation (MOIFAR) and ministries of Interior and Local Government in the Federal Member States.
Dr. Mohammed Elsanousi, Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, has been selected as a member of the NGO Working Group on the UN Security Council.
“Delighted to represent the Network for Religious and Traditional Pacemakers and the FCA on dialogue between civil society and the Security Council”, says Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi
The NGO Working Group on the Security Council promotes dialogue between UN Security Council members and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with special program interest in the Security Council.
The NGO Working Group seeks a diverse representation of groups in the areas of human rights, humanitarian relief/development, peace promotion, and other policy areas and is currently comprised of more than 30 NGOs including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, ACT Alliance and Save the Children, among others.
Dr. Elsanousi said “As a new member of the NGO Working Group, I am delighted to represent the Network and to continue the on-going dialogue between civil society actors and senior member state representatives, as well as other high-level UN officials.” The Working Group holds regular briefings for its members with Security Council ambassadors, UN officials and other actors with special knowledge of Council matters.
“FCA and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers have a long history of working with the UN as the UN various agencies are founding member of the Network. FCA also has a consultative status on the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) ”, said FCA Executive Director Jouni Hemberg.
“Membership on the NGO Working Group opens additional opportunities to build bridges between grassroots peacemakers and global actors in order to strengthen ongoing peace building and mediation efforts. I couldn’t be more pleased”, Hemberg says.
Dr. Elsanousi has served as the Executive Director of the Network since May 2018 and is also a member of the Faith-Based Advisory Council for the United Nations Interagency Task Force on Religion and Development. Since its founding, the Network has been hosted by Finn Church Aid (FCA), Finland’s largest development agency and provider of humanitarian aid.
Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi is the Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, a global network that bridges grassroots peacemakers and global players to work towards sustainable peace. Dr. Elsanousi was the director of Community Outreach and Interfaith Relations for the Islamic Society of North America. He also served on the Core Group Taskforce for the Department of State’s working group on Religion and Foreign Policy. Dr. Elsanousi holds a bachelor’s degree in Shariah and Law from the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan, a Master of Laws from Indiana University, a graduate diploma in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, and a Ph.D. in Law and Society from the Indiana University School of Law.
For more information
Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi, Executive Director, The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers
tel. +1 317 506 2835 (Time zone GMT-4, Eastern Daylight Time)
After her divorce, relatives refused to help. Now Kamu Sunar is the one people come to for help and advice.
A little boy comes to Kamu Sunar’s shop. He chooses a chocolate bar and hands over the money. He has already turned to leave when Sunar reminds him to take the change with him.
Kamu Sunar’s shop takes up one room in a two-storey stone building on the narrow main street of the village of Bhardeu. The shop sells a variety of items from soap and bracelets to shoes and petrol. The small village of Bhardeu is located in a verdant valley right in the middle of Nepal.
Sunar is a Dalit, or an outcaste, as well as an entrepreneur and a single mother. Now, she is also a municipal councillor on the Nepalese rural municipal council Gaupalika, meaning she gets to participate in local decision-making.
For several years, a women’s cooperative supported by the Finn Church Aid volunteer network Women’s Bank has operated in Sunar’s home village. The women who belong to it have received education and support for e.g. saving and agriculture as well as starting their own small businesses. The members of the cooperative have improved their financial and social position, but according to the women, equally important has been an improvement in self-esteem, team spirit within the group, and support from others.
And when a municipal election was held in Nepal, the women of Bhardeu decided to join forces. They voted for Kamu Sunar, a respected member of the group who had a slightly better chance of being elected, thanks to a Dalit quota. When she was elected, it was a victory for all of them.
In politics, Sunar wants to promote the financial and mental empowerment of women. In Nepal, the situation of women is still poor, and not everyone thinks rights such as ownership rights and financial power of decision belong to women just like they do to men.
Went to school in secret, married young
Remote Bhardeu has not always been home for Kamu Sunar. Her childhood was spent in the capital Kathmandu where her parents had a goldsmith shop. Her childhood as the eldest daughter of a family with five children was a happy one.
”I went to school for five years. After that, my parents wanted me to help my mother at home and my father at the shop. Even as a child, I was strong-willed. I was very interested in mathematics. I tried continuing to go to school in secret, but when my parents found out, I got a beating, and I had to drop out of school.”
Kamu Sunar sighs. Now comes the most painful part of her story.
A young man visited the goldsmith shop.
”I was 15 years old when we met, and he was six years older than me. We married for love.”
A couple of decades ago, love matches were much less common in Nepal than they are today. The newlyweds moved to the groom’s home village of Bhardeu. They were happy together for ten years.
”Then he found someone else. I don’t want to talk about it any more than this. He betrayed me. I don’t want to think about him,” says Sunar.
”No, I definitely never intend to marry again, because I don’t want that to happen to me again.”
When her husband left her, Sunar and her young children, a girl and a boy, were left destitute. The family of the husband did not want to help them.
”My children gave me courage. I didn’t want them to suffer.”
”Mom is kind-hearted and funny”
Being a member of the women’s cooperative helped Sunar rearrange her life. Little by little, Sunar acquired both skills and capital. She got a loan of 15,000 Nepalese rupees (110 euros) to start her own shop. Having her own shop had been a lifelong dream.
The shop was a success. Both of her children got the chance to stay in school for as long as they would like.
We close the shop for a while and go see Kamu Sunar’s construction site. She is about to fulfil another dream, a home of her own. Her time living in her ex-husband’s brother’s house is coming to an end. The house is not even safe, because it was damaged in the powerful earthquakes of 2015.
Sunar’s small plot of land is within walking distance of the shop in this beautiful valley in which the village is located. Houses are scattered few and far between in the valley, surrounded by meadows and terraced maize and mustard fields. In this country known for its snowy peaks, the tall green hills surrounding the valley cannot be called mountains.
At the plot, Sunar’s daughter and a friend are working in the heat of the sun, crushing rocks. You can also buy crushed rock, but it is cheaper to make your own.
Soon there will be a small house on the plot that belongs to no one but Sunar. It feels wonderful.
Tomorrow, 14-year-old daughter Amrita can leave crushing rocks behind and gets to go to school, as the school year starts.
”Amrita is stronger than I am. She talks a lot and has lots of suggestions,” says Sunar.
Amrita is interested in a career as a volleyball player. ”She gets to choose herself,” Sunar assures us. Her 18-year-old son Amit works in a goldsmith shop in Kathmandu, but often visits his mother and sister.
”Mom is kind-hearted and funny. And a little strict. Mom used to be very quiet, but not anymore. I’m really pround of her being on the council,” says Amrita.
Work on behalf of women
Outcaste people still face many kinds of discrimination in Nepal.
”I’ve suffered a lot because I’m outcaste. But I have learned a lot as well. I’m here now because I have had so much support,” says Sunar.
According to Sunar, all members of the council are like one big family.
”We dine together and help each other. There is no discrimination there.”
Sunar knows from experience exactly what kind of skills a woman needs in order to improve her situation in society. She is now in a position to give advice and help others.
Being on the council only pays a small fee, and the 460 municipal councils of an impoverished country do not have a great deal of funds to hand out for local development. 18 percent of the funds are especially reserved for supporting women. This is better than nothing at all.
”My mind used to be empty. Now I have lots of knowledge, skills and ideas,” describes Sunar.
Growing up in Uganda’s biggest slum can label a person for a lifetime. Last week, 95 youth celebrated their graduation from Katwe’s Skills Center in Kampala, showing what can become of them when given a chance.
The air around the dusty field in the thick of Katwe’s slum area is bursting with excitement. White tents have been raised for a crowd of hundreds of viewers, including the 95 graduates from Katwe’s Skills Center.
They have completed their yearlong courses in photography, electronics and hairdressing, and are today dressed in their finest wear, including yellow robes and graduation hats. Finn Church Aid, The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Muslim Youth Development Forum have supported their studies. Representatives from the local police authorities are also present to witness the students’ big day.
“This is sending everyone a message not to judge a community as a whole before you give them an alternative way of life”, says Ahmed Hadji, Team leader of the Muslim Youth Development Forum.
Youth yearn for a chance to prove themselves
Katwe is Uganda’s biggest slum area and widely known as a notorious haven for criminality, prostitution and recruitment of extremist groups. The reputation labels the community as a whole.
22-year-old Kaweesi Ramadan says it was impossible to find work before. Not only because
Kaweesi Ramadan, 22, (middle) says that from this day on, he is going to walk proudly on the streets of Katwe to show an example to other youth of what they can become.
he never had the chance to go to school, but also because he grew up in Katwe. His upbringing already deters employers.
“I had to do things that people do when there is nothing else. I stole people’s phones and used drugs”, Ramadan says.
Ramadan was at rock bottom when community leaders approached him about the training. He managed to leave his former life behind and powered through a yearlong education, specialising in electronics.
Project administrator Diana Akunda explains that the project also aims to connect the students with officials and police with the intention of letting them understand that change is possible.
“We invited local authorities on Friday sessions to witness the progress and at least make sure that they remember the faces of these youth who are determined to earn a living through work”, she says.
“When I see the youth today and compare with what they looked like at the start, I’m the happiest person.”
Training builds mental character
The training requires a lot of discipline from youth who never went to school, and who have to wait to earn money until after the training is completed. Nambalirwa Babirye, 22, says she was extremely shy when she joined, but after finishing her training as a hairdresser, she feels more comfortable socially.
Nambalirwa Babirye, 22, (middle) celebrates becoming a hairdresser. Her dream is to start a saloon for celebrities.
“I grew up with a single-mom and had to quit school after the first grade because she could not afford it. I am so excited about finally learning skills that I already started teaching children what I know”, she says.
“I want to improve children’s lives, and personally I dream to start a saloon for dressing celebrities.”
Ramadan has learnt to repair electronics and create innovative technical solutions in an environment where creativity is much needed due to the lack of money. At the graduation event, another student displays a fully working helicopter he’s built during the training. The photography students have also decorated the venue with breath taking pictures.
Graduated electricians receive a toolkit worth 50 US dollars to help set up a business, while photographers and hairdressers are supported in establishing studios, saloons and spas.
“From this day, I will be walking proudly on the streets of Katwe to show what we all can become when given the chance to prove what we are capable of”, Ramadan says.
After a round of musical performances and inspirational speeches, the student’s receive their diplomas and cut the graduation cakes. Plenty of flowers are handed out, and when the speakers start blasting hit music, all 95 students spontaneously start dancing and singing along. The atmosphere is electric.
“This is the first time they celebrate something. There’s been years of negative attention for them, but now it is positive. I am so excited about this”, Hadji says.
We are living in the age of post-truth. Post-truth, because truth appears to be no longer relevant; it does not seem to matter if you tell the truth or lie. The value of a message lies within its entertainment value – how provocative it is and how it attracts annoyed masses.
May the best lie win. Truth, you are fired.
Truth and lies in the socially networked era are increasingly communicated through major platforms, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter. If we are not careful, these actors determine through algorithms what we see, with whom we interact frequently, and what we know about what is happening.
The platforms select our content, and truthfulness has not been their biggest concern. People have less direct access to “reality”, if they choose to use these platforms. In other words, we ignore the library, and take the book Google offers – sometimes without knowing, what other books are out there.
Right now, the algorithms control what we see, but we cannot control the algorithms or even challenge them. Yes, we got Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s post Cambridge Analytica apology, but that does not change much. The combination of post-truth and algorithm poses massive challenges for societies.
But why is this relevant for peace building?
Truthful accounts of what happens during violent conflicts are important for peacemakers, and ultimately for all actors that have a credible interest in sustaining peace and reconciling differences. False statements and wrong accusations can ruin sincere attempts to overcome violent conflict. So, more specifically:
1. It is meaningful to understand what really happens. Finding the truth, critically reviewing sources of information, and reflecting on what happens and why are important elements when trying to build peace.
Truth can bring recognition and closure to terrible events. Can you imagine how it feels if your family dies in a bomb attack and the other conflict party claims, it never happened? This is one reason why truth and reconciliation commissions are so important after violent conflict.
2. Lies travel faster than truth. But do we have time for complicated truths? Technology, it seems, is providing a conducive environment for “fake news”. This was evidenced by a study on false news traveling faster than true stories on Twitter. Have we lost the game already? No. Social media is based on social interactions. In other words, it is based on us.
We have influence and have to make choices. Perhaps during the next round of ‘Trump bashing’ we can ask ourselves if we are a part of simplified truth discussions, and should we be ready for complicated truth? The truth that looks beyond the statements of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, Trump and the German far-right party AfD.
3. How do we get truth to speed up? As everyone is so excited about artificial intelligence, we may just need to find the right application for it. For example Eyal Weizman used video footage from different angles of a bomb attack and computing power to model 3D cities. Forensic architecture is verifying which residential areas were hit by bombs. Using socially shared (and often accused to be fake) videos to convincingly verify what actually happened, is an important step forward. Another step may be to get a better grip on the millions of twitter bots and other semi-automatic fake news amplifiers.
This is difficult stuff, because good attempts of filtering out fake news may take real news with them. Still, it would be a great start if artificial intelligence could assist humans to claim back the human social online sphere.
Truth is an important element in peace building. Dealing with complicated truths requires dialogue and all sides of the story. Ultimately, one group, however convincing (or convenient) it may appear, rarely owns truth.
It requires some stretching from everyone to be in dialogue with those with whom we disagree most.
Matthias Wevelsiep
The writer is Development Manager for Digital Transition at Finn Church Aid.
Peace is like an egg. It is delicate and fragile, but in the right conditions, it gives life.
Those are the wise words of the late Deka Ibrahim, who resolved clan conflicts in Wajir County in the early 90’s, and later became instrumental in the peace processes in North Eastern Kenya. She was my role model when I decided to start working for peace.
I developed a passion for peacebuilding coming from a predominantly Somali pastoralist community in North Eastern Kenya. The region experiences intractable violent conflicts within and between different clans and exacerbated by historical marginalisation, insecurity and violent extremism.
The need for peace building was dire, and my experience is that women have a lot to contribute in peace processes. However, in pastoralist communities, women are often excluded from them.
Despite my background, engagement and education, it has never been easy for me to build trust within the communities I worked in. Early in my career, I supported a local organization in a peace dialogue, but the clan and religious leaders did not accept me because I was a young single woman.
Not only men resist the involvement of women in peace processes. I once interviewed a local woman peacebuilder in Wajir County on women’s role in a peace process, and she looked at me and told me “why don’t you ask the men these questions before asking us, they know better, they represent us.”
That does not make sense. Women are a part of the conflict, just like men. In Kenya’s pastoralist areas, women contribute to promoting a culture of violence with the use of proverbs, poems and songs.
I currently work for FCA along the Kerio Valley, amongst the Pokot and Marakwet ethnic groups, where women sing and dance for young men after they return from cattle raiding.
I also vividly remember how women from one clan burned a dead body in Garissa town during a clan conflict. They were carrying machetes on the streets. It was shocking to see women at the forefront of violent clan conflict.
Through my years in this field, I have realized that involving women in peacebuilding requires a deep understanding of the cultural and religious context, and working closely with these communities to identify culturally suitable strategies to bring women on board.
With FCA, we have designed talking circles involving local women from the Pokot and Marakwet. Traditional mechanisms of conflict resolutions among communities are often most effective for building peace. Women have the power to prevent violent conflict for instance with the Leketio, a belt made of cowrie shells worn by women. The belt signifies fertility and motherhood.
When a woman removes the belt during violent conflict, the youth from both ethnic groups immediately stop fighting. This shows the immense role women can play in peacebuilding.
I try to oppose the resistance to involving women in peace processes by building trust and using strategies acceptable to the communities. I work closely with community leaders, as they are connectors to the society.
Deka Ibrahim was a mentor, who inspired me, and I hope in turn to inspire young women at the grassroots level to work for peace. This does not necessarily mean women need to get a seat in the council of elders. I believe there are vast opportunities for women to engage and claim their role in peace building at the local level. This in itself is a gradual process that we should be willing to take.
Aziza Maalim
The writer works for FCA Kenia office as a coordinator for peace work.
Pibor was long known as the Wild West of South Sudan because of cattle rustling and age-set fighting. The effects of peace processes supported by FCA have enabled the town’s market to flourish and opened the people’s eyes to livelihood opportunities.
Et ole hyväksynyt markkinoinnin evästeitä nähdäksesi videon.
The rays of the evening sun caress the town of Pibor and inhabitants are washing themselves by the river at the end of a hot day. FCA’s finance administrator Moses Ludoru greets passers-by on his evening walk. His easy laughter is contagious.
Ludoru is a familiar sight to locals, as his evening walk has become routine during peacetime.
”I want to stretch my legs and see what people are doing. There is so much new development here,” Ludoru describes.
Women are digging the soil together. More and more are planting vegetables. Pibor’s marketplace is buzzing with people buying food and other items from the sheet metal shacks and clay huts. At a youth club, children are playing a football game on the television.
”Before, nothing was grown here, and we brought our food all the way from Juba. Now we can buy our food here,” Ludoru explains.
Young people fight each other for influence
Pibor is the main town of Boma State, nearly 400 kilometres east of the capital Juba. Boma used to be part of Jonglei State that has long been among the most restless regions in South Sudan.
Ludoru’s work began quite literally with an empty desk. Armed men had cleaned out the previous office premises down to the chairs and desks when he settled in Pibor in early 2016. Organisations had evacuated their employees.
The conflict was a sum of many parts, like poverty, food shortage, prevalence of guns, and struggle for power. When Ludoru arrived, the fighting was between the opponents and supporters of the governor at the time.
“Before FCA started building reconciliation, people in conflict were more likely to reach for a gun than to engage in dialogue,” says Ludoru.
Pibor is home to the Murle people, characterised by a hierarchy based on age-sets. Boys are born into a specific age-set distinguishable by name, colour and scar patterns traditionally made on the skin. One generation has an age span of 10 to 15 years.
Traditionally, there comes a time for each generation to become decision-makers for their people, but since the war, the traditional rhythm has been compromised.
”Young people who have fought in wars at a young age want to have more influence and they might use violence to achieve it,” says Ludoru.
Cattle rustling fuelled the violence
We stop at a tea room at a sheet metal shack serving strong-flavoured ginger tea. A group of around 20-year-olds stand near the building. Their leader, Bollein Daki, has a bullet wound in his elbow.
Simon Ngago (on the left), Allan Mau, John Kikir and James Golla are part of the Lango age-set. For them, peace means the freedom to move without fear, and that children can go to school without worrying. Photo: Liselott Lindström
Daki represents the Kurenen age-set, or youngsters around 15 to 25 years of age. The Kurenen separated from the slightly older Lango age-set. Before that, the Lango had separated from the Bothonia age-set. The rifts among the youth have been deep.
Bloody fighting ensued, forcing the Kurenen to retreat out of town. If Daki and his friends had shown their faces at the marketplace back then, the result would have been at least a fight.
”The fighting made farming impossible, and innocent people lost their property”, says Daki.
The conflicts usually start with cattle rustling. Raising cattle is the main form of subsistence in the area, and the number of cattle is a symbol of status. Young adults need cattle in order to marry and start a family.
The dowry sets a man back at least 50 cows. In a poor region, many decide to steal what they need, and the food shortage has also encouraged looting.
Previously fights were resolved using sticks as weapons, but the war increased the number of firearms in the region. “The consequences were ugly”, says James Golla from the Lango age-set. The fights could grow to involve thousands of people.
”We even lost parents in the crossfire, as our mothers and fathers tried to stop the fighting,” Golla reminisces. ”The violence stopped food transports, and everybody suffered.”
Livelihoods strengthen peace
Daki and Golla reconciled the disputes between their age-sets in a peace process last year. The reconciliation was inspired by the FCA-supported peace between the tribes of Boma State and the peace between Boma and the neighbouring Jonglei State.
The banks of the Pibor river are busy in the late afternoon. Photo: Liselott Lindström
In late 2016, FCA gathered the Murle of Boma and the Dinka of Jonglei for a peace meeting for the first time. The tribes reached a historic agreement on peaceful coexistence. The people of Boma State were granted permission to use the route to the capital Juba through Jonglei, making movement and trade easier.
40 leaders in key positions took part in the process between the states, and over 90 percent of those involved reported being satisfied with the results.
Boma State has about 200,000 inhabitants. Last year, FCA gathered the Murle leaders of the state to reconcile their differences on political appointments in the state leadership. Traditionally, the disputes have led to fights for which the parties involved have recruited young age-sets.
The strength of the peace was put to the test when a new governor took office again at the turn of the year – this time, under historically peaceful circumstances. For the first time in years, Boma State was spared any major violence.
”At first, I hated meeting the Lango, but now we are able to enjoy a meal together”, says Daki.
Peace would not be possible without increased livelihood and education opportunities, says FCA’s peace officer Stephen Drichi. Now, people are able to pursue their goals without fighting.
The age-sets have come together to learn skills such as fishing, baking and cooking. Now people from Pibor can find for instance fresh fish at the marketplace, in addition to dry food.
”We have also organised football tournaments for young people, with different age-sets playing together in mixed teams,” says Drichi.
An increasing number of children go to school
Before FCA arrived in Pibor, there were virtually no school buildings in the area, and education was not appreciated. The men made a name for themselves by fighting, and the women married underaged.
Work with education has opened the eyes of the Pibor townspeople to the significance of education, even for girls. Hellen Ajar (on the left) says that school is making her daughter Susan more independent and is giving her better opportunities to support the entire community. Photo: Hugh Rutherford
FCA has built several temporary learning spaces in the Greater Pibor area, and last May, five larger school structures were completed. In addition, FCA has trained 60 volunteer teachers.
The education project has reached over 4 000 children. The parents participate in the maintenance of the schools.
The improvement in education has encouraged parents to also send their daughters to school, in addition to boys.
Hellen Ajar sells tea at the Pibor marketplace and says that the youngest child of the family, Susan, 15, is allowed to continue with her studies all the way to university.
According to her, girls used to be brought up just in the hopes of cattle.
”Susan’s sisters married young, just like I did at 14. There have been men asking about Susan, but I have told them no,” says Ajar.
Education also strengthens peace. It increases the opportunities for work for children and youth and affects the survival of their families and communities. Young people are also offered peace education, providing them with tools for reconciliation and dialogue. In the reconciliation meetings themselves, the tools are a practical asset.
According to Drichi, conflicts that arise can be dealt with quickly.
”The next step is to prevent all dangerous situations, but that requires long-term work,” he says.
”The longer an individual person sees peace, the harder that person will work to maintain it.”
Text: Erik Nyström Photos: Hugh Rutherford and Liselott Lindström
New report published by the Berghof Foundation synthesises the insights from an exploratory study on the youth space of dialogue and mediation, primarily based on case studies in Myanmar and Ukraine, along with reflections from Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia. FCA’s Development Manager, Matthias Wevelsiep, has contributed in the making of the report.
In an endeavor to offer insights on ‘youth space of dialogue and mediation’, conflict contexts in Myanmar and Ukraine were explored in the report. People in their youth phase were conversed with, along with people who have passed beyond this phase of life, allowing them to reflect on their own youth and on their observation of (and interaction with) the work of young people.
As a follow-up to the UN Security Council Resolution 2250, the report makes a thematic contribution to the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, aiming to stimulate a much-needed discourse on youth contributions to dialogue and mediation.
