John Bongei is building peace on the savannahs of northwest Kenya. It’s a work that requires time and trust.
We saved human lives in this forest, says 45-year-old John Bongei and points to the left, where a vast savannah spreads out as far as the eye can see.
No signs of human settlement can be seen. But that’s the idea. People in these parts prefer to live in hiding. We are at the border between the Pokot and Markwet tribes in northwest Kenya. The tribes have turbulent relationships and occasionally tensions escalate into violent conflicts. At such times it is safest to flee into “the bush”, and live in hiding somewhere on the vast savannah.
This is what happened last summer. Cattle rustling between the two tribes lead to fighting that in just one month claimed the lives of 26 people. John Bongei was needed once again.
Bongei, a Kenyan native, has worked as Finn Church Aid Programme Coordinator for Peacework here for two years.
“We went around these woods, day and night for two weeks with a representative of the local government in order to break the cycle of revenge. We met very young boys carrying weapons ready to go to battle”, Bongei recalls.
“We managed to get all the local chiefs together, and in the presence of witnesses they signed a treaty to end the fighting.”
News travel slowly round the savannah. Bongei and his partners helped take the message of peace to even the most remote hideouts. Further victims were avoided.
Building peace is long-term work
Bongei is proud of the achievement. Still, he emphasises that peacework requires patience as building trust takes a long time.
“The most difficult thing about peacework is opening communication right after people have been killed. I meet mothers, whose sons are dead, and the bodies have not yet been buried. And I have to ask them to give dialogue a chance. When the men are getting ready for battle, it is my job to offer them an alternative to revenge.”
John Bongei has had a major role in brokering peace between the Pokot and their neighbours the Turkana and the Markwet. The last battle resulting in death here was almost a year ago, and it’s been almost two years since the last killings on the Turkana border.
It is impossible to estimate how many lives have been saved.
Text: Satu Helin
Photo: Ville Palonen
The relationship between the Pokot and Markwet tribes is difficult. During the past year, fighting between the two has taken dozens of lives. Finn Church Aid is helping to build peace between the tribes. Two former warriors explain how it can be done.
It all began with watermelons.
Tensions had always existed between the Pokot and Markwet tribes in the remote rural regions of northwest Kenya. The Pokot are a tribe of cattle ranchers and the Markwet rely more on farming. Conflicts arose from time to time, particularly over water and land rights. Also, cattle rustling was a way of quickly gaining wealth and taking revenge. Becoming a warrior, which practically meant cattle thief, was a perfectly viable career alternative for many young people.
However, the two tribes lived in relative peace, until in March 2016 a group of Pokot allowed their cattle to graze on their neighbours’ melon fields. Damages rose to 5,000,000 Kenyan shillings, or about 45,000 euros. Nobody in these remote regions can produce such sums. Since the Pokot were unable to pay, the Markwet stole seven camels in retaliation. This sparked violence along the border region between the two tribes resulting in at least 30 deaths.
The threat of violence has persisted ever since, and many have fled their homes. Children are afraid to go to school as are occasionally the teachers. Trade between the tribes has come to a halt, further impoverishing the region.
Finn Church Aid has been building peace between the tribes since 2015. FCA workers have assisted in laying the foundation by making sure everyone’s opinions and experiences, including those of women and children, are taken into account in the peace efforts, and the inclusivity and security of meetings.
“The next step is finding income and education opportunities for young people. That is the only way to definitively end violence”, says John Bongei, FCA Programme Coordinator for peace work in Kenya.
To push for peace, a conference between the two tribes was organised in December 2016. It was the second attempt. The conference was originally supposed to take place three weeks earlier, but the Markwet announced they were not ready to sit down at the time.
Now the tribes have set up joined groups to work out issues of land usage, trade, water sharing and so on. Former warriors from both tribes also took part in peace talks. Here is what two of them have to say:
David Kanda, 33, former Markwet warrior
“The atmosphere in the talks is good, there are no particular tensions. It doesn’t feel bad to talk with the Pokot. I just tell them we want to love them!
I think there are two things we need to agree on in these particular talks. First, that people simply must be able to get along and coexist. Second, that we must continue trade. The Markwet sell fruits, like mango and bananas. The Pokot mostly sell goats. Both hold their markets on different days. They must be allowed to attend our market in peace and we must be allowed to attend theirs in turn. At the moment, people are afraid, and they dare not go onto the other tribe’s land.
I am now a businessman, but you know I was the mightiest warrior of all. Back then I was young and I didn’t have a family yet. I might have been 15 when I started stealing cattle. I stole cows and goats and climbed up trees to break apart beehives, which some Pokot use to produce honey.
The life of a warrior is not good. Snakes and wild animals can bite you when you go out at night and it is very difficult to see them, especially the snakes. When you ford a river in the dark, you can get attacked by a crocodile. This happened to many people. I saw about a dozen people get killed when I was cattle rustling.
I also noticed that if you want to get married as a warrior, it is very difficult to find a wife. Fathers don’t want to give their daughters to warriors. That is why I decided to quit fighting.
I haven’t participated in violence or theft in years. My life is stable and peaceful. My children go to school, I buy goats from the Pokot and sell fruit with my wife. The difference compared to my life as a warrior is remarkable.
A good way to build peace is for people from the Pokot and the Markwet tribes to marry each other. It is possible. Would I take a Pokot wife, you ask? My other wife is a Pokot! She is so beautiful, wise, pure and lovely! I have always admired the Pokot women and hoped very much to get a wife from among them. And then I got her!”
Noren Lorengetum Lokoryara, 40, former Pokot warrior
“The most important matter to discuss here today is grazing land. There is much more of it on the Markwet lands, because they have more rainfall over there. We need the right to allow our animals to graze on some of the good grazing land.
In the past, if I ever went on Markwet lands, I went there to steal cows or goats. I cannot remember the first time I did that but we did it often.
At first, it seemed smart, but soon it started to feel awful. It was awful seeing people die. Many people lost what they had been building their entire lives. I lost people close to me, but I also killed.
After one battle we decided we wanted peace. The life of a warrior was not good. For example, I have two wives and every time I went out to steal cattle they were very worried. Every time they had to wonder if I was coming back. I decided to start farming land instead of fighting. Now I have cows, goats, and a home where I can sit down in peace.
It is important to forget about the bad things to achieve peace. It serves us no good to dwell on the past. If a young man says he will become a warrior, I hit him with a stick!
I feel much better now than I did when I was a warrior. I get to take care of my own property. My cows produce enough milk for all my children. In our culture it is customary not to tell how many children you have, or how many cows. But I have many of them. When I go away, my children know that I am only out selling my products and I am coming back. We can all smile again.”
Text: Satu Helin
Photos: Ville Palonen
The National Dialogues Conference brought the world’s leading peacemakers to Helsinki for the third time.
Regional and local influences in dialogue processes formed an important part of the agenda in the third National Dialogues Conference HELD at the House of Estates in Helsinki on April 5th-6th. The conference was organised by CMI, Finn Church Aid, Felm and Common Space Initiative.
The event provided an ideal opportunity for stakeholders, experts and support actors to exchange ideas and experiences from various contexts.
“I think it’s important just to have that space where those who practice and work with national dialogues can meet each other and imagine what needs to be done in the future”, says Antti Pentikäinen, director of The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.
Pentikäinen says that the conference is an illustration of Finland’s commitment to peace building.
“I think that Finnish ownership and commitment to peace work is gradually increasing in the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the NGO sector, and I’m very happy about it.”
Ahtisaari and Pohamba reunite again
Former president of Namibia Hifikepunye Pohamba. Photo: Tatu Blomqvist
One of the highlights of the conference was when the former Presidents of Finland and Namibia, Martti Ahtisaari and Hifikepunye Pohamba shared their experiences from the liberation of Namibia.
The two men know each other since the 1970’s. At that time the UN laid out its first plan for the independence of Namibia, and the friendship was instant due to mutual respect, said Ahtisaari.
The work of Ahtisaari and Pohamba culminated in Namibia’s independence in 1990.
“The Finns have shaped Namibia’s future a great deal”, said Pohamba.
When asked about what kind of qualities are required from a successful peace mediator, Ahtisaari concluded that a mediator has to be “stubborn as a mule”. Pohamba echoed this, and said that “you need to sit many times and discuss, again and again”.
“Internal conflicts cannot be solved by people outside the country, but by people within the country.”
FCA is the secretariat of The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.
Read more about the meeting between Ahtisaari and Pohamba on CMI’s website.
A delegation of Libyan tribal and women leaders from the National Movement for Libya (Movement) concluded its visit to the United States today by calling on the UN to take a balanced approach to the Libyan peace process that respects the demographics of the country and strengthens cooperation with tribes and representatives of cities and civil society. The delegation delivered that message in a series of strategic meetings this week in New York and Washington, including with UN officials, UN Security Council member states, the U.S. State Department and others.
WASHINGTON – The Movement was formed to address the acute need for reconciliation, stability and the prevention of radicalization in rural tribal regions, which have often been overlooked in the peace process. “Libya is a tribal society,” said Sheikh Faraj Al-Obeidi, leader of the eastern Obaidat tribe and president of the Movement. “There are cities and modern civil society, but ignoring tribes means you don’t understand Libya. That has been unfortunately the case in many peace efforts.”
Tribal leaders asked the UN Security Council to examine whether the UN Support Mission in Libya has taken a balanced approach and how to ensure broader political participation in the future. They also called upon the Trump Administration to examine the situation. “We are confident that our message was heard and that Libyans will have better opportunities in the future to participate in their nation’s transition to peace and stability,” said Sheikh Faraj.
The Movement consists of tribal groups that both supported and opposed Gaddafi during the revolution. These groups have reconciled with the help of facilitators and reformed their structures to fully involve women. The delegation of tribal and women leaders was sponsored by the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies, with the support of Finn Church Aid.
“When states fail, traditional structures offer ways to rebuild legitimacy,” said Antti Pentikäinen, Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. “It requires skill and integrating tribal structures with woman, youth and municipal structures. The question now is whether Libyans will get to choose their own path or get sidetracked by militias, which often lead to repeatedly failing political processes.”
The Movement is committed to working with all Libyans in order to maintain the social fabric and overcome obstacles to lasting peace and reconciliation. Most importantly, the tribal elders believe that the political will of the Libyan people must be respected by all sides: “It will always be up to the Libyan people to choose their leaders,” said Sheikh Faraj.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) and the European Union in Liberia have launched a project to provide access to justice and gender sensitive legal awareness at grassroots level in Bong, Lofa and Nimba counties in Liberia.
The two-year project seeks to contribute to enhancing the rule of law and the respect of the fundamental human rights of the most vulnerable prisoners in Liberia. It also aims at improving access to justice by strengthening local capacities to provide gender sensitive and legal support and protection of prisoners’ rights in the three counties.
Speaking at the project launch ceremony, the Head of Cooperation Section and Resilience at the European Union Delegation in Liberia, Alberto Menghini emphasized that the project will enhance knowledge of law reinforcement representatives. This includes police and correction officers, legal practitioners, as well as enlighten community leaders on the rule of law and international human rights standards.
Menghini added that the initiative will further increase legal provision of legal assistance for vulnerable detainees. This includes strengthening dialogue, cohesion building and information sharing between stakeholders and improving attitudes and practices through awareness raising and advocacy at national and international level on issues of vulnerable detainees’ rights.
“Poor prison conditions and excessive pre-trial detention are a consequence of wider problems in the judicial system and cannot be fully addressed in isolation. However, they are also human rights violations that cannot be left unattended until the bigger problems are fixed. That’s why EU’s Human Rights Strategy in Liberia includes supporting initiatives aiming at improving prison conditions and reduce pre-trial detention”, Menghini stressed.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) Country Director, Hoslo Jiwa, explained that “we have all heard it when the alleged perpetrator of a crime says ‘I want to make a phone call’. It seems the right thing to say when you have been accused of a crime and you need help from your parents, guardian or a lawyer. It is something we take for granted”.
Jiwa further noted that FCA and its local partners will monitor the prisons and train Liberian police, prison guards and governors of prisons on international human rights of prisoners and establish a telephone system for three national prisons in Liberia. During 18 months prisoners will have access to phones and lawyers working on pro bona system to review their cases of incarceration.
FCA will manage and coordinate the project, that is funded by the EU. Liberian civil society organisations Rural Human Rights Activists Program (RHRAP) and the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) will implement it in Bong, Lofa and Nimba counties collaborating with government ministries and agencies and traditional and religious leaders in addressing some of the challenges that the Liberian justice system faces.
The project was officially launched by the Ministry of Justice. Assistant minister Hilary Siakor-Sirleaf pledged the ministry’s support and full collaboration toward the successful implementation of the project.
The project is implemented in Lofa, Bong and Nimba counties in Liberia in 2017–2018. It’s funded by the European Union – The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).
Delegation of the European Union to Liberia
Project Fact Page
People are dying from hunger in South Sudan as more than half of its population suffers from an urgent lack of food. The conflict has forced farmers to abandon their fields, and the cost of basic food commodities increase daily.
Text: Erik Nyström
The flag of South Sudan, a little worse for wear, flies over the market in the town of Alek. Photo: Paul Jeffrey / ACT Alliance
Africa’s worst war is entering its fourth year, but the situation only seems to get more dreadful.
A famine threatening a hundred thousand people’s lives was declared in parts of South Sudan in February, and a million more are considered to be at the brink of famine. The situation is described as man-made.
Because of the constant conflict, insecurity and displacement, people are unable to cultivate and produce food for themselves or for sale, FCA’s humanitarian program adviser Moses Habib explains.
For instance the Equatoria region has traditionally been the breadbasket of the country, producing a majority of consumable foods. Now it’s also been plunged into violence and can’t produce food items as before.
“Farmers have had to abandon their fields and stop planting and harvesting. There are agricultural villages that are now completely empty. No people are left, only wild dogs”, Habib says.
Potential spillover into FCA project locations
Late last year the UN warned that the violence in South Sudan might escalate into genocide. Armed groups kill people with machetes, burn down villages and gang rape women. Hate speech fuels the conflict, and there’s a fear that words lead to action.
Aerial view of rural village in South Sudan. Photo: ACT Alliance
On top of all this comes a famine, which by next summer might engulf 5,5 million people if nothing’s done.
Almost the same amount of people – more than 40 per cent of South Sudan’s population – are already in urgent need of food, agriculture and nutrition assistance. The drought that plagues Eastern Africa is also to blame for the severity of the crisis. FCA supports relief efforts in the region with a total of 150 000 euros, of which a third goes to food aid in South Sudan.
Famine has been declared in Unity state, which borders Jonglei state where FCA works. FCA’s field office in Fangak County is separated from Unity state only by the Nile River.
The beneficiaries of the ECHO financed project in Fangak have fled from Unity state during previous waves of conflict and insecurity.
“There is a likelihood of the famine spilling over to our project locations. We’re expecting that the numbers of internally displaced persons will keep rising”, says Habib.
“When people are hungry and do not see any assistance coming, they will start packing their belongings and walking in search of a place where they and their children can survive.”
Prices of goods are skyrocketing
According to Habib there are also visible signs of a looming famine among urban communities, including the capital Juba, where FCA’s country office is. The goods that are available in the markets in Juba are very few, and the prices have hiked up so much that most people don’t have enough money to purchase food.
The cost of living has risen exponentially across the country. Cereal prices have increased by more than 500 per cent in only a year. A staple food such as 3,5 kilo of maize grain now costs 1,200 South Sudanese Pounds (60 euros). Before the crisis erupted last summer it cost 110 SSP (5,50 euro).
Products such as bread, meat, tea and sugar have become luxury items that the average citizen cannot afford to buy. Four pieces of bread used to cost one pound (5 cents), but now one piece costs eight pounds (40 cents).
“As the cost of basic food commodities keeps increasing on a daily basis, most families are surviving on one meal a day or nothing”, Habib says.
“Quick action needs to be taken by the government and the international community to ensure that humanitarians are able to deliver lifesaving assistance without unnecessary impediments.”
A boy drinks water from a well in an internally displaced persons camp in Aweng, South Sudan. Photo: Paul Jeffrey / ACT Alliance
The civil society in Syria should be recognized as an important actor for change instead of a mere service provider. Read the full report from the NGO seminar How to support bottom-up community resilience in Syria.
Syrian civil society demands better inclusion in planning and implementing responses on Syria. That was one of the main conclusions of the seminar organized by Crisis Management Initiative, Felm, Fida International, Finn Church Aid, Kehys, Kepa and Save the Children Finland in Helsinki on January 23rd 2017.
The event took place one day ahead of UN’s launch of the 2017-2018 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) and the key humanitarian priorities in Syria.
The genuine inclusion of Syrian civil society in all phases of aid programming was seen as not only the right thing to do, but also as a vital prerequisite for success in building local resilience, long term development and sustainable peace.
It was noted that the multiple roles of Syrian civil society have to be recognized: instead of being a mere service provider it is an important actor both in building social cohesion and in interacting with local governance. Participants agreed that it is important to learn from the past experience and to ensure that aid to Syria doesn’t polarize further along the dividing lines of the conflict, but instead creates incentives for cooperation.
Read the full report in pdf-format by clicking on this link.
We have all heard it when the alleged perpetrator of a crime says “I want to make a phone call”. It seems the right thing to say when you have been accused of a crime and you need help from your parents, guardian or a lawyer. We have all got used to hearing these same words used in countless TV shows that we take it for granted.
Finn Church Aid and its partners the Rural Human Rights Activist Program (RHRAP) and the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) are embarking on a two year human rights project. The project is funded by the European Union, and it aims to monitor human rights violations in Liberian prisons and engage in proactive dialogue with authorities. As part of a comprehensive referral system, prisoners are given access to a telephone so that they can talk to their families, and those with issues of wrongful imprisonment can have access to lawyers.
That’s right access to a phone, a simple basic right!
Finn Church Aid and its partners will train Liberian police, prison guards, judges, lawyers and wardens and key people from communities on international human rights and prisoners’ rights standards. Beside the possibility to access phone privileges in the three target national prisons, prisoners will also enjoy pro bono legal assistance from selected lawyers to review their cases of incarceration.
Liberia in the past has gone through a brutal civil war and the latest Ebola epidemic has created a disorder of documentation of who is in prison and why. This practical and systematic project will give the Liberian authorities an overview if due process of incarceration has been followed.
The steps of incarceration should follow six basic steps. Complaint – arrest – court appearance – incarceration pre-trial – trial – release or detention.
According to RHRAP and AFELL, detainees have not been charged, have never seen a court, and have been put straight to jail by someone with power. Others have been on pre-trial detention for years without hope of seeing a court in the near future. This project will address the issue through a comprehensive approach, engaging the right people and institutions in finding long-lasting solutions.
The second part of the project is to strengthen the organisational capacities of partners to maximise their chances for international funding in the future and carry out quality work according to international standards.
Hoslo Jiwa
Country Director Liberia, Finn Church Aid
The project “Providing Access to Justice and Gender Sensitive Legal Awareness at Grassroots Level” contributes to enhance the rule of law and the respect of the fundamental human rights of the most vulnerable prisoners in Liberia, most often women and youth.
The project is implemented in Lofa, Bong and Nimba counties in Liberia in 2017–2018. It’s funded by the European Union – The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).
Delegation of the European Union to Liberia
EIDHR: The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights
Project Fact Page
The war in Syria will soon be entering it seventh year. In order for the international community to best support the resilience of the Syrian people in the midst of the conflict, it is crucial that attention is paid to social cohesion and supporting the Syrian’s own plans and actors. This was the main message of seven civil society organisations at the 23 January conference titled ‘How to build bottom-up community resilience in Syria?’ The event took place in connection with an international conference on Syria hosted by Finland on 24 January, where the United Nations will announce its plans for Syria concerning humanitarian aid and refugees.
“Strengthening the social cohesion of the Syrian people should be part of all aid in Syria. There is a need for common spaces where all Syrians can work together regardless of what groups they belong to. There is a need for cooperation between Syrian cities. At urban level there must be work with both local communities and internally displaced persons,” said Eva Zidan from Syria, coordinator at the civil society organisation COSV (Coordinamento delle Organizzazzione per il Servizio Volontario of Italy) in Syria.
The conference also pointed out that the international community and donor countries have furthered the rupture of Syria’s social cohesion by supporting only particular local actors. Another problem is that Syrians have not been included enough in planning and implementing humanitarian assistance. The international community has talked about Syrians but not with Syrians themselves. Decisions have been made on a top-down basis, without taking account of local level perspectives. And yet Syrians know best about local problems and how to solve them.
Syria Crisis Policy and Campaigns Advisor Alexandra Saieh from Oxfam said, “Women are taking on additional responsibilities but they’re still the least consulted. Women’s perspectives must be integrated for bottom up community resilience. In addition, donors and international organizations should scale up long term, flexible funding directly to local civil society from Syria, so that they can plan for and own the future.”
Zedoun Alzoubi, the CEO of UOSSM (Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations), which carries out humanitarian work in Syria stressed the need for cooperation between civil society and local governance institutions: “Local cooperation between civil society locally and local administrative structures can weaken the influence of militias and combat radicalisation.”
The conference also discussed the importance of education and livelihood in ensuring that Syrian resilience and reconstruction succeeds.
The conference was organised by the Crisis Management Initiative, Felm, Fida International, Finn Church Aid, Kehys – The Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU, Kepa and Save the Children Finland.
Last week, Finnish CSOs issued a statement in which they called on the UN to involve Syrian local communities, civil society and local government in all operations conducted in Syria. In recent days, more signatories have endorsed the statement, and it has now been signed by 28 civil society organisations.
Statement by Finnish CSOs and list of signatories
Further information:
• Crisis Management Initiative (CMI): Maruan El-Krekshi, Programme Director for Middle East and North Africa, maruan.elkrekshi@cmi.fi, +358 40 747 4530.
• Felm: Minna Saarnivaara, Syria Initiative Project Manager, minna.saarnivaara@felm.org, +358 50 517 8396.
• Fida International: Ismo Salerto, Humanitarian Aid Manager, ismo.salerto@fida.info, +358 40 829 2206.
• Finn Church Aid: Tomi Järvinen, Director of International Cooperation, tomi.jarvinen@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi +358 40 641 8209.
• Kehys – The Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU: Rilli Lappalainen, Secretary General, rilli.lappalainen@kehys.fi, +358 50 561 3456.
• Kepa: Outi Hakkarainen, Policy Adviser, outi.hakkarainen@kepa.fi, +358 50 317 6728.
• Save the Children Finland: Sanna Vesikansa, Advocacy and Policy Adviser, sanna.vesikansa@pelastakaalapset.fi +358 50 433 1382.
At the London conference one year ago donors and Syria’s neighbouring countries, who host most of the refugees from the war, agreed on a “comprehensive new approach” to tackle the humanitarian crisis. It consisted of financial pledges and policy changes aimed at improving the lives of refugees and host communities.
The Stand and Deliver report concludes that the conference failed to deliver on key commitments regarding civilians within Syria and the refugees in neighbouring countries. The review was made by 3 NGO platforms and 28 organisations, including Finn Church Aid.
Download the report from this link (pdf).