Money, power, land, resources, ethnic and national lines and boundaries.
Dotted lines on maps drawn by foreign hands. War has devastated the social fabric of lives and countries for centuries as people are lost to the panting for more, the desire for theirs. But why? Why war? When is enough, Enough? If you listen, you will hear the echoes of voices rising loudly asking for the cessation of the fighting, the strain, the decimation of families, communities, countries.
From Northern Uganda to Eastern Congo, Southern Sudan to Burundi, steps toward peace are being taken. A direct act to push back the shadow, we are ending war by moving towards peace. As Henri Nouwen says, "calling forth life" is our task. From conflict management to assisting families returning to their land after living in refugee camps to teaching literacy skills to those forced to give up their educations to emergency food distributions in areas of conflict, life is being called forth. And though the steps toward peace vary as much as the complexities of conflict from which they are tread, we will continue to call forth life until we get there.
The vast expanse of desert melts into the horizon.
A line of camels saunters under the slanting afternoon light while low-lying shrubs dance lightly in the breeze. Northern Kenya is considered a frontier, where the influence of the West is not nearly as saturating as cosmopolitan Nairobi.
But the area is also host to a history of inter-ethnic conflict, turned violent with the access to automatic weapons. Livestock raids are resulting in deaths, and a cycle of revenge killings has emerged.
Northern Kenya is home to a mix of tribes including the Rendille and Borana, who have traditionally been pastoralists, or livestock herders. These nomadic people rely on access to pasture and water for the survival of their livestock - and these resources are scarce.
The conflicts center around competition over these valuable resources and are heightened by things like cattle rustling, the wide availability of small arms, land scarcity, and increasing levels of poverty.
The result of these conflicts? The loss of human life and personal property, the displacements of large segments of communities, the disruption of socio-economic activities and livelihoods, environmental degradation, and increased levels of malnutrition among displaced groups.
The delicate dynamics between these groups can easily be triggered to violence, or, potentially, nurtured towards reconciliation. FH conducts peace-building trainings for the Rendille and Borana ethnic communities in the Laisamis division of Marsabit district, Kenya, focusing on conflict management, analyzing the causes of tension, discussing the benefits of cooperation between communities and exploring ways to reduce conflict.
These trainings allow for a platform of rapport to develop between people, and hopefully, the beginnings of trust. At the end of one training selected members formed a committee, which was tasked to visit both communities and guide discussions about livestock that had been stolen. An agreement was made, 47 stolen animals were returned, and the potential raid that could have happened, didn't.
Since this training these two communities have returned stolen livestock without FH initiative seven times. And peace has remained.
The steps are small, but they are real.
Peace. From War.
what
+ Peace and Conflict Mitigation
+ Psycho-Social Intervention with War-Affected Populations
+ Trainings in Conflict Management
+ Refugee Resettlement Assistance
+ Sensitization of Host Communities with Returnee Groups
+ Pastor and Community Leader Discipleship
+ There are at least 22.7 million displaced people, including 9.9 million refugees and 12.8 million internally displaced persons worldwide.
+An estimated 1.6 million people are living in IDP camps in Northern Uganda as a result of a 20-year civil war.
+ 5.4 million people have died over the last ten years in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to war and war-related causes. This is the world's deadliest conflict since World War II, and today there are still 1.5 million internally displaced people or refugees as a result of the conflict. Some 45,000 people continue to die each month.
+ Facts From: United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
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