How Peace Direct Supports Local Peacebuilders In Areas of Conflict

With all the conflict that has been going on lately it would be easy to think our world is becoming more violent every day. However since the media mostly reports bad news, it pays to look beyond than the headlines and find where there is also peace, co-operation and love. Reading about violence and conflict taps into our primitive fears and want for survival, and gets us feeling we have to pay attention to all the bad news. Good news doesn’t have quite such a dramatic effect, but it is heart-warming to read stories of human compassion and strength.

I would like to share with you some amazing stories of human strength, courage and kindness. All of the people mentioned in this Hub are supported by a charity called Peace Direct. I particularly like the Peace Direct belief that those best positioned to create peace in areas of conflict are local people. In the midst of any conflict there will be people working for peace and it is these people whom Peace Direct supports.

During and after the recent riots here in the UK you will probably have heard stories of senseless violence and looting. It might seem that this is now the way of young people who grow up in deprived areas. You will probably know that young people were using Facebook and other social media to incite others to violence, but did you know that many other young people in the most deprived areas of London were using it to encourage others to stay at home well away from the trouble? Many of these youngsters are members of an organisation called Truce 20/20. This project in the London borough of Newham that has been helping youngsters learn conflict resolution, mediation and workshop leadership, skills that they can then pass on to others in their communities. While these young people may not have been able to stop the riots from happening, they are evidence that change can occur, that peaceful co-operation is possible. In the aftermath of the riots, the young people in Truce 20/20 are already working together to find ways to meet the challenges of their communities in a positive manner. One initiative of Truce 20/20 is an interactive video that encourages youngsters to consider the consequences of dealing with tricky situations with aggression, assertiveness or evasion.

Henri Ladyi is probably the Peacebuilder that most fills me with awe. He has been going into conflict-torn areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo for two years, and has convinced 4,532 militia fighters to give up their weapons. But he doesn’t stop there; he also provides the fighters with the assistance they need to live in peace, so that they won’t just return to violence at next call to arms. The men are trained in farming or in a skill and assisted to join working co-operatives, benefitting entire communities. Over a thousand of these former fighters have since joined the police force and many have joined the national army. 650 of the fighters were children who can now lead normal lives.

Henri’s work is so effective because he understands the people he supports, and knows their strengths. His organisation, Centre Resolution Conflits, has worked with other local peace-builders, leading to many more militia giving up their weapons. It also helps victims of the conflict to rebuild their lives by finding them safe places to live and materials to build a home. Earlier this year, when the UN discovered that its own $4 million disarmament project wasn’t working, it turned to Henri for help.

In rural Sudan an oil company built a health clinic for the locals, but they unwittingly built in on the land of a different tribe and conflict broke out. Local Peacebuilder, Rasha el Fangry, talked with the tribes, discovered what happened and the oil company agreed to build a second clinic. Now both tribes have the health care they need for their children, and they have peace.

Gulalai Ismail grew up in the Peshawar area of Pakistan, where children as young as twelve have been suicide bombers. On hearing of one such case, this astonishing young woman began working to counter the idea that extremist violence is a legitimate political tool. She was sixteen! Her Seeds of Peace group have now trained 50 young volunteers who go into schools, colleges and villages who persuade people to reject extremism and opt for peace, so saving many young boys from a life that could ultimately lead to suicide, and saving countless other lives.

In all these cases, what Peace Direct has done is find local people who are already working effectively for peace, and then provided the resources to make them even more effective. In some areas, such as Congo and Sudan, they have linked local groups, so creating regional networks. By publicising the work of these grassroots peace-builders to governments, aid agencies and media, the concept is spreading and in 2010 the UN sent Peace Direct’s paper Ripples Into Waves to all its peace advisors.

I hope that reading about these extraordinary – and yet ordinary – individuals will help you feel encouraged about the state of our world. Finally, one other thing I love about Peace Direct is their peace cards. On their website you can choose a picture and a quote and send a friends a beautiful e-card. They don’t even charge you for doing this, but they do suggest you give a donation - and so do I! In my opinion these just about the best cards you can send anyone, and the friends I’m making here at Hubpages can expect a few around Christmas time!

Here’s the link to the peacecards:

http://www.peacedirect.org

and to Truce 20/20’s video:

http://www.truce2020.org/listenuplistenhard/