Countering violence in war-torn Yemen

Credit: Search for Common Ground

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“When you sleep at night, you just think: ‘Maybe I will wake up. Maybe I will not,’” says Shoqi Maktary, Search For Common Ground’s Yemen Country Director. The war in Yemen is one of the most underreported humanitarian crises in the world today. The small country on the Arabian Peninsula, packed with 27.5 million people, is suffering from a civil war that’s now a proxy for others. Over a million people have fled their homes. "People can’t access the basics they need to survive,” says Maktary. Millions lack water, medicine, or shelter.  Beyond the immediate mayhem caused by the fighting, the war has also deepened existing divisions and created new ones between Sunni and Shi'a, refugees and host communities. "I worry the violence is creating a new generation of young people who'll grow up with this hatred for each other," warns Maktary. (You can read here a Reuters article on the war and what can be done.)  In Yemen, most people accept violence as an appropriate way to handle certain disputes. It is common practice to discipline children at home and at school, using violence. War has exposed this everyday violence for what it is.  Search for Common Ground, a charity which partners with people across African, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA to end violent conflict is trying to change this. Their team works closely with women, educators, migrants, young people and the media to develop a culture of respect, human rights and constructive problem-solving.   They have launched a peace-in-school program last year, training over 900 teachers, partners and government officials to understand the effects on violence on children's development. Their ability to resolve conflicts without violence has increased by 50%. Teachers tell stories about how students once triggered them to resort to violent punishment, but now the same behavior prompts them to discover why the kids are acting out. They say that they are committed to "break the stick." One teacher, Khaled, explains: "This training comes at a time when the school environment and community as a whole are overwhelmed with violence.  We were in desperate need for such training." Seeing the impact of the program, Yemen's Ministry of Education now wants their entire staff to take the training, which might lead to conflict resolution curricula in every school. Maybe these children will build a better future for their country...

On International Day of Peace, Brussels' landmark becomes Manneken Peace

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On International Day of Peace this Monday, September 21, Brussels turns its famous landmark, Manneken Pis, into Manneken Peace.  

Manneken Pis is a tiny 17^th-century bronze fountain statue of a little peeing boy. Locals love him and have many stories about why this statue was erected.   They celebrate festivals and draw attention to causes dressing the little boy in one of the 900 costumes his has acquired over the centuries. 

To mark International Day of Peace, CNAPD, a Belgium association of youth and educational groups for peace and democracy, will dress the Manneken (little man) in a bespoke peace outfit inspired by school children’s and students’ drawings.  More than 200 youngsters submitted drawings of pacifist outfits for the little boy and the best were integrated into a costume by a young designer.

On September 21 between 9 am and 2pm, members of the public will be able to admire the Manneken Peace, share a pintje (a pint) and if they feel inspired, propose their own creation around the theme of peace – a song, a poem, a drawing, a video etc.

In addition, during the week, 125 Belgian localities will fly a peace flag and call for the abolition of nuclear arms.

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.

Survivors of war and torture united by music - Stone Flowers

Stone Flowers members/courtesy of Stone Flowers

 
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Stone Flowers – a musical group comprised of war and torture survivors – is releasing its new album Ngunda, proving that something beautiful can come out of unimaginable violence.

I liked working on this story because Stone Flowers is more than the sum of its parts: it is a music group, producing beautiful, uplifting music, but it is also a therapeutic and political project. Members have experienced torture and terrible losses - of home, family, culture and even of the person they were before. They write about these difficult topics, along with hope and resilience, in the languages and rhythms of their home countries, which include Iran, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Sudan and DRC.  

Music helps reduce the trauma and gives survivors a way of speaking out against human rights abuses.  It also allows a connection with home and a more positive association with the loss of that home.

 As Stone Flowers members all bring their own musical heritages to the process, the result is rich and unusual - a cornucopia of styles and influences, where Arabic poetry mixed with West African rhythms and English folk segued into Caribbean and Tamil songs.

The name of the group, Stone Flowers, comes from a Persian folk song the group performed for their first album.  They liked the name because it evokes both strength and fragility, and also because it had Manchester overtones (i.e. Stone Roses), where the group is based. 

Created four years ago, Stone Flowers is supported by the charities Musicians without Borders UK and Freedom from Torture North West.  The group is performing life at many events and is now recording a new album, ‘Ngunda’, which will be launched at Amnesty International HQ in London on June 5.  The album takes its name from one of the ten tracks: Ngunda Azali Mutu, meaning 'A refugee is a human being' in the Bantu language Lingala.

 

Here is the story I wrote for Positive News.

Rwanda's Gorilla Guardian

Eugene Rutagarama tracking gorillas early morning to locate them before tourists visit them in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. This is what is done everyday to check on the health of each individual gorilla, but also to ensure that tourists visiting them are able to watch them. Photo: courtesy of Eugene Rutagarama.

Last month, the world remembered the Rwandan genocide. We all marvelled at how the country seemed to have healed and moved on, how the economy was blooming - and we talked about lessons to be learned (in the meantime, there are fears that the conflic in the Central African Republic could lead to another genocide...)

 

The Rwandan genocide was still in full swing this month 20 years ago - in just 100 days, nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. I wanted to speak with a man who worked for peace in a different way: Eugene Rutagarama. He is the man who made sure the genocide didn't include a group of humanity's most endangered relatives – the mountain gorillas.  The gorilla population is now rising and contributing to the nation’s economic growth (an important factor of peace). It is also a rare unifying factor in a region still ravaged by conflicts. Here is my interview with him in The Ecologist.

Rwanda's 'gorilla guardian' - Eugene Rutagarama

Veronique Mistiaen

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda could easily have finished off the mountain gorillas of the Virunga mountains. The fact that they survived is in large part thanks to Eugene Rutagarama. He spoke with Veronique Mistiaen about the primates' future prospects ...

Rwandan biologist Eugene Rutagarama is widely credited for making sure that the victims of the genocide and subsequent wars didn't include the critically endangered mountain gorillas.

The gorillas have and are still contributing to the economic growth of the country - and this in turn is contributing to peace.

Today, nearly half of the world's 800-some remaining mountain gorillas live in the lush tropical forests covering the Virunga Mountains, the chain of volcanoes straddling Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rutagarama's conservation achievements won him the Goldman Environmental Prize - a kind of Nobel Prize for environmental activists - in 2001.

As people all over the world remember Rwanda's 1994 genocide - which was in full swing this month 20 years ago - I wanted to talk to Rutagarama about the remarkable recovery not only of the nation, but of the gorilla population, and his role in it.

The 1994 genocide - today and back then
"April is for me the month when I take time to think of the meaning of the genocide and its implication on the Rwandan society and on me in particular.
"How would I and my relatives be if the genocide didn't occur? What would have been the course of my life? Then I spend time thinking of each of the relatives and friends I lost during the genocide. 

"Almost each Rwandan from all ethnic groups has lost dear relatives and friends or suffered some pain as result of the genocide. The majority of youth is now enjoying the country economic growth and opportunities.
"The coexistence is of course far from being ideal, but tremendous progresses have been made. But the roots of hatred will take long to be completely removed. In this respect, the political leadership matters a lot."

Peaceful giants, and murderous people
Rutagarama is now advisor to the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration - a wildlife conservation cooperation between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

He first looked into the liquid brown eyes of a large silverback during a trip to the Virunga National Park with his brother in 1990. The encounter was so moving and thrilling that he decided to dedicate his life to preserving these peaceful giants.

As he was leaving the park with his brother, another encounter was also going to mark his life. A group of youth blocked their way, sneering: "Have you seen these snakes?" Then they addressed their guide: "Hey guide! Why don't you bash these snakes on the head?"

Four years later, nearly one million "snakes" - or "cockroaches" as the Tutsis were also called - and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by Hutus gone mad. Rutagarama's father, mother and three of his brothers were amongst the victims.

A life's mission: protecting the endangered gorillas
Protecting the gorillas in the aftermath of the genocide became the young biologist's single focus. Above all their habitats were at acute risk as the government tried to resettle more than two million people. And that effort also helped him go beyond hatred and despair.

"After the genocide in 1994, the need for protecting gorillas was urgent. It was for me a priority to make sure that they were protected. I put in my focus and my full soul. There was no more space for anything else."

Gorilla conservation, in fact, played a role in healing not just Rutagarama, but the surviving wildlife staff, many of whose former colleagues had been killed or forced to flee. Indeed the gorillas have helped to bring healing to the whole devastated country.

"After a humanitarian disaster as horrific as the genocide, the common struggle to preserve something of shared value allowed people to transcend the conflict and create links."

Peace-building course in Rwanda helps next generation learn from the past

Ceremony at the Kigali's Genocide Memorial/courtesy of the Aegis Trust

On a recent reporting trip to Rwanda, I spent a day at the Kigali’s Genocide Memorial Centre. It is a harrowing and moving place of remembrance and learning for Rwandans and international visitors, built on the mass graves of 250,000 people killed there during the genocide.

I had first visited the Genocide Memorial in April 2004 for its inauguration and events marking the 10^th anniversary of the 1994 genocide during which Hutus soldiers and militias killed nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The country was still in ruins and the scars of the genocide were visible everywhere. Survivors told me horrific stories and I was wondering how they would ever manage to heal and go on living. I thought the country would never recover from something like that.

But 19 after the genocide, the country is recovering. Rwanda's is the fastest-growing economy in Africa. Its infrastructure is rapidly expanding and so is access to health and education. The government has adopted policies of peace and reconciliation, encouraging people to leave behind their divisive ethnic identities and think themselves simply as Rwandans. The perpetrators have been tried at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, and in the Gacaca courts, the traditional village courts in Rwanda.  You can see convicts in pink jumpsuits all over the country, toiling in the fields and on the roadsides, working for the public good, and that helps the nation to mend.

On the surface, Rwanda is healing and has moved on from its terrible past.  But at the Genocide Memorial, I was told there are worrying signs that children who were not even born during the genocide are perpetuating the ethnic prejudices of their parents.

Over 60% of the Rwanda’s population is under the age of 24, so their understanding of the genocide is shaped by their families and communities. “There are resentments and ideologies that children learn from their parents and wider communities, and these feelings pose a threat to long-term stability,” says Dr. James Smith, CEO of the Aegis Trust, the British charity which runs the Genocide Memorial with the Rwandan government.

The organization believes that the next five to ten years are crucial to reach this generation to help safeguard Rwanda against internal strife.  It has designed, alongside the local organization “Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace” (IRDP), a peace-building course where young people who were not born during the genocide or were very young can learn how hatred and prejudice can lead to mass violence and why peace and reconciliation – even when it may seem difficult and at times impossible – is vital for their personal future and that of their country. 

Peace-building course at the Kigali Genocide Memorial/Veronique Mistiaen

This is very important, says Mona Weissmark, Associate Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University Feinberg Medical School and an expert in the inter-generational impact of injustice.  “If left unresolved, the trauma of any atrocity inflicted on an ethnic group is then passed along to the next generation and those in turn lead to entrenched ethnic tensions and group conflicts.”   She is the author of  “Justice Matters: Legacies of the Holocaust and World War II”, which explores the psychology of hatred and ethnic resentments passed from generation to generation.  In the face of unjust treatment, says Weissmark, herself the daughter of Holocaust survivors, the natural response is resentment and deep anger - and a desire for revenge. While legal systems offer a structured means for redressing injustice, it often does not redress the emotional pain, which, left unresolved, is then passed along to the next generation - leading to entrenched ethnic tension and group conflict.

I’ve written a piece for the Guardian on the Genocide Memorial’s peace-building programme.  You can read it here.

Women Connect, Build Peace

Here is a great initiative that brings together women from Arab, Muslim and Western communities around the world to help breaking down cultural and religious stereotypes and misunderstandings.

The Connection Point Dialogue was launched a year ago by Peace X Peace, a global women’s peacebuilding network, to counter the alarming rise in Islamophobia.

It is a forum for open, informal, real-time communication that can humanize distant peoples and expand worldviews.  The first phase was a blog where women from all over the world could write, ask questions, debate and learn about one another. The second phase uses videoconferencing to further the cross-cultural exchanges.

Stephanie Knox Cubbon, one of the program’s facilitators, says:  "Though we come from different places, we share many challenges and issues, and together we can learn strategies to overcome these challenges. The Connection Point Dialogue allows women not only to examine these challenges, but to brainstorm ways to take collective action to make the world more peaceful for everyone....in today's increasingly globalized world, a program like this is needed now more than ever."

Founded in 2002, Peace X Peace (pronounce Peace by Peace) involves 20,000 women in 125 countries.  Their programs promote gender equity and peacebuilding through leadership development, mentorship, public policy and intercultural dialogue. They are great! Read more about them here and look for their posts on my blogroll. 

Somali women want a voice at London Somalia Conference

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 As world leaders meet in London tomorrow to decide Somalia’s future, Somali women living in the UK are calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to ensure that women are not denied a place at the peace table.

Tomorrow,  February 23, senior representatives from more than 40 governments are gathering in London to discuss the transition to a new caretaker government in Somalia.

 Somali women are concerned that if they are not part of the political process, their rights will be ignored or even undermined by the new government.

 Although less than a quarter of girls in Somalia are in primary education and violence against women is rife, a leaked draft of the conference communiqué contains no reference to women’s rights or women’s political participation.

In the past, the UK has played a leading role in pushing the UN to recognise the critical importance of women’s participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, helping to create UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls on states to include women in decision-making on peace and security.

Despite this, formal negotiations on the transition process have been dominated by foreign governments and Somali elites, who are overwhelmingly male.

 Sheffield-based Somali activist Amina Souleiman spoke with hundreds of Somali women and found there was deep concern about women being ignored by the London conference. She said:

“Somalia has been a failed state for 20 years, and all along, men were in charge.
 The draft communiqué talks about a role for Islamists in Somali politics but says nothing about a role for women. This clearly sends the wrong message and gives the green light to clan, tribal and religious leaders to exclude women from the political process.

 “David Cameron must call on the international community to support the participation of Somali women in the political process, to protect women’s rights and to find a lasting peace in Somalia.” 

Chitra Nagarajan, Director of Gender Action for Peace and Security UK, said:

 “The UK government is failing to join the dots here. After doing so much at the UN to champion women’s important roles in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, will it put that rhetoric into practice at home? If the conference communiqué doesn’t include support for women’s participation and put in place ways to protect and promote their rights, it will be a huge missed opportunity to help build a real peace for Somalia, one that has true meaning for both women and men.”

Afghanistan: what about the women?

credit: Women for Women International 

Ten years ago this week, the US and allies including the UK invaded Afghanistan - a move they justified in part with promises to defend women’s rights. A decade on, Afghanistan remains one of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world to be a woman.

Now, the countries that led the invasion back in 2001 are attempting to sit down at the negotiating table with the Taliban. And Afghan women fear that Western governments will sacrifice their rights and safety to reach an elusive deal with the Taliban.

In December, Foreign Secretary William Hague will represent the UK at discussions about the Afghanistan peace process. Organisations, such as  Amnesty International UK, CARE International UK, Oxfam GB and Women for Women International UK,  are urging the Foreign Secretary to ensure that Afghan women’s hard won but fragile rights do not become a bargaining chip to be traded away in the name of peace and that Afghan women are included in peace negotiations.

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK said "The peace process in Afghanistan mustn’t mean putting a price on women’s rights. These are non-negotiable. They’re the ‘red lines’ that the Afghan community, Nato and countries like the UK must insist on."

Millions of Afghan women and girls have seen progress in their lives since 2001: two and a half million girls are enrolled in school, women can work outside their homes, while the constitution grants women and men equal rights.

Yet Afghanistan remains one of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world to be a woman. Their rights are weakly enforced, most women still have limited access to basic services such as healthcare and education, and they face risks from violence and conflict. This is particularly true for the brave women who are active in public life; they face intimidation and the threat of violence on a daily basis.

In addition, women’s voices have been largely silenced in the search for a peace deal.

Shaheen Chugtai, Humanitarian Policy Advisor, Oxfam GB said: “A just and lasting peace is necessary in order to improve the lives of all Afghans. We have to remind William Hague and the international community that the best way of achieving such as peace is by making sure that Afghan women are meaningfully involved at all levels of negotiation and that explicit guarantees of their constitutional rights are built into any peace deal.” 

Amnesty is urging all of us to take action and tell our government not to trade away women’s rights. You can do this here.

 Besides Amnesty International UK, CARE International UK, Oxfam GB and Women for Women International UK, the coalition of organisations are members of Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS). They also include ActionAid UK, International Action Network on Small Arms, Northern Ireland Women’s European Coalition, Saferworld, Soroptimist International UK, United Nations Association UK, UN Women UK, Womankind Worldwide and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. GAPS campaigns under No women, no peace and is petitioning the UK to honour commitments to women’s rights in Afghanistan. 

Supporters will wear green scarves and participate in candlelit vigils on 31st October in solidarity with women in Afghanistan. Click here for more details.

Pakistani women need support

Last week, I wrote an entry about the world’s most dangerous places for women. Pakistan came third on the basis of cultural, tribal and religious practices harmful to women, according to a global report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

 
A few days later, I was approached by the head of a non-profit organization working for women’s rights and peace in Pakistan. She was asking for help.

Dr. Shabnam Nazli contacted me through the online women’s network PeaceXPeace, a grassroots community of women who share cross-cultural solutions to achieve peace in their families, communities and in the world.

Dr. Nazli is the chair of Hope Development Organization, founded in 1997 by a group of feminists to address and combat the “daily abuses and crimes against women in Pakistan, such as child marriage, honour killing, domestic violence, acid throwing, bride burning, dowry death, murder of pregnant women, human trafficking, sexual violence and female genital mutilation,” she says.

Despite some government’s actions, violence and discrimination against women remain rampant, as the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s TurstLaw global report testifies. “It is difficult to work for peace and equality in an environment of deep-seated traditionalism, terrorism, political instability and bad economy,” says Dr Nazli.   90% of Pakistani women experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. Women in the country earn 82% less than men and 1000 women and girls are victims of honour killings ever year, according to the global report.

HDO is doing much needed work to educate and empower women, and provide health services and skills training.  But they lack the resources needed to keep going.  “We need your encouragement and your help to continue working,” Dr Nazli pleads.

Please, visit HDO website and send messages of support,  and if you can donations.

 

Most Mira festival – hope in a deeply divided post-war Bosnia

Today’s judgment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), convicting two Croatian generals of responsibility for crimes against humanity, is a strong victory for Balkans war’s victims.

But in Bosnia, sixteen years after the signing of the Dayton Agreement, the region is still deeply scarred and profound divisions fester underneath a fragile peace. Last year’s Bosnian elections saw a resurgence of nationalism and threatening rhetoric – on an even larger scale than before the war.

While traditionally, Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks have lived and worked together in the country, the children born after the war are completely segregated.  They live in different areas, go to different schools where they learn different versions of their country’s history, and never meet children from another ethnic/religious background.

But once a year in May since 2009, some 450 children from all ethnic groups in the Prijedor region of Northern Bosnia come together for Most Mira (Bridge of Peace) festival, a festival of dance, drama, music and arts where they learn new skills, develop friendships and build a new future.  

The festival is run by a growing number of volunteers from all over the world and is the brainchild of Kemal Pervanić, a Muslim from North West Bosnia who survived the infamous Omarska concentration camp and now lives in England, where he founded the charity Most Mira in 2005.   

Pervanic was so alarmed at the mistrust and hatred he discovered during his visits back to his hometown of Kevljani that he decided to try to bring the children together and “build a bridge of understanding and tolerance between youngsters who have learned only fear and distrust.”   Many of these children have now developed lasting friendships across ethnic groups.   

The weeklong festival, which will run this year from May 16 to May 21, also provides one of the rare opportunities for these children to engage in the arts in a region whose economy has yet to recover from the war.

The project almost collapsed when Pervanic realized that one of the local teachers he had enlisted into the scheme was one of his interrogator/torturer in Omarska.

Pervanic is the author of The Killing Days – My Journey through the Bosnian War and a human rights activist. He contributes regularly to conferences and educational talks on issues relating to genocide and human rights, as well as to TV and radio programmes about Bosnia, The Hague war crimes trials, and issues such as citizenship. 
He has an MA in Conflict Resolution from Bradford University. I've met him for an article a few years ago and we have remained in contact.

Most Mira needs help: if you want to get involved or make a donation, click here.

Building Bridges of Peace around the world

Millennium Bridge, London/Mark Allen

Earlier this month, I wrote a post on the Join me on the Bridge campaign organized by Women for Women International to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day.

On March 8^th, Women and men stood together on bridges around the world, celebrating the achievements of generations of women before us, while calling for peace and an end to violence and injustice against women in Afghanistan and other war-torn countries. 

Thousands stood in solidarity on 646 bridges in 70 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia- Pacific and the Americas. Fifty five events took place in the UK alone and some 2,000 women, men and children marched together on Millennium Bridge in London. 

It was a fantastic, uplifting and inspiring day. Here are a few pictures from around the world: 

Sydney/Susie Hogan

Bosnia/Amel Emric

Afghanistan/Hossein Fatemi

Nigeria/Andrew Esiebo

USA

No Women, No Peace – UK coalition calls for women’s participation in peacebuilding

All over the world, women are prime targets during conflict. Rape, displacement, torture and kidnap are common experiences of women. Whilst women are highly resourceful and are actively building peace in their communities, this is not recognized in formal peace processes. Despite international promises, women made up only 1 in 40 peace agreement signatories over the past 25 years.

No Women, No Peace is a campaign run by 14 human rights and development organisations in the UK,  calling for women’s participation in peacebuilding.  The campaign marks the 10-year anniversary, on October 31, of UN Resolution 1325, the pioneering UN Resolution on women and peace and security.  The resolution recognises the devastating impact of conflict on women and states that women must be involved in building peace from the earliest stages. 

Yet, 10 years after Resolution 1325, the international community is still failing to protect women. Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) continues to be used as a strategic weapon of war.  SGBV, which includes rape, forced impregnation, forced abortion, trafficking, sexual slavery, and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV/AIDS – is one of the defining characteristics of contemporary armed conflict.

No Women, No Peace campaign recognises that unless women participate in all stages of building peace, the issues faced by women can’t be addressed and peace will fail to meet the needs of 50 per cent of the population.

Wazhma Frogh, an activist with the Afghan Women's Network said: "If a reconciliation and re-integration plan is about bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan, half the population should not be left out. Bringing peace is not just about the end of fighting, but has to be an enabling environment for men, women and children of this country to access education and rebuild their country.”

The UK, as an international key global player and major donor, has a key role to play in supporting women to participate in decisions made about peace and security.  No Women, No Peace wants to use this 10th year anniversary of UN Resolution 1325 to create the momentum necessary to move the issue up the public and political agenda and call on the UK Government to honour commitments made to women in conflict.

 No  Women, No Peace is a campaign by Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS UK), a network of peace, human rights and development organizations, including ActionAid UK; Amnesty International UK; CARE International UK; IANSA Women's Network; International Alert; Widows for Peace through Democracy; WOMANKIND Worldwide; Women for Women International UK.