Local Correspondents.

Our research is carried out by ‘Local Correspondents’. We take considerable time and care choosing a person with excellent knowledge of the local organisations and their work; who is enthusiastic about the aim and potential of Insight on Conflict; and who is as reasonable, impartial, and dispassionate about the conflict as possible. We ask for measured views of the conflict and a selection of initiatives representative of the range of work being done by organisations or individuals of different political, religious, or ethnic affiliations.

Local Correspondents may be able to provide bespoke services to users, for example commissioned research, interviews, and fixing services for media. Contact the Project Manager for further info: ruairi@peacedirect.org .

Rasha El Fangry

Rasha El-Fangry, Sudan

Rasha came involved with Insight on Conflict through her work with Peace Direct. Rasha is the cordinator for the Collaborative for Peace in Sudan, a group that brings together peacebuilding organisations from North and South Sudan.

Rasha speaks English and Arabic.

Harsha

Buddhika Harshadeva – Sri Lanka

Located in Colombo, Harsha is our Local Correspondent in Sri Lanka. Harsha speaks English and Sinhala.

“It was a midday in Colombo. I was travelling to Kurunegala, my home town by train. Suddenly the sun was blocked by black heavy smoke with an unbelievable sound. I was running for my life with others who had blood spread on their body. After, it was reported that there was a suicide bomb attack in Colombo railway station. On that day, I was a helpless human being in front of dying and crying men, women and children. I did not know what to do but I realised just one thing: I can not be a person who remains silent, simply witnessing an inhuman war. In my journey of life I have met many others who are trying in different ways to bring peace to the world. For me, being a part of Insight on Conflict means that I am supporting the work for peace, connecting people, networking them and forming cross cultural-ethnic-religious bridges based on a fundamental desire for a more humane world. When I think of that, in the middle of all the turmoil around me, I am able to look upon the world with a smile, with hope.”

Alen Jusufovic

Alen Jusufovic – Kosovo & Bosnia-Herzegovina

Alen Jusufovic has been a Local Correspondent for Insight on Conflict since 2007. He initially covering Kosovo and now is also writing for us about Bosnia & Herzegovina, where he is based. Alen has a particular interest in local NGOs from his time working with the East-West Institute in Skopje, Macedonia.

Alen speaks fluent English, Macedonian, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, and basic German, Turkish and Albanian.

Dalia Khamissy

Dalia Khamissy – Lebanon

Dalia is our Local Correspondent in Lebanon. She is a photographer who focuses on documenting the aftermath of wars in Lebanon and the region as well as her country’s social issues. Lately she has been working on some projects related to women’s rights. Her work has been published and exhibited locally and internationally.

Dalia speaks Arabic, French and English.

Ashima Kaul

Ashima Kaul – Kashmir

Ashima Kaul is a Consultant on Kashmir with Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP). She coordinates WISCOMP’s Athwaas initiative in Jammu and Kashmir. An independent journalist by profession, she has participated in a number of national and international conferences and training programs related to women’s leadership, peace and security, conflict resolution, intra-Kashmir dialogue and peacebuilding. She has an active interest in interfaith dialogue and is a founder-member of Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network – a network of Kashmiri professionals working on reconciliation and youth and women’s empowerment. As a founder member of Control Arms Foundation India she is also working on gun control, proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Jammu and Kashmir. Her interests include making films and photography. She has recently completed a documentary film ‘Athwaas –The Journey’ on the Athwaas initiative and its unique and sustainable peacebuilding efforts in Jammu and Kashmir. Currently is working on ‘In Pursuit of Change’, a film on Kashmiri women’s political participation in Kashmir.

IOC Local Correspondent Flory

Flory Kazingufu – DR Congo

Flory has worked for Insight on Conflict since 2007. His has a background in social sciences and theology and a strong interest in grassroots peacebuilding. He is the founder of the Foundation Chirezi, a group working on several peace projects in east DR Congo.

Flory speaks English, French, Swahili, Mashi, Lingala and also some local African dialects.

Landry

Landry Ninteretse – Burundi

Landry is Insight on Conflict’s Local Correspondent for Burundi. Landry is an active member of the Amahoro Youth Club, an organisation set up to increase the participation of young people in the social and political life of Burundi. He has a particular interest in environmental issues.

Landry speaks English and French.

Ambika Pokhrel

Ambika Pokhrel – Nepal

Ambika Pokhrel is our Local Correspondent in Nepal. Ambika has significant experience in the field of conflict transformation through her work with her organisation, the National Peace Campaign.

Ambika speaks Nepali, English and Hindi.

Siatta Scott Johnson – Liberia

Scott Johnson was born in Buchanan, Liberia in 1974 and raised in rural Grand Bassa County. She fled Grand Bassa in the early 1990s with the outbreak of war and eventually settled in Monrovia, where she was living during the end of the civil war in 2003.

Scott Johnson earned her B.A. in mass communications from the University of Liberia after the school re-opened following the war. She holds certificates in political reporting from the University of Liberia and in media from the Press Union of Liberia/UNMIL, and a diploma in journalism from the Liberia Institute of Journalism. She has five years of experience as a reporter and producer at DCTV, one of Liberia’s only broadcast television stations, and is a founding member of Omuahtee Africa Media.

Siatta served as media and communications outreach person for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Gender Based Violence project. She is presently the creative director for Smart Media Liberia, a local media group that engages in community awareness on GBV, Peace Building, Environment, ETC through television productions.

Kokaew Wongphan

Kokaew Wongphan – Thailand

Located in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Kokaew is our Local Correspondent in Thailand. She began working for Insight on Conflict in 2007, and has built up an excellent knowledge of local peacebuilding in South Thailand (Yala, Pattani, Narathivat).

She is now a independent researcher and be a freelance writer, and also a columnist for the alternative news website Prachatai . You can also visit Kokaew’s blog (Thai).

Kokaew speaks Thai, English and Burmese.

Montserrat Chivite – Conflict Researcher, Colombia

Research on peacebuilders and the conflict in Colombia is carried out by Montserrat Chivite. Montserrat started collaborating with Peace Direct in 2009, working on research on Colombia for both Peace Direct’s work in Colombia, and Insight on Conflict. A Spaniard based in the UK, she has a background in journalism, publishing and has worked in political risk consultancies.

Montserrat is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese, and speaks basic French.

We are looking to expand Insight on Conflict to other regions in the future. If you are based in a region affected by conflict and would be interested in being a Local Correspondent, please contact us.