Some schools that have completed the Peace Training programme have gone on to establish “Peace Clubs”, and contribute to peace education activities. ARF-Pattani’s role with these schools has therefore changed from that of a trainer to that of consultant, arranging meetings between the clubs to share what they have learnt and to develop relationships between the members.

After finishing the Youth Peace Clubs in schools, in early 2009 ARF-Pattani moved into working with young people in the villages most affected by the violence in the region. Many young people in the villages are poorly educated, very few progress further than high school; many only ever finish primary education.

This lack of education creates serious problems for young people in the villages. Many find it extremely difficult to find work in the cities, and some migrate to Malaysia. Those that stay become targets for drug gangs and terrorist organizations, which also draws attention from the army. ARF-Pattani offers skills training to unemployed young people to try and ensure that they don’t become part of the violence.

Posted by Kokaew Wongphan, 21 December 2009

Asian Resource Foundation Pattani (ARF-PATTANI)

Since 2005 ARF-Pattani has undertaken peacebuilding and sustainable development programs in Southern Thailand, and promotes inter-faith dialogue as central to resolving the regions conflict.

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Peace Volunteers in South Thailand

The peace volunteers are local people, who live and work in the areas affected by the violence. Around 60% are teachers – others come are deputy district officers, or come from community development authorities. Because they are from the area they know the culture, religion and nature of the people, better than any outsider. The training they have received has allowed them to built upon this local knowledge, using it alongside peacebuilding skills.

Peace Volunteers in South Thailand

By 2010, these 69 volunteers will have established a peace building project that extends in to high schools and villages (particularly villages that are experiencing religious based conflict).

Posted by Kokaew Wongphan, 21 December 2009

The Southern Border Province Administrative Centre (SBPAC)

SBPAC has been working for peace in South Thailand since October 2006 with the goal of increasing the participation of people across Thai society in the establishment of peace.

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When will justice in DR Congo Work?

ACODIF highlight some of the negative aspects of the Kimia II operation in DR Congo, and their work towards resolving them.

Land Conflict Solved in Swima

A report on a conflict over land in the village of Swima, DR Congo, and the success of a local peacebuilding organisation, ACODIF.

The Magic River Between Two Tribes

This report focuses on a serious, deadly conflict over a shared river between the two provinces of South Kivu and Maniema.

Since 2005, ACODIF has been working in the territory of Fizi, DR Congo, in order to help the local population – a people impoverished by a decade of war and local conflict who are beginning to rebuild their lives. ACODIF trains its members, mostly young men and women, to help people find ways of breaking the cycle of violence in the country. They provide direct conflict resolution between parties in disagreement, as well as Human Rights & Development services. The only funds it currently receives are contributions from its members.

Land Conflict Resolution in Swima

In the town of Swima, ACODIF intervened in a conflict over land between two groups. One group had fled the war, spending 13 years in the refugee camps Tanzania, finding on their return to Swima themselves pushed off the land they had previously shared with those who stayed. Fighting broke out between the groups, which local authorities were unable to stop.

ACODIF first met with local ethnic & religious leaders, in order to take the time to really understand the conflict before making any intervention. Meetings were then held with each group separately, before a final series of meetings in which the conflicting groups were brought together, leading to the two sides agreeing to share the land.

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LINC focuses on supporting individuals and groups engaged in crisis intervention, conflict transformation and community relations as a means of securing long-term solutions to the needs of people in conflict. The organisation also promotes local church and community groups in incorporating peace-building and social justice into their programme of work.

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Seeing mediation as the core of their work, they provide training for individuals in managing aggression & conflict, and promoting negotiation to find positive ways of resolving disputes.

Mediation NI promotes conflict resolution at the grassroots level, focusing on giving people ways to resolve conflict in their daily lives, in their home, workplace, or place of study. In doing so, their projects promote community cohesion & the development of a stronger society.

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The organisations promotes peaceful approaches to conflict resolution and collaboration between communities. Through its “Pride of Place” competition, Cooperation Ireland encourages  people to come together to take pride in their communities. Co-operation Ireland’s youth & education projects – Artlinks and Civic-link - bring together young people from all communities and gives them the opportunity to meet & learn about other cultures.

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Currently Jeewa Shakthi aims to mobilise people at the grassroots level to achieve a sustainable peace in the country by both promoting awareness around, and encouraging the practice of, democracy, and providing training that gives people the practical skills in conflict transformation and prevention which are lacking in Sri Lankan society.

Good governance through political coexistance

Election violence has been one of the main threats to community peace for many years. The Good Governance initiative deals with this head on by bringing community leaders and politicians together to put a stop to outbreaks of violence, giving the individual communities a political voice during the election process.

Jeewa Shakthi selected an area that had reported some of the highest levels of violence in previous elections and sought agreement from all politicians standing for election to abide by responsible campaigning practices. After Jeewa Shakthi’s intervention there was not a single report of election violence in the following election, something all parties – police, the community, and politicians – put down to the success of the project.

Conflict management and federalism – workshop series

This initiative works to reduce conflict within communities by educating leadership figures in methods of securing peace through awareness, negotiation and reconciliation. The community leaders are taken on a field tour and participate in a training and workshop programme to educate them in methods they can employ to keep conflict at bay within their own villages.

The participants also had their prejudices challenged through exposure to the lives of groups they had little understanding of. For example, some participants were very much against the concept that Tamils face problems in Sri Lanka, and as such were taken to visit the Tamil refugee camps. One participant in particular was so moved by the state in which the refugees have been living for the past 10-15 years used all the money he had with him  to buy biscuits for the Tamil children in the refugee camp, despite being one of those most vocal in thier opposition to the idea Tamil people face any hardship in Sri Lanka.

Street drama program for the presidential election in 2005

Jeewa Shakthi organised a street drama group performance to promote peaceful voting before the presidential election in 2005. The performances were successful in reducing election tension that often results in violence. Staging drama performances in the areas that had previously been dangerous at election times enabled them to educate the communities of the need for responsible actions, from both the political parties and the voters themselves.

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Having conducted peace-related work for over twenty years, they have realised that for a lasting, powerful impact on a national level, the country needs a peace movement that unites and covers the entire island. Currently they have independent entities working for peace through isolated initiatives, but their work would be more effective if these organisations unite and work as a single body.

Cultural Group for Peace (Sama Sanskruthika Parshadaya)

Samasevaya supports a group young people from different ethnicities who write, perform, and record music about peace. Their aim is to popularise the Sri Lankan peace process and bring different ethnicities together.

The group composes the music themselves, and performs their songs in villages and at special events. These events, arranged through Samasevaya, are not limited to peace activities, and therefore allow a broad range of audiences to be reached. The group’s songs are also broadcast throughout the country via the provincial radio station, Rajarata Sevaya.

Inter-religious Trust-building Activities

This project brings together the various religious groups of Sri Lanka, and helps them understand how their religions share core beliefs about the importance of building peace together. At least two major annual gatherings of people from all religions are held in a neutral public place. These gatherings are used to share the non-violent values and teachings that form the core of all religions. They also offer an opportunity for religious clergy to meet and pray together, according to their own religions, for the united cause of peace for the country.

Inter-ethnic Exchange Programmes

Since 2002 Samasevaya has been facilitating Sinhalese visits from Anuradhapura to Tamil areas in Jaffna, and vice versa. The aim is to create acceptance, understanding and a feeling of unity between the two ethnic groups by giving them the opportunity to observe the cultural aspects of Tamil and Sinhalese life, and through this, learn the similarities and differences between them. The scheme also gives participants an opportunity to experience the lifestyle of the other ethnicity, as well as their food and culture, and gives them an opportunity to witness the impact of war on the other ethnicity. The visits are followed up with training sessions and workshops in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

Environment Protection Program

Samasevaya have recently established an environmental protection program in the Anuradapura region, with the objective of supporting peace through the promotion of environmental peace.

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Protecting IDP’s from Sexual and Gender-based Violence

This project is aimed at reducing sexual and gender-based violence committed in the IDP welfare centres, and to provide assistance to those affected by sexual and gender-based violence. It also aims to educate and caution potential offenders against gender-based violence in the future. Through these means the initiative makes a positive contribution to the healing and conflict transformation process in the larger ethnic conflict, which is essential for sustainable peace building.

From the reduction in the number of complaints RDF receive at the counselling centres, it seems that a considerable number of problems are addressed through the initiative. A reduction of between 45% and 60% is perceived along with the increased awareness among women on their rights, and the authorities they can contact for support in cases of a sexual violence.

Conflict Transformation

This project addresses people of all ethnicities who live in seven selected districts affected by the war, and involves them in a series of seminars and workshops run in order to train local communities and individuals in conflict transformation. It operates in rural Sri Lanka and works hard to bring together different ethnicities in the same training.

Participants are given the skills to transform their conflicts, and encouraged to form community-level organisations. These organisations are intended to be the first step towards the processes of community development and reconciliation that are needed so that the war-affected people can transform the conflict.

Peace Programme for Muslim IDPs

This programme brings Muslim IDPs together with other communities in their area to bring about a solution to resettlement and develop a sustainable peace. RDF provides them with the knowledge to develop sustainable solutions for their relocation, and helps them meet with different groups who can provide assistance. The project aims to reduce conflict between IDPs and their host communities by improving relations between the two groups; ending the isolation of Muslim IDPs and bringing them support from other communities in their bid to resettle.

Awareness Programme on the UNCRC

By promoting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Sri Lanka, this initiative hopes to see – and indeed has seen – more children in education in the target areas, less child labour, and a focus on bringing children up in a non-violent environment. Ensuring that when the children of today become the decision-makers of tomorrow, they will take with them a doctrine of peace.

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