A dream you dream alone is only a dream.
A dream you dream together is a reality.
-John Lennon
The Association de soutien pour les opprimmés (ASO) is a Search for Common Ground partner who we’ve trained and worked with extensively. ASO is made up of former child soldiers and survivors of violence among others. They use the arts for self-expression and healing and recently performed at the General Referral Hospital of Panzi in Bukavu…
ASO Drummers perform on the Panzi Hospital
BUKAVU, 7 January 2011 (IRIN) – Slapped into submission by a child soldier, a man thanks the gunmen who have just raped his wife and daughter, now bedraggled and whimpering. Dozens of women in a large circle observe the harrowing scene. But this is theatre – as therapy.
The “stage” is the grounds of the General Referral Hospital of Panzi, in Bukavu, capital of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province, a facility that specializes in treating survivors of sexual violence, of whom there are a very large number in eastern DRC, where rape is widely used as a weapon by warring groups.
The performance brings together both survivors and perpetrators of extreme violence. read more…
SFCG journalist Jean Paul Ntezimana speaks with a lawyer about land expropriation on the weekly show Ubutaka Bwacu, or “Our Land” in Kinyarwanda. The radio program addresses land issues in Rwanda such as land reform and expropriation.
In 2008, a local development bank in Rwanda expropriated land for a construction project in the suburban community of Ngaruyinka. This area was home to more than 400 families, most of whom were small-scale farmers. The bank paid compensation to some families as required under the law, and moved them off the land. The rest of the residents, however, received neither payment nor information about the planned move. The residents could not work on their land, fearing the loss of their crops if they were forced to move on short notice. Further, since some families had moved out leaving untended land, banditry and petty crimes increased in the area.
By early 2010, despite the people of Ngaruyinka demanding reparations as stipulated in Rwandan law, they still had not received compensation. They also wanted assurances that the development bank would not re-launch their construction project later and try to seize their land again. Search for Common Ground (SFCG) took up this issue, opening a forum for discussion between the bank and residents. SFCG’s weekly radio program, Ubutaka Bwacu (Our Land) served as the primary vehicle for dialogue, hosting representatives of the community, the bank, and land lawyers to come together and discuss the issue. The radio program offered a platform for different perspectives to voice their positions. Violating the bank’s contract and in doing so causing disruption in their livelihoods, the Ngaruyinka people demanded that the bank abandon any future claims on the land.
The radio program, Ubtaka Bwacu, succeeded in bridging the power gaps and easing the tensions between the bank and the community. On air, the bank agreed to end the project, and admitted it did not have the funds to pursue the contract again. This communication eased the fears of all the Ngaruyinka residents, and its transmission on the airwaves created a public record on the promise.
“Ubutaka Bwacu has very much increased the population’s knowledge on land law and land and we see that through phones calls that we get. People call from different places of the country asking directions of how to put in practice what they learnt and they tell us that they knew that through Ubutaka Bwacu”, Representative of the National Land Center
Ubataka Bwacu also raised the profile of this issue among government authorities. Following the program’s broadcast, Rwanda’s National Human Rights Commission contacted the community, asking to be involved in their case after hearing them on the air. Follow-up visits to the community confirm that people have returned to farming as their primary livelihood, with confidence that they will benefit from what they sow.
2010 has come to an end, and as we enter a new decade, we’re looking back at incidences and examples of peace and tolerance around the world in which groups and individuals began to better understand and respect each other and hopefully went a little further on the road towards common ground.
US and Russia Sign “New START” Treaty
Following months of negotiations, US President Obama and Russian President Medvedev find common ground in their goals to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons. On April 8th, these world leaders signed the “New START” treaty in an effort towards global nuclear disarmament. read more…
the power of song…
UN Peacekeepers in Cote d'Ivoire
The situation in Côte d’Ivoire continues to be tense, with incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refusing to rescind his claim to the presidency. Yesterday the US announced a travel ban and visa restrictions against Gbagbo, members of his government and their immediate family members. Those currently in the states face deportation. The European Union has already imposed sanctions against the Gbagbo government in an effort to pressure the former president to step down. On Monday they announced visa bans of Gbagbo and 18 of his advisors. They will also be freezing their European assets. Previously the African Union suspended Côte d’Ivoire from all activities until Alassane Ouattara assumes power.
Currently, Ouattara is residing in a hotel in Abidjan, surrounded by UN peacekeepers, who are in turn surrounded by the Ivorian military who are still until the control of Gbagbo. Gbagbo has ordered the 10,000 peacekeepers currently in Côte d’Ivoire to leave the country.
There have been increasing reports of Ouattara supporters being “disappeared.” The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire has received hundred of reports from victims and family members about abductions from unidentified individuals wearing military uniforms. Since a clash last week between Ouattara protesters and president guards, there has also been an escalation in violence. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay reported that more than 50 people have been killed and over 200 injured. Additionally more than 6000 people have left for Liberia and Guinea since the election.
Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war, which divided the north and south ended in 2005. Ouattara’s base of support is in the North and there are fears that the situation will reignite the conflict. Today, in a televised address, Gbagbo announced that he would be willing to engage in talks with Ouattara in order to avoid bloodshed.
“I don’t want another war, I don’t want any more Ivorian blood to be spilled,” he said.”I am therefore ready to welcome a committee … headed by the African Union, involving ECOWAS, the United Nations, United States, the European Union, Russia and China, which will have permission to analyze objectively the facts of the electoral process … to solve this crisis,” he added. Hopefully this is a step toward resolution.
Our offices in the country have continued to work through the upheaval though they’ll be closing shortly for the holiday season. Until the situation has calmed down or found some kind of resolution, we cannot engage in mediations or on the ground. However, there is still a need for Search’s work, perhaps more than ever. Our offices have seen an increased demand for our radio programming from community radio’s across the country. With so much uncertainty and rumors abounding, our programming is seen as neutral, constructive and informative. Our in-country staff continue to seek out and amplify voices of moderation. While most of our staff have been able to continue working in the offices, they have occasionally been forced to work from home when road blocks or tension make it difficult or unsafe to travel. We’ll continue to update as the situation progresses.
