THE MOWER
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
~Philip Larkin
Muslim women attend prayers on the eve of the first day of Ramadan at a mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas)
By Juliette Schmidt
Toronto, Canada – Last week I began a virtual tour of Ramadan around the world, inspired by the stories of my Moroccan, Pakistani and US-based colleagues at Search for Common Ground, a non-profit conflict transformation organisation. This week, as even Toronto buzzes with invitations to fast-breaking iftar dinners, I look to Lebanon, Indonesia and Guinea.
Nour Awaiss, French and Arabic Editor for the Common Ground News Service, reflects on her experience as a Christian in Lebanon during the month when many of her Muslim compatriots fast, and draws parallels to the atmosphere surrounding Christian holidays: the family reunions of Christmas, the joy of children on Palm Sunday and honouring the dead on All Saints’ Day. read more…
Fabrice Musoni was born to Rwandan parents in the DRC and returned to his ancestral home in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. He traveled to the US for high school and remained for college and to enroll in the Foreign Service graducate program at Georgetown University. He is currently interning with our Burundi office which will helps him in his goal of promoting peace and sustainable development in the Great Lakes region.
A tribal ceremony in Ninga. (Photograph by Bruno De Hogues/Getty Images)
By Fabrice Musoni
Almost a month has passed since the beginning of my internship at Search for Common Ground in Burundi. It has been a marvelously challenging experience, requiring a good deal of adjusting even though Burundi is similar, in many ways, to my native Rwanda. Nevertheless, the support of the SFCG staff has been instrumental in overcoming obstacles encountered so far. There is still much to learn but I rate myself to be in a better position to share the impact that SFCG has had on the Burundian society since 1995.
SFCG has been a key mediator in Burundi’s struggle for peace since 1993. Burundi has been entangled in cyclical ethnic conflicts with roots dating as far back as independence. These conflicts have been a power struggle between two dominant ethnic groups—the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority—with Twas being the outsiders. Warring factions were able to reach an agreement in 2005 during the Arusha peace accords in Tanzania, and the country has been relatively stable although security remains fragile. SFCG has been an active mediator in Burundian crises by creating an environment conducive to dialogue between Hutus and Tutsis, rebel groups and the government, and opposing political parties. read more…
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Radio’s Star Still Bright – Rwanda
Community mediators(“Abunzi”) discuss the causes of land conflict using a diagram training tool.
Continued from Timor-Leste and Nepal…
Due to overpopulation and dependence on agriculture, land conflicts are common in Rwanda and empowering those who work to mediate such conflict is critical.
In July Search and the Rwandan Ministry of Justice organized an intensive summer training program, called Abunzi, for 200 recently elected community mediators in six districts across the country.
For every training session, the new skills were practiced through role-playing where both the Abunzi and the villagers took part in an effort to resolve fictional conflicts. By the end of the month-long training, the Abunzi had improved their skills on how to effectively deal with numerous conflicts, particularly focusing on land-based conflicts.
Search also tackles land-conflict through Radio. With funding from USAID, Search has produced a radio program around the issue of land expropriation in Gasabo District: read more…
As in Timor-Leste, Search has used radio in Nepal, especially to reach children and young people.
Nepal
Young journalists interview Radhika Kumaraswami, Special Representative of Secretary-General of the United Nations on Children and Armed Conflict
SFCG-Nepal recently completed the last phase of its “Radio for Reconciliation and Reintegration: Children’s Voices” project in partnership with Antenna Foundation. The project, started in 2007, used a children-produced radio program, Sunau Bolau (“Let’s Talk, Let’s Listen”) to promote conditions that facilitate the reintegration of children used in armed groups and to protect the rights of conflict-affected children. read more…
