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South Sudan - Communication and education for peace - UNICEF

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South Sudan - Communication and education for peace - UNICEF

To: The Children, Equity Network within The Communication Initiative

From: Kerida McDonald, UNICEF Senior Advisor, Communication for Development - New York

Last month, traveling on roads punctuated by armed soldiers, I attended a workshop on Conflict Sensitive Programming and Peacebuilding Message Development in Juba coordinated by the UNICEF South Sudan Communication for Development (C4D) and Education Sections, together with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as well as the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

South Sudan - the youngest independent nation in the world - recently emerged from decades of conflict only to erupt in an unprecedented outbreak of violence starting in December 2013. Since then, ethnic power struggles and heavy fighting have contributed to the displacement of more than 1.2 million people, including over 900,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and another approximately 300,000 people who are seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

Within this precarious context, education is pivotal to mitigate further conflict and promote lasting peace. UNICEF is supporting Communication for Development in peacebuilding as a social process that facilitates dialogue and meaningful conversations to reduce and prevent the risk of conflict or relapse into it.

Developing messages on peacebuilding

To generate themes for peacebuilding messages, workshop participants identified both drivers of conflict and possible "connectors" that might help to motivate people to put aside differences and work together. The group brainstormed on how to apply these elements towards development of a comprehensive Vision for South Sudan. Many children from neighboring schools participated actively in the discussions. One boy’s vision for peace was simple: "just for us to be children." Amongst the adults, stirring debates emerged around marriage and how increases in bride price are fueling cattle raiding and conflict. Other identified conflict drivers included ethnic differences, corruption, nepotism and unequal distribution of social services.

The Vision statement crafted at the workshop captured the passionate aspirations of the participants: "South Sudan will fulfill its destiny, as a strong, peaceful and democratic nation, with transparent and accountable rule of law, embracing nationhood, unity in diversity with tolerance and respect for the voice of all citizens and with balanced enjoyment of national resources, as proud sons and daughters of our land, under the divine guidance of the Almighty."

Bumpy road ahead

But the journey to fulfill this vision will be long and bumpy. Tensions across the country are rising between IDPs and host communities. IDPs are also becoming more aggressive towards humanitarian workers when their needs are not sufficiently met. Moreover, there is a threat of economic collapse with civil servants, including teachers, not being paid since last year, which is leading to school abandonments.

I also learned that frequently South Sudanese youth are being recruited into armed forces; children are abducted while going to collect food rations; families are rattled with fear and loss; and survival is increasingly more challenging with water and food scarcity and risks of disease associated with oncoming rains. The UNICEF country office also experiences vulnerabilities, including staff burnout and inability to deploy local staff to critical areas due to ethnic affiliation and heightened insecurity and ethnic tensions.

Yearning for peace

After the workshop, I left Juba and with my Drop and Run Bag and water for a week ventured out with Anu Puri, Communication for Development (C4D) Specialist, to Mingkaman, one of the six Protection of Civilians (POC) camps established since the conflict crisis in South Sudan to support approximately 100,000 displaced persons from the neighbouring town of Bor in the Lakes state.

Nearing the camp, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Services helicopter hovered overhead, allowing us an aerial view of the sprawling camp with makeshift tarpaulin tents dotted across the landscape and Tukuls here and there showing markers of the host community.

At night, I was exhausted and thankful for my bucket bath from trucked-in water. Many thoughts swirled in my head as I zipped up my sleeping bag within the UNICEF tent. I couldn’t help wondering how long UNICEF and other international partners will have to sustain the massive humanitarian response requiring daily water trucking, food drops and cold chain management to keep the masses of IDPs alive. More challenging, however, will be preventing and erasing emotional and psychological scars of these displaced families.

My thoughts blurred into dreams until I was awoken by wailing women. These sounds were far away, but I could distinctively hear panic and horror. Were they screaming about an accident? attack? abuse? I will never know… but surely this must be one of the countless yearnings for peace in the country.

Click here to access Communication and education for peace in military-controlled South Sudan - Part II.

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Peace: A Resource of High Value, Very Latent, Very Elusive

To: The Children, Equity network within The Communication Initiative Network

This is an anonymous comment on Kerida's post - South Sudan - Communication and education for peace - UNICEF

Comment

This is an amazing artcle and it hit right at the centre of my heart. The imperative to evolve a lasting solution to violent conflict, not just in South Sudan but everywhere cannot be over-emphasized. The financial cost of conflict is high and unsustainable. The emotional and psychological costs have intergenerational impacts. Programming for IDPs is a good thing, we must be grateful for the privilege to be part that solution; as implementers on the ground, as fund raisers or as a community of discussants reflecting on the issue. But I am certain that we all agree on one thing, our efforts on the ground merely provides interim solutions. We 'give the people of South Sudan fish' but a lasting solution requires that they 'learn to fish'. Peace is a very latent and high value resource. How do we, implementers on the ground, fundraisers, the affected and those in pain, the instigators and combatants as well as those who have privilege of just sitting down to reflect and discuss the menace of destructive conflict, evolve effective ways of harnesing and sustaining this resource of peace? How do we evolve a lasting solution to the 'scary disease' of violent conflict? Is there a tried and tested solution or a best practice from arround the world? Please share. What are the ingredients that make up the most peaceful societies. Can we learn about these?

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Peace: A Resource of High Value, Very Latent, Very Elusive

To: The Children, Equity Network within The Communication Initiative

Belema Ogbuigwe comments on Kerida's blog on South Sudan

This is an amazing artcle and it hit right at the centre of my heart. The imperative to evolve a lasting solution to violent conflict, not just in South Sudan but everywhere cannot be over-emphasized. The financial cost of conflict is high and unsustainable. The emotional and psychological costs have intergenerational impacts. Programming for IDPs is a good thing, we must be grateful for the privilege to be part that solution; as implementers on the ground, as fund raisers or as a community of discussants reflecting on the issue. But I am certain that we all agree on one thing, our efforts on the ground merely provides interim solutions. We 'give the people of South Sudan fish' but a lasting solution requires that they 'learn to fish'.

Peace is a very latent and high value resource. How do we, implementers on the ground, fundraisers, the affected and those in pain, the instigators and combatants as well as those who have privilege of just sitting down to reflect and discuss the menace of destructive conflict, evolve effective ways of harnesing and sustaining this resource of peace? How do we evolve a lasting solution to the 'scary disease' of violent conflict? Is there a tried and tested solution or a best practice from arround the world? Please share. What are the ingredients that make up the most peaceful societies. Can we learn about these? Or like every valuable resource, will those who have access, resist the call to share and make it available for the greater good of all, just so they retain an advantage or clout and power above and beyound others.

I lend my ears to that of Keirida Mcdonald of UNICEF and the children and equity network in the CI community; to listen to the yeaning in the distance.l lend my voice to shout out, to cry, to wail...for peace in South Sudan and for Peace in our fragile continent. Come listen, shout, act, let use save our world.

Belema Ogbuigwe ED @ Centre For Information & Development in Nigeria.

Beautiful vision

Thanks for sharing this experience, the vision is beautiful and I pray these kids will live to see it come true.

Thank You for Serving Kerida

To: The Children, Equity Network within The Communication Initiative

Betty {Zambia) comments on Kerida's blog on South Sudan

Reading this article makes me think twice and be thankful for the peace we have enjoyed for now close to 50 years from our Independence. I am working with two children selected to represent Zambia at the upcoming forum of hope summit in Bunjumbura at the month-end. I got a question from one of them saying "what are we going to talk about seeing we have never experienced any form of conflict"?

A lot of people in my country think that way, not just children. I suppose this is one moment in time when we need to sensitize our young people to harness PEACE all the time. I wish to use this platform to thank UNICEF and the International Great Lakes for thinking about, and actually bringing children to the table to talk about peace which so many of us take for granted.

Thank you Kerida for your work and great contribution; we continue to pray and hope for peace to be returned to South Sudan.

Betty.

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