By Elisabeth Atieno
In the traditional life of nomadic pastoralists, at the end of each day the elders both women and men, herders and the warriors sit around the fire to discuss the stories of the day and to decide on issues affecting their communities. In light of the workshop that was taking place in the village of Kibish in Turkana County with Shalom staff, the issue of the day discussed around a recent fire was peace and how to share resources such as grazing grounds and water points. A number of incidents had occurred in the recent past that had increased animosities between neighboring ethnic communities.
From the workshop earlier in the day, the elders shared what they had learned and talking about speaking with the warriors of the need to be peaceful and to co-exist with neighboring ethnic communities. Part of this process would be a commitment to stop the raiding and killing with immediate effect (negative peace – something learned at the workshop that day) and to look at ways they could build a better future for each other (positive peace, also learned at the workshop).
After deliberations with the warriors, an agreement was arrived that the warriors would reach out to the others at the grazing fields and water points and agree on how to stop raiding from other ethnic communities. As part of the process, Shalom met a delegation of elders and warriors the next morning to hear first-hand from them regarding their discussion. The elders informed the SCCRR team that in the next visit, the team should get resolutions that shall have been agreed upon in the meetings, and any measures put in place to curb further instances of violence. The community in Kibish also gave the elders the mandate to meet the other Turkana communities living in Kokuro and Mayen.
After this, they will devise modalities on how to meet with the neighboring tribal communities. Peace is not achieved overnight but only through an understanding of the techniques and necessary knowledge to build that peace so that it is sustainable and nurtures the development of people and communities.