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Peace and Development Committee improves the
environment in Faizabad
For many years, on Ghiasee street in the center of
Faizabad there was a place where people were dumping
their rubbish which was heavily contributing to
pollution in the area and potential spread of
epidemics diseases. The Peace and Development
Committee discussed the problem and decided to do
something about it. The PDC together with Faizabad
Municipality approached AKDN and the World Food
Programme (WFP) to help. With the help of a WFP
loader and AKDN trucks, the rubbish was moved out of
the town to Dasht-e-Korokh far away from residential
areas. During the process of moving the rubbish, a
local shop which was blocking the way, and needed to
be demolished. So the PDC negotiated with the shop
keeper as well as local people from the area. The
local shopkeeper agreed to the demolition on the
condition that his shop could be rebuilt later. The
PDC raised money form the local people and rebuilt
the shop. Similarly the Municipality was encouraged
to pay one month rents for the shop.
The area has now been completely cleaned and it is
being used as a playground for children.
The good reputation of the Peace Council helps
voters in Faizabad
A group of civic educators from Faizabad went to one
of the remotest districts in Badakhshan to conduct
civic education on voters’ registration and
elections. At the beginning, the community members
were not allowing the civic educators to facilitate
the process. After some initial discussions and
negotiations, the community members realized that
some of the civic educators belonged to the Faizabad
Peace Council and Peace & Development Committees.
Because they had heard about the Faizabad Peace
Council being an impartial entity that works for the
promotion of peace building, the community members
then allowed the civic educators to conduct civic
education programme.
Protecting the environment through Community
Peacebuilding in Schools
March 21st, New years day in Afghanistan, is also
the start of the school year. Usually this is
celebrated at school over lunch through poems and
songs praising Afghan history and the importance of
education.
This year in Malistan, a Peace Committee named
Boghra took the initiative to help their local
school celebrate New Year. The focus was ‘peace’ and
the children sang songs about peace, the best song
winning a prize. Instead of providing lunch, they
bought 1000 apricot plants and named them ‘Peace
Trees’. Every students’ family planted a tree in
their garden and promised to look after it. Next
year there will be a New Year competition to decide
which is the best ‘Peace Tree’.
One of the Peace Committee members proudly said “as
well as resolving conflicts in our community, we
also work to make the community green and the
environment peaceful”.
District Government seeks expertise of the Peace
Council in Baharak
The district administrator of Baharak expressed an
interest in working with the Peace Committee that
have been trained by CPAU in conflict resolution.
Government officials, particularly district
administrators and provincial governors who are new
to their jobs and not familiar with their
constituency try to find structures that can be
potential partners for them in resolving conflicts.
This was the case in Baharak.
So when he was introduced to the members of the
Peace Council he handed over a number of petitions
to them and asked the members to mediate those
conflicts. Those particular petitions were examples
of disputes where one party did not accept the
government administration as a neutral body. However
the Peace Council was seen as neutral and acceptable
to both parties. He said that the district
administration highly appreciated the knowledge and
wisdom of elders and was certain that the peace
council can do better than any one else to restore
peace in the district.
CPAU Peacebuilding Shura reconciled two armed men
The nearly three decades of war has not only
shattered physical infrastructure, it has also very
much frayed the existing social fabrics. During the
soviet invasion communities were segregated in
different political groupings which in the later
years resulted into divided communities with
political and social rivalries and disputes. On the
other side of the fence, the soviet installed
government of Kabul also succeeded in luring some
communities to its side.
When the soviet installed regime toppled in Kabul in
1992, rivalries in the ranks of Mujahedin and
disputed of Mujahedin with ex-communist elements
took a new face and resulted in an all out civil
war. During this time (1992-2001) with Mujahedin
armed commanders and later Taliban in the helm of
affairs, all traditional and peaceful communication
between the different communities were ceased partly
due to fundamentalist thinking of government as well
as vested political and financial interests of a
number of individuals. With the hidden slogan of
divide and rule in their minds, different
commanders, irrespective of where their loyalties
lie, or how influential they were, sowed the seed of
enmity within and between different communities.
Today where Afghanistan is still far from a peaceful
place, communities still carry on their rivalries
and petty disputes. Though there are fewer cases of
armed conflict, they still use spades as arms. Sayed
Abad District could not remain an exception from the
rest of the country and has the same domestic
problem as any other part of Afghanistan.
Being one of the largest districts of Wardak
province, people from different tribes live there,
major among them are Mayar, Mir Khel, and Noori.
Located in a riverside, it has a very good
agriculture crops. Having population of more than
100,000, people mostly are busy in maintaining apple
and apricot orchards which they not only sell at
local traders but also export to some neighboring
countries.
In this district there is also one of the oldest
hydro power dams of the country. Being in
dilapidated condition and due to lack of water, it
only gives electricity to the residents of Chak
district.
Implementation Strategy:
During one of the peacebuilding workshops in Araban
village of Syed Abad district, in one of the
sessions 10 participants gave a joint petition to
the workshop facilitators. The petition entailed
that two of the workshop participants namely
Commander Asif and Haji Shir Aqa, have a very deep
and extended enmity which has time and again not
only harmed those two, but also affected other
locals. As an example they mentioned that due to
rivalries of those two, an NGO evacuated from their
area with their projects unfinished. They (the
petitioners) as a result feared that their enmity
may also negatively affect this workshop. Knowing
this, the workshop facilitators decided to intervene
into the issue so that not only solve the dispute
between those two rivals, but also demonstrate to
other participants how to address a conflict and use
the theories that they learnt into practice.
Implementation Strategy:
They facilitators first tried to convince those two
with detailing to them pros and cons of rivalries
and enmity in Islamic jurisprudence and also give
reference of some Koranic verses as well as sayings
of the Prophet. After that they directly gave an
example of the enmity between Commander Mohammad
Asif and Haji Sher Aqa and with the use of
negotiation and conflict resolution techniques
convinced them to leave the path of enmity and
settle their disputes for good. They happily
accepted the offer and hugged each other there. This
only shows that this problem would have not come
this far if somebody had intervened in its initial
stages, which no body did. Both promised to burry
their differences and apologized from others for the
negative impact of their enmity on their lives.
Impact:
o
As a result of solving of this problem, edgy
environment of the workshop changed with
pleasantries exchanged between participants.
o
The truce between the two rivals also resulted into
marital relations between their families later on.
People have not brought anymore any report regarding
any misbehavior of the two men to the Peace Council
members, which speaks of a behavioral change in two
members.
o
People believe that
previously Mullah Imam of the local mosque and some
other elders tried to resolve the dispute but for no
avail. After Peace Council succeeded in resolution
of that dispute, locals’ confidence on their Council
have strengthened and they have started bringing
their problems for ultimate solutions
Learning and Best
practice:
As people are very religious in the villages, the
facilitators tried to get their attention by giving
some verses of Koran to forcefully present their
view on the issue as well as some sayings of the
Prophet. That made the ground ready for applying
some negotiation as well as conflict resolution
techniques.
CPAU Peace and Development Committee facilitated
lowering Dowry expenses
One of the social problems that men suffer in the
villages in Afghanistan is the high costs of
marrying a girl. It not only affects man, it also
result in late and in some cases forced and
premature marriages of girls in quest of more money
by their parents. Marriages are also a cause of
conflicts between families and communities in a
number of cases.
All over Afghanistan, child-marriages is a big
problem. In some cases, a girl child is tied to
another boy newborn (mostly cousins) by their
parents to avoid payment of dowries later on by the
parties. During a research in Takhar we witnessed a
case where a 7 years old child was married to a 35
years old man because the man had offered to pay a
big amount as dowry to the parents of the ill fated
child. As a tradition, men have to buy gold and
silver ornaments, make a well furnished bedroom, buy
clothing, toiletries, etc and gifts for the parents
and close relatives of girls as well as pay a
handsome amount of cash to the parents of the girl.
Problem Situation:
A person namely Ghaous Ahmad complained to Shura
that his father-in-law, who was a member of the
council has demanded big amount of money from him
against marrying his daughter to him. Since it was a
very private matter of the Shura members,
facilitators advised members not to share the issue
with concerned member until they get some
peacebuilding training.
Implementation Strategy:
During the training sessions, without naming him,
the facilitators tried to give example of his
demands from his son-in-law as a poor social
behavior which members of the Shura need to change
according to the teachings of Islamic Sharia.
Impact:
When he married his girl, to the surprise of Shura
members and breaking the traditions and against all
odds, the member gave a 70% reduction in his demands
to his to-be son-in-law. He linked this behavioral
change to what he learned from the peacebuilding
workshops that he attended. He further says that as
members of peace committees, they have to set
example and break some social taboos to bring a
reformed social norm with accordance to the Islamic
Shariah. Others in the community appreciated this
unprecedented gesture by Haji Khurram and pledged to
review their demands from men and make it modest
according to Islamic Sharia laws.
CPAU Peace and Development Committee stopped
violence against woman
Wife-beating is a classic example of violence
against women in this part of the world which stems
from violent behavior of men due to certain reasons.
It has been witnessed that in most cases, to save
her marital relations with the men and sustain honor
of her family, women get mute and do not share the
issue even to her closest family members. There are
cases that even if such an incident has been
reported to concerned authorities, women have been
advised not to bring their domestic problems outside
and to tolerate these issues. But in the below case,
the Peace Council not only intervened into the case
on their own initiative, but also resolved the case
amicably.
Problem Situation
A person named Ali Jan beats his wife. Learning the
matter, his brother-in-law (his wife’s brother)
namely Qurban Ali takes the case to the district
administrator and judge and file a complaint against
Ali Jan there for beating his sister. After Peace
Council member learnt about the case, they met
district administrator and judges and requested them
to refer the case to that council so they could
address it through their own interventions.
Resultantly the district government referred the
case to the local Peace Council for resolution and
instructed both Ali Jan and Qurban Ali to get their
case set on by the council.
Implementation Strategy:
After hearing both parties, the Peace Council
determines that Ali Jan has been at fault and he
should do something to solve the issue agreeably.
The Peace Council then forms a committee of a few
members to speak with Ali Jan and convince him that
he has to admit his fault and seek forgiveness from
his wife and in-laws.
The Council members after a few meetings with Ali
Jan succeeded in convincing him and make him ready
to go to Qurban Ali’s (his brother-in-law) house and
seek apology and at the same time promise not to
beat his wife again.
Ali Jan then goes to Qurban Ali’s residence and in
presence of Peace Council members and a number of
his in-laws seeks apologies and regrets of what
happens. He at the same time thanks Peace Council
members for their timely interference and judicious
handling of the case.
CPAU Peace Shura promotes peace amongst youth
Lack of job opportunities in villages has lead to
either drug addiction or violent conflicts among the
desperate youth. Government and the society itself
have failed to create recreational activities and
job opportunities to keep them busy and productive.
Youth with little experience and a background with
armed groups in the last almost three decades of war
has mad them more violent and less social.
Disagreements among neighbors and relatives living
in a neighborhood sometimes lead to violent
conflict. In many cases it has turned into killings
and migration of families, leaving villages for
revenge. In many cases conflicts among cousins are
widespread and are common among those involved in
negative competition for social status and almost
negligible financial resources.
Problem Situation
Members of peace committees have reported resolution
of a number of conflicts of this nature in the
villages. One of the cases is reported by a peace
committee in Malistan district from Badakhshan is
between tow cousins Mr. Abdul Mobeen and Abdul Basir.
Unfortunately in many cases such issues, instead to
be resolved, are fanned by villagers who does have
vested interest in.
Nothing existed materially that it may have
triggered the conflict between the cousins. In fact
lack of job opportunities and the desperate
situation of the youth were literally identified as
the main source of conflict. One of their relatives
said that they always had unnecessary discussion on
things that were almost irrelevant to them, and
these discussions sometimes ended with verbal abuse.
It finally reached to the extent that there was
physical fight and Abdul Basir got wounded with a
knife.
Implementation Strategy:
As mentioned earlier blood revenge is a common
practice in Afghan society and in this case the
family of Abdul Basir had threatened Abdul Mobeen
for a severe retaliation. The peace committee was
informed and started to meet both sides separately.
After a number of meetings the family of Abdul Basir
agreed to have a face to face meeting. Some
traditional methods of reconciliation were used and
that was to go to Abdul Basir’s house with a number
of village elders to ask for forgiveness. Abdul
Basir and Abdul Mateen hugged each other and
promised to live as friends.
CPAU Peace and Development Committee prevents
domestic violence
One of the major and endemic problems that women and
children suffer in Afghanistan is domestic violence.
Absence of proper laws and law enforcing mechanisms
exacerbates this problem. Domestic violence not only
has physically harmed many, it has also had social
and physiological scars on the lives of countless
souls. In this case, the most vulnerable are
children in other words; children are forgotten
victims of domestic violence.
Problem Situation:
A peace council member Abdullah says he has been
very violent with his wife and kids. He doesn’t
remember a time when any of his children have every
sat on his laps. To avoid any violent interaction
with his wife and children, he says he had totally
isolated himself in his home with living and dining
in a separate room. He sometime feared that his
violent nature could cause physical harm to his
children and wife. He attributes his violent
temperament to his father’s bad treatment of his
brothers and sisters and he himself. He says he in a
way wanted to revenge what he suffered from his own
father. He also says that he always thought nobody
cared for him and that his wife and children were
all after his blood. Out of fear, he also says that
in the nights he used to sleep alone and lock the
door from inside so as to his family could not harm
him.
Implementation Strategy:
Abdullah starts changing after he becomes member of
the Peace Council. He says one of the things he in
the first days learnt was how to control anger. He
on his own learns further ways of managing anger and
overcoming suspicious. He says that he was all the
times thought about how he could change himself for
good that one night he saw himself nurturing a happy
family. This gave him an inspiration for a change
and he started testing if the change works with
dining with his family and asking his children about
their homework etc. he now feels that he has changed
extraordinarily. He further started to change his
behavior with other people including neighbors etc.
Now he feels very peaceful and has successfully
overcome the depressiveness of the past.
Impact:
He however says that attending peacebuilding
workshops, he has drastically changed now. He dines
with his children and feels affection for them. He
has started thinking on future of his children and
also says that he assists his wife in daily
household tasks. He says that not only he, but his
entire family and friends are thankful to the peace
council and peace education for this change in his
behavior and thinking. |
