November 6, 2007

Q: You have never attended university courses on peace and conflict resolution. How did you learn?

A: I agree, I have not studied full time at university. I have done short university courses here and there.

Learning takes place in and out of university. I have combined practice (a pragmatic approach) learning, reflection and writing. Learning is a life long process, but in relation to the learning of peace building and conflict transformation my journey started in 1992-3 from observing the practice of the elders, government officials, religious leaders, and women leaders by being there and a support to them.

However, I got the opportunity to study for 2 weeks in Bergen, Norway, in January 1994, looking at the aspect of trauma and children. There I met other professionals mainly from former Yugoslavia. Later, in April 1994 to July 1994, I studied for three months at Birmingham, UK, an intensive  course organised by a British charity called 'Responding To Conflict'. The course was entitled "working with conflict". This course has been a turning point in my life as it systemized my knowledge and experience and gave me the conceptual understanding, and my work and experience made sense. While on the course the tutors used a lot of my own case studies to teach mediation. I learnt later that during the application they almost refused to admit me on the course on the basis that I did not need it. I am glad they accepted it as I have kept the relation with the organization to date.

After my studies I put into practice training and peace activism and later went back for further learning. I wanted to study full time but never got a scholarship to do so, so I ended up doing short courses. In 1998 I attended a six weeks course at Eastern Mennonite University in the USA. This course also opened for me the world of writing. It was an international course and when I gave an example in classes the fellow participants asked where I read the example. When I replied that it is life experience they were shocked and encouraged me to write, and that began my journey in writing in which I made contributions to the book called Working with Conflict, Skills and Strategies for Peace, by Zed Books, 2000.


Q: Do you think it is possible to learn about peace only from university courses?

Comprehensive learning requires both university setting, as well as practical learning in the field. Important too, is to find space to reflect on the study and the practical work. To study at university contributes to the learning process but is not the only way. In 1998 I met my High School classmate, Abdirashid Hussein, at George Mason University Washington who has completed a masters degree. We exchanged experiences and he told me: "Dekha, I can write and tell you all about mediation and negotiation but I don't think I can mediate between two chickens." This showed the limitation of myself and Abdirashid, that we need both university courses as well as the day to day practice.


Q: What do you think are the biggest mistakes a peace worker can make?

A: To think that they can sort out people's problems. We are enablers, facilitators. We do not have answers and the answers lie with the conflicting parties. Ours is to help with the process so that at the end they will say: "We did it, we sorted it out."


Q: You bring together Muslims and Christians, at the same time you encourage people to analyse themselves using verses from the Quran. How do Christians react to your Quran teaching?

A: In mixed training we always have mixed training teams of Muslims and Christians and I request my Christian colleagues to find the equivalent from the Bible or African traditional religion. In many such instances my Christian friends have appreciated it to be able to link their spirituality to their work.


Q: Why do you work so much with women?

A: I am a woman and naturally the best place where I started my peace work was with women though not only with women. Women have an important role in our society when tension and division are so high and intense. I found that women's roles are the most effective in building bridges of social relations, trust and confidence, which are crucial for other public processes that start later like dialogue and mediation.


Q: What were and are your major obstacles and opponents?

A: I have learnt that people or institutions that I used to see as obstacles did actually either not understand my motivations and vision or were looking for ways to be included into the process. In the political climate of Kenya in the 1990s to 2002, Government officials were very hostile to our work and made it very difficult both at personal and public level. Peace was seen as reserved for the Government only. It took patience, persistence and perseverance to make them understand. Now a lot of them are converted and transformed to the point of now looking back with regrets that they wished they had learnt from us then.

While I was facilitating a workshop for Government officials at the end of September 2007, a former district officer Mr Mbaruku whom I worked with in Wajir stated that he never appreciated our work and saw me, the coordinating secretary, as a bother. He regrets it now, and wished if he had used his time wisely as a learning opportunity and engaged with peace process then, it would have been more beneficial.

Vision need to be a shared vision by all and having the patience to bring all on has been an internal obstacle within myself. I had to learn to appreciate the contribution and growth of all at their own pace.


Q: Can you give us an example of how you influenced peace work in other countries outside Kenya? 

A: Two neighbouring states of Somalia and Ethiopia are my immediate examples as well as Afghanistan.

In Somalia and the local border areas adjacent to Kenya, the local community has used our model of working together and using a variety of approaches in transforming violent local conflict. For example, in Elwak District of Gedo Region, Somalia, in September 2005 we supported the local community and shared with them our experience of using local traditional and religious leaders working with Government officials from Kenya to take up a mediating role. This worked and led to a cease-fire that held for 9 months, leading to a negotiated settlement in June 2006. Peace and community structure in Elwak Somalia are still holding.

In September 2007, a mission led by Ethiopian Government officials came to Kenya to learn the process of building peace and creating a national policy framework. The Ethiopian Government officials were amazed and surprised by the model of policy development in Kenya. Which in their observation was that in Kenya the policy is led by practice as influenced by the Wajir Model, a grass root approach influencing national policy making. 
Ethiopia is in the process of developing a model similar to Kenya that will meet Ethiopia's specific needs.

In Afghanistan my colleague Mohamed Suleman stated that his grass root peace work is influenced and inspired by the work of Elders in Wajir, Kenya. His model of the Peace Shura is also based on the Wajir Concept.


Q: Today, regarding current conflict and wars, you could think that religions do more harm than good. Do you agree?

A: The ways it is being packaged and manifested, religion seems to be a force for violence. However, the full potential of religion has not been explored sincerely. It is only the bits that are used to mobilize and entrench some views and ideologies which is influencing the current global violence. All religions do have capacity to contribute to global peace.