Navigating the Road to Peace

From February 5th – 7th 2010 clashes between Muslim and Christian groups in N’Zérékoré, Guinea’s third largest city in the critical southeast forest region, left one person dead, two missing and 29 – 55 injured. Fears that tensions between Muslims and Christians would rise and become a potentially dangerous factor in the Guinea presidential elections in June quickly rose.

The Regional Council of Civil Society Organizations (CROSC) of N’Zérékoré swiftly contacted BEFORE’s partner IFES to ask for support for their plans to ease tensions in the region. BEFORE immediately responded to their request with a grant of 35,000,000 GNF (approx. $7,000 USD) to CROSC, which allowed CROSC to revive dormant local conflict resolution groups – regional, prefectural and communal authorities – to address community conflicts.

BEFORE’s support helped execute this three-pronged plan:

• Open and Safe Meetings:

  With financial support these groups meet regularly to manage underlying conflicts. BEFORE’s grant has increased their mobility and access to communication channels, increasing the visibility of their actions and their important role multiplying and spreading the message of peaceful coexistence among their communities.

  CROSC organised open-meetings for people of different backgrounds, who could freely discuss recurring causes of conflict. In some prefectures there was a focus on inter-religious conflicts, in others the focus was on conflicts among different communities. There were 360 people directly engaged on peaceful, free dialogue throughout the region.

• Media Outreach:

  To reach even more people and to clarify the facts, such as dispelling the rumor that the deadly events in February were based on religion, CROSC teamed up with local radio stations in and around N’Zérékoré, organizing and broadcasting micro radio programs, talk shows and round-tables in five local languages. 50% of the population of more than one million people heard quality information and messages of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and cultural diversity on the radio.

• Capacity-Building:

  BEFORE’s grant also enabled CROSC to acquire an electric generator for its office in N’Zérékoré, providing greater administrative efficiency to the organization’s continued activities.

The impact was immediate: several latent conflicts were actually resolved during the meetings and tensions diminished among the diverse communities.

The situation in N’Zérékoré has greatly improved because of BEFORE’s grant. Community-led grassroots efforts are essential in building the foundation of a peaceful society. BEFORE and CROSC found success because we had the commitment of the members of the prefectural working groups for conflict prevention – composed of representatives of all ethnic and religious groups, of the civil society and of the youth and women.

BEFORE is closely watching the developments in the region and is ready to again rapidly act to signs of increasing violence potential. There are further activities planned for the near future, such as conferences between religious leaders and intellectuals. To learn more, or support work like this in Guinea, take action today.