IOM's peace building initiatives in the Burnt Forest area of Kenya's North Rift Valley have received a boost following the launch of a peace mediation film and subsequent community peace meetings in the Rift Valley's conflict epicentre.

The community peace meetings, facilitated by Pastor James Wuye and Imam Mohammed Ashafa and convened by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), were received with mixed reactions by area residents.

One community met the spiritual leaders' call for forgiveness as a model to finding peace, with questions about how this can be implemented in daily life, while another felt that more needed to be done to find lasting peace in the Burnt Forest area.

As an introduction to models for finding peace, the Imam and Pastor shared their experiences as youth militants in Nigeria, and their gradual transformation to grassroots peace builders. In their struggles, Pastor James lost his hand and Imam Ashafa lost his spiritual mentor.

Burnt Forest has for the past four election seasons experienced recurrent conflict that has seen thousands of lives lost, and the displacement of thousands more. Pastor James called on the residents of Burnt Forest to start a massive forgiveness campaign to end the cycle of violence in the area. "Don't wait for your neighbour to ask you for forgiveness. Let the peace start with you because forgiveness is the weapon of a courageous man," he said.

The peace meetings were preceded by the launch of a film to promote peace initiatives in the areas hit by post election violence. Titled "An African Answer", the film highlights events in the aftermath of post election violence in Burnt Forest and illustrates the mediation process that was adopted following the signing of Kenya's Peace Accord, emphasizing the need for change and coexistence among the communities that clashed. "Getting the clashing communities to enter into reconciliation soon after the violence was an uphill ta", says Imam Ashafa.

The film will be used to complement work being carried out by IOM Peace Animators in the Tarakwa and Olare areas of Burnt Forest. "The pastor and the Imam represent a model of similar experiences, but with different backgrounds, that is very applicable to the Kenyan context. These are universal peace building examples, irrespective of the causes of violence", says Robert Odhiambo, IOM's National Programme Officer.

Imam Mohammed Ashafa and Pastor Wuye are co-founders of the Interfaith Mediation Center, responsible for mediating peace between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria's Plateau state.

For more information, please contact:

Jerotich Seii Houlding
Emergency and Recovery Programme Manager
MRF Nairobi
jseiihoulding@iom.int

Or

Robert Odhiambo,
IOM National Programme Manager

MRF Nairobi
rodhiambo@iom.int