fbpx
Every dollar matched up to $50,000 until December 31! Give today.
Our SpeakUp® Mechanism
Nonviolent Peaceforce logo with blue dotDonate

Saving Lives in Sudan - Cattle Disputes

Date: October 1, 2010

cattleIn July, NP learned of tension building between the Moru and Mundari communities of the Kediba region of Sudan. The Moru people are predominantly settled agriculturalists while their Mundari neighbors are semi-nomadic pastoralists who keep large herds of cattle. Both share the market in Kediba village, an important source of food for the Mundari, who do not cultivate, and of income for the Moro, who do. 

Tension escalated after Mundari youths, who had raided up to 378 head of Moro cattle already, took 150 livestock at once. Several people were injured during the raid and two children were taken with the stolen cattle. Government agents in the area informed the communities that if they entered into conflict the army would settle the situation using force.

As a result of years of war, transportation in Western Equatoria is extremely bad, particularly during the rainy season. Nevertheless, five of NP’s unarmed civilian peacekeepers traveled for hours through the driving rain on unmade roads to reach the disputants. Eventually, conditions forced them to abandon their vehicle and proceed on motorbikes.

 

In negotiations mediated by NP’s peacekeepers, the paramount chiefs and elders of both communities met to discuss a peaceful resolution to the conflict. A church halfway between the two communities was designated as the meeting point and representatives from both sides gathered there.

Following a long and difficult discussion requiring sustained input and support from NP’s team, the two sides reached a resolution. The Mundari paramount chief and elders agreed to oversee the return of the cattle, and with the guidance of the NP team, both sides undertook to form a joint Peace Committee to continue the dialogue process.

Both communities were extremely relieved to avoid a conflict, which could have led to widespread loss of life. The Moro paramount chief thanked NP for its rapid and effective intervention and said, “If the NP team from Mundri had not come, we would have killed each other; but God brought them in time, and we were able to settle things with the Mundari peacefully. We think now that God is truly watching over us, and we encourage strong relations between NP and our society. Please don’t leave us alone again. In fact, it would be better if your office was moved from Mundri to Kediba!” Following the successful demonstration of NP’s community-based conflict resolution process, the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement secretary for Kediba Payam (region) said, “NP will be of great help because a peace-building and reconciliation committee will be formed and people will be trained to find peace themselves.”

 

My Cousins’ Lives Are Lost, But Others Won’t Be ...           (excerpted from Field Notes Fall 2010 page 2)

My name is Liza and I come from Western Equatoria, though war drove me from Sudan in 1999. It was hard but hopeful news to learn that Nonviolent Peacforce had succeeded in settling a cattle dispute in my home state.

Perhaps you’ve heard stories of land disputes, water disputes, disputes over oil and other resources coming out of Sudan. Maybe you’ve seen a newspaper article or caught a radio or a TV report that gives my country a few minutes of airtime. Such reports are more than news stories to me. They are real life. They are personal. I know about bloodshed in cattle-grazing disputes. I know about it not from the newspaper, radio or TV. I know about it because blood spilt in one such dispute in the 1990s came from members of my own family.

An argument over cattle and crops one week. Murder the next. Armed gunmen surrounded my cousins’ house at 4 a.m., ordered everyone out and forced them to sit down in one straight line. Then one by one they started shooting. Those who managed to flee left the dead behind. My cousins Abraham, Robert, Tadayio, Silvestor Hakim and Silvestor Laku lay in the hot sun for two days before soldiers buried them. Yesibayi, who was wounded, died later after long treatments failed to save his life. Such stories were common in the Sudan I grew up in.

It’s too late for my cousins. But thanks to Nonviolent Peaceforce, it’s not too late for other lives to be saved. Other wives, mothers and children will keep their husbands, sons and fathers because of the courageous efforts of unarmed civilian peacekeepers. I believe the real value of Nonviolent Peaceforce is that its peacekeepers can protect civilians without using violence. Nonviolent action does not separate and divide people as armed protection might. Rather, it brings them together to talk, to heal and to mend differences so people have a chance to live peacefully together. I am proud that many of the peacekeepers in Western Equatoria are local Sudanese. I am proud that they are helping and training their own communities to respond nonviolently to conflict. I am proud to know Nonviolent Peaceforce. Unarmed civilian peacekeeping gives me fresh hope in the possibility of a peaceful future for Sudan.

You can protect civilians who are living in or fleeing violent conflict. Your contribution will transform the world's response to conflict.
arrow-right