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