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| Kenya: The national symposium on post-election peace building |
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| Scritto da Fr. Stephen Okello, imc | |
 Held on 29th to 31st may 2008 at the catholic university of eastern Africa - Nairobi, Kenya COMMUNIQUE
Bring what you have
Take what you Need PREAMBLE “Just when did the rain begin to beat Kenya?” As we take stock of the aftermath of post-election violence, this is one of the most crucial questions on the minds of 30 million Kenyans today. It is disturbing to recall that Kenyans who had been living alongside one another for generations as brothers, sisters, friends, neighbours and co-workers, suddenly turned against one another, hurting, maiming, destroying property and even killing. No matter what some people may want to make the world believe, it is quite evident that Kenya is not yet healed and that there is still urgent need for interaction and proactive interventions; for dialogue; and for a search for genuine peace. A quick glance at what happened reveals a number of unresolved or partially resolved matters. The issues of land, poverty intertwined with distribution of resources and power, conflict in the Church, apathy of political goodwill among others, definitely require urgent and serious attention if we are to avert further destructive tides. Kenya is where it is not by chance but by a series of “omissions” and “commissions”; simply summed up as “choice”. Looking back at the unfolding events before 27/12, things seem to have been simmering for some time but somehow we chose to bury our heads in the sand, as it were. For example, lack of education opportunities and economic capacity brought about by poverty and unemployment; and imminently no hope for a future, the youth of this country were evidently disillusioned. And as we know, under such prevailing circumstances, young people are an easily manipulated target. The end result of such heinous acts has been a checqured country, tattered economy and a battered and brazen people. As revealed further by the aftermath, when social codes are discarded, those severely affected are not the politicians or other perpetrators of violence, but the poor, the sick and the elderly, women, children – all an innocent population yet one that is most vulnerable in times of crises - as, in our case, they were left without any traditional protection. ACTION Peace is an essential value for all Christians, and throughout history, the Catholic Church has not only been the prophetic voice in the wilderness; but as well the beacon of hope, constantly reconciling people whenever and wherever peace has eluded the face of humanity. In this light, when the ghost to initiate peace structures could not accord us the much needed peace, the Kenya Episcopal Conference did not “curse the darkness” but instead proactively mooted a number of initiatives.. These events are spread over two years and are expected – through dialogue, healing and reconciliation – to help bring this country back to genuine peaceful co-existence. They include: • Nairobi Youth Peace Day held on the 3rd of May this year.
• Peace Pilgrimage to Namugongo, Uganda. • On-going Media and Communication strategies • Peace Football Tournament that will take place in June 2008 • Climbing Mt Kenya and erecting a cross, a peace flag and a Kenyan flag on its top • Distributing Peace flags • Establishing a Diocesan School of Politics and Civic Education • Counseling for reconciliation and healing • Truth, Justice and Reconciliation promotion and formation working group • And of course the National Symposium on Post Election Peace Building THE NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM The National Symposium on Post Election Peace Building was convened under the strong conviction that Kenya as a nation had not attained the healing it needed. A lot of disabling hurt and division among groups and communities are still quite evident to this moment. Recognising that the responsibility for building peace was not the prerogative of the President and the Prime Minister alone; neither was it the exclusivity for politicians and the clergy, nor of the international world, the Symposium Working Group Committee underlined the essence of involving every Kenyan right from the grassroots in the initiatives for peace building. To effect this, delegates to the Symposium were sourced from all the Metropolitan Sees and administrative provinces of Kenya; essentially accounting for every territorial boundary in this country. They came together to share what they had, to map out a proactive way forward, and to take back with open hands what they had received from the Symposium and in turn to share it with others. We had representatives from all Diocesan sectors, namely, the Catholic Justice & Peace, Education, Health and Development Commissions; the Youth Ministry, Catholic Women and Men Associations as well as the clergy mobilization sector. The Symposium, held from Thursday, 29th to Saturday, 31st May 2008, revolved around three major and complementary themes, namely: • Unity in diversity
The delegates were also exposed to the major issues of peace building; among them very educative and interactive lectures on valuing and managing our rich ethnic diversity, conflict resolution and peace building. In addition, they had an expose on the concept behind and the value and inter-relationship of peace vis-à-vis truth, justice and reconciliation as a process towards and means for healing and reconciliation. • Demystifying peace • (Healing and Reconciliation as the )Way Forward Besides creating an impact on the people of Kenya on the need for reconciliation and encouraging them to participate in peace building initiatives, the Symposium also provided a forum for a long term reflection process. There were varied, spot-on and intellectually motivated presentations from academicians drawn from different universities in Kenya as well as from activists and other people involved in peace & justice, human rights and related movements and associations. From the Encounters and Reflections, it was evident that the physical and mental scars of inter- and intra-conflict run very deep; that it is not yet business as usual as Kenyans are still nursing these; and that we need to promptly and with sensitivity deal with the crucial issues of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation; rehabilitation, reconstruction and reintegration. It was also apparent that if these special needs are not addressed – especially spiritual and psycho-social support – people will continue to suffer greatly adversely affecting relationships, human lives as well as other major sectors that are crucial for the integral development of Kenya. Through the various expositions, the delegates interacted with many stakeholders involved in peace initiatives who provided them with important and relevant materials with which they are to familiarize themselves and spread the messages contained therein. Lastly but in no way the least, embracing the call to “bring what you have and take what you need”, the delegates were allowed to sit in small groups, listening to others and sharing their personal experiences. You will all agree that the Symposium would not have had the unique touch it had without the African celebrative spirit of song, poetry, drama and dance that were well blended in the events of all the three days. WHAT DO WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE? Healing and reconciliation are the only way forward to build peace in the kind of crisis Kenya is experiencing. Yet real reconciliation cannot be attained without ensuring justice at all levels. We want to create a conviction and commitment among a representative group in the whole country. In this case, you, the delegates to this National Symposium on Post Election Peace Building are called to be Peace Ambassadors. You are to be our point of reference. As we have heard the resonance from you (the delegates), we can affirm that there is renewed conviction and commitment to peace building at grassroots levels. There is also a very strong support of the people’s interests as evidenced in the Statement by the Bishops and the government officials. The National Symposium therefore wants to create a multi-sectoral synergy between all stakeholders, and each person has a role to play. This synergy is what we want to initiate today. OUR MANDATE All the diocesan sectors need to interact and study the strategies for peace building in their respective areas of influence. We want cohesion at and between various levels: government, Church and grassroots. This will require mobilization of financial and human resources in particular the ideas of people to carry out this great initiative. We believe that the academic papers and other presentations made during this Symposium will be published into a book which will in turn help us in our Reflection as we delve into the issues affecting Kenya as a country. You the delegates to this 1st National Symposium on Post Election Peace Building are now called on board and commissioned to carry this big and vital responsibility; and we count on your goodwill and capacity to deliver for there is a gap that you as Peace Ambassadors are required to fill in your respective areas of jurisdiction and or expertise. So let us not curse the darkness; let us instead join forces, and light and be the candle that will illumine every corner of this country by reaching out with messages of Peace. Signed: FR STEPHEN OKELLO, imc CONVENOR Saturday, 31st May 2008 Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi - Kenya |
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