Celebrating 20 Years of Peacebuilding - Africa and the Greater Middle East

For those living in Liberia, a country in West Africa that experienced 14 years of civil war, most of the time peace has been perceived as the absence of the sound of guns and rockets. On the other hand, it has also been considered a time when we have food on our tables and can go to sleep without going out at night to watch for our safety. This has all been perceived as PEACE.

In the summer of 2011, Sierra Leone was in the eighth year of its post-war era. Ours was widely described as a fragile peace as broken infrastructure, legislation, and attitudes that anchor peaceful co-existence were still being put in place. The culture of violence was fading away into insignificance but only gradually, with its effects still visibly lingering in our communities and homes. The war victims—wounded/displaced—were slowly settling down in their new homes and to do whatever could piece together their broken livelihoods.

Sierra Leoneans were gleefully basking in the joys of our first post-war election resulting in a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from an incumbent to the opposition. It was time for peacebuilders to catch up with the dynamic paradigms that contemporary peacebuilding work demands. In Asia-Pacific, in faraway Philippines, the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) was beckoning and whispering “ … Space for mutual learning? No one serves you better.”

My learning journey with the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) started 5,315 miles away from the Philippines, in Syria. Through all the difficulties of obtaining the visa and getting to the Philippines, MPI's staff was there emailing and contacting the authorities and trying their best to facilitate the process. I was curious about those people who seemed to be so sincere in their mission. The number one lesson I learned was that of "not giving up." I could not wait to meet them and see the power that lies within this group of people and what drives them to maintain such a mindset.

Photos above: Multi-Ethnic Group in Elmentaita Kenya meet to highlight Community Peace Pillars and how they facilitate community peace in contested land and indigenous ancestral land heritage where peace has been realized.

Twenty years ago, the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) was launched, and who could tell how long the journey would be and the route and places it would take those inaugural personalities? The vision was peace, and MPI continues to strive to strengthen and train peacebuilders, linking and networking them together, keeping friendships and collaboration alive.

Peace has multicultural and cross-cultural dimensions. For me who works in Africa, I encountered and attended the MPI training in 2013. The experience in the community organizations working among the Bangsamoro*, Philippines, opened my mind in new ways. I gained insights that have helped me engage and address peacebuilding better. From my perspective, I recognize the impact of MPI as having created opportunities for peacebuilders from different parts of the world to not only train in a multicultural context but also reflect with cross-cultural content. Peace has multicultural and cross-cultural dimensions.

Above: Group Photo with KAICIID Team and Fellows from the African Region during Orientation and Capacity Building Training in Ethiopia in February 2020.

My experience at the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) was transformational in my career as a peacebuilder and shaped my world view. I participated in MPI in 2018 where I first attended an Islamic and Interfaith dialogue-reflection and three-weeks peacebuilding training. The Islamic and Interfaith reflection brought together peace actors from Mindanao from different faiths including Muslims, Christians, and indigenous communities, also known as lumads. There were also participants from India, Kenya, the Netherlands, and Uganda. The reflection’s main goal was the sharing of insights and experiences that would provide pointers for an interfaith toolkit.

If there is one place
That threw my passion to frenzy
If there are days
That ran unending
Where from some higher cliff
I jumped into oceans unwinding
It would be MPI.

Birth, the birth of building
Death, the death of quarreling spirits
Deceits, and warring
This place taught better, shines brighter
And I am the torch.

Yes, a torch in a deep of torches
Lighting peace candles and lamps
That shine today and forever
From Mindanao to Bakweri town
From Davao to the world over
This place taught me so,
And I am not one but many.

Why South Sudan? Where is that? Are you not afraid? Is it safe? What are you going to do there? These are just a few of the questions people asked me upon learning that I would be working in South Sudan. I am still being asked the same questions, especially by people who do not understand my work. It was never an easy decision to make, especially leaving my family behind. I did not know what was awaiting me in South Sudan, but I was determined.