By Rebecca Tinsley *
Africans have the answers, if only the international community would listen. That is the lesson drawn from a remarkable reconciliation process taking place in 2,500 villages in Sierra Leone.
Author and philanthropist Libby Hoffman wanted to help the West African nation in the aftermath of its devastating civil war (1991-2001, 50,000 dead). Instead of imposing the “solutions” offered by Western NGOs, she chose to learn from traditional African customs and ceremonies, with trusted and credible local messengers.
The success of the project that Hoffman has supported rests in the belief that local inhabitants, and not national politicians, academics, NGO experts or officials, know what is best. It is grounded in people’s capacity to re-establish trust in each other when they have the agency to determine their future.
In Sierra Leone, as in many divided societies and post-conflict countries, it is common to think that communities can be repaired by rebuilding trust in institutions. The prevailing think-tank-dogma cuts communities out of the picture, assuming some top-down solution can be imposed. In the African or Cambodian or Latin American context, this neo-colonialist arrogance endures, with international initiatives filtering through corrupt or disinterested national officials, arriving as meaningless jargon at district level.
In her book, “The Answers are There,” Hoffman points out that the well-intentioned ICC and ad hoc tribunals, and the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commissions in Cambodia and elsewhere have been astonishingly expensive, yet often result in few convictions, and only performative “closure”.
Too often, national political interests determine how people tell the truth about what happened during conflict, with survivors feeling enormous pressure to forgive perpetrators. At its worst, it is theatre to appease the international community – and it is bankrolled by the same countries which failed to fulfil their international obligations under the Genocide Convention (1948) and the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine (2005).
Traditional Fambul Tok (family talk) ceremonies are used to create a safe space where people can speak honestly about their experiences as victims or as perpetrators. Once these informal forums have established trust between people, the process leads to positive community development, supported by Hoffman and her team of local people. Decisions are devolved to the lowest possible level, literally sitting around bonfires and speaking openly about issues that have divided people. These centuries-old ceremonies are adapted to include people traditionally silenced (women, youth, the disabled).
In a less individualistic, more communal society like Sierra Leone, many perpetrators embrace the chance to be re-admitted to their community, having confessed and apologized to their victims. Every village contains men who joined with one war lord or other, committing atrocities such as amputations and rape. In poor countries, where thousands took up arms, often only the masterminds were sent to prison.
Having gone through communal healing, the informal structures created (the People’s Planning Process and Peace Mothers) then become the vehicles for planning how to develop the village economy. Reparations can take the form of joining in a communal farming project or soap-making, earning and saving money together in village loans schemes. Activities like football matches and dances cement these connections. The People’s Planning Processes then send delegates to the district level, advocating for improvements and investment in their area. This is especially empowering for women who have traditionally been excluded by the “big man” culture.
Once the trust is established, the process can be used to prevent election violence and to mediate in future disputes beneath designated Peace Trees. Consultation is an ongoing process, and it requires months of work to get to the point when cleansing processes such as traditional ceremonies can be considered.
These are not quick fixes of the type favoured by the international community. It has also required outside investment by Hoffman’s US NGO Catalyst for Peace, hiring three or four respected local people in each district to make it happen. What they have created has enough credibility in the eyes of survivors and perpetrators that the same process has rolled out across 2,500 villages at a total cost of $2m. Meanwhile the Special Court for Sierra Leone cost between $300 and 500 million (estimates vary) with nine people found guilty.
For further information visit www.Fambultok.org
*Rebecca Tinsley’s NGO Network for Africa provides trauma counselling for survivors in Sierra Leone
