POLITICS 14 Days 14 Ways.....Green Scenery Sierra Leone Launches Campaign for Non-Violent Local Council Election Posted by on Jun 21, 2008, 10:07

Introduction

At the end of Sierra Leone’s 10-year war many initiatives sprouted to deal with the causes of the war which had manifested into one of Africa’s most gory and brutal civil conflicts. The TRC was established to uncover the truth about the causes of the war, why the war took the dimension it took and proffer recommendations that should serve as deterrent to future violent conflicts. Various national projects are being implemented in the justice sector including transformation of the police, review of laws and the Justice Sector Development Program (JSDP). The process of decentralization is still being rolled out and is to deal with distribution of power and development. In the security sector, the military is being transformed into a professional institution by the IMMAT initiative. Many reconciliation projects, trauma healing and peacebuilding initiatives have been implemented; some are still ongoing many of which were targeting youths in youth groups. These peacebuilding projects were hardly targeted at school going youths (ages 15 – 18).

In 2002 soon after the end of the war was officially declared the Ministry of Education organized its usual official inter-secondary schools football competition the outcome of that event will be always remembered for its violent nature during which four children were killed, a large number seriously injured and destruction caused to property (vehicular, homes and market wares). Green Scenery was the only organization that developed a consistent program of peacebuilding in secondary schools in 2003 to address school based violence and has worked since then with some 40 secondary schools in all four regions of the country.

The intervention has achieved many successes like wise it has had challenges with many lessons learnt. However, to date the peacebuilding intervention in secondary schools has reached some 2000 children as direct beneficiaries and 250 secondary school teachers trained as trainers. Indirectly, the program has reached 1000s of school children, non-school children, adults and parents in the communities of the trained student (Peer Mediators) and their teachers.

Why This Intervention?

Every year after the training of the target children, by their teachers the children are organized in a network –Peer Mediators’ Network (PeMNet). The network members through supervision by their supervisors develop their plan of activities which is supported by partner/donor funds through Green Scenery as implementing agent. The activities are purely the initiatives of the students and has ranged from short play (skits) in highly populated areas such as market places, selected community outreach during which peace massages are aired through megaphones, public march passes with brass bands that draws attention to the students holding placards with peace messages, to radio discussions utilizing a range of discussants including the Peer Mediators and their teachers. Inter-schools games competitions have also been targeted with Peer Mediators serving as conflict monitors during the competition and helping to transform negative energies of conflict to positive energies of peace.

In 2006/2007, Green Scenery worked with five secondary schools in Kenema. One of the activities they planned was to campaign for a peaceful Presidential and Parliamentary elections. There initiative which was largely radio discussions and community outreach was supported. Although the Peer Mediators wish not to take credit for a relatively peaceful elections in Kenema, yet their call along with many others positively impacted the outcome of the elections in that part of the country. Green

Scenery has since 2007 ended its intervention in Kenema but its work is still being felt through the students and teachers that were trained in 2006 who are still very active in peacebuilding work.

Green Scenery’s 2008 intervention regions are Kakua chiefdom, Bo, Freetown, Western Area and Bombali chiefdom, Makeni. The total number of children and teachers involved are 800 and 125 respectively. One of the activities that have been tabled for implementation is lunching a sustained campaign for a non-violent local council election. Green Scenery has support for the activities in these locations involving this number of beneficiary. What Green Scenery lacks is the support for the Eastern region – Kenema who have expressed strong desire to be part of the campaign. Green Scenery also believes that including the Kenema group is very strategic because this will enable the campaign to be nationally felt as all the regions of the country would be involved. This concept/proposal is therefore seeking support for the Kenema Peer Mediators to be involved in the “Campaign for Non-violent Local Council Election – 14 Days, 14 Ways.”

Objective Of The Action

To achieve a non-violent 2008 national local council election.

To maintain reinforced participatory democracy.

To achieve peaceable voting environment.

Methodology

This activity is scheduled for 14 days to e-day. Each day the PeMNet group across the country will be engaged in one particular activity that should be speaking to a non-violent election. The students and their teachers will be engaging the public from various fronts appealing to the public to desist from any form of activity that will lead to conflict. The following activities have been lined up for possible implementation at strategic moments of the electioneering process:

1.       Peacebuilding play skits at key locations in implementing regions

2.     Brass band masquerade with students in their PeMNet T-shirts holding placards

3.     Lunching PeMNet

4.     Radio discussions

5.      Press releases

6.     Peace banner hoisting in schools and at strategic locations in implementing regions

7.      Peace march

8.     Non-project school visitation

9.    Project school awareness raising for peaceful election

10.                         Letters to the President and political parties for a peaceful election

      11. Distribution of handbills with peace messages

      12. Collecting signatures to commit voters to be non-violent

      13. Appeals day: Using cell phones PeMNet members will send text messages indiscriminately to numbers appealing for a non-violent election.

The implementation can be simultaneous or consecutive depending on how the actions are perceived to be of impact. Along with these activities every day for 14 days a number of times a day jingles will be aired on radio calling for a non-violent election.

 Green Scenery Sierra Leone

Schools Peacebuilding Project

Campaign for Non Violent Local Council Elections, 2008 – 14 Days, 14 Ways

Activity Schedule