Its not enough to talk about PEACE
“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” — Eleanor Roosevelthttps://youtu.be/jR56z0i13T4
Today I draw my inspiration from a great woman who led to world in getting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and niece of Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America. She was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City and died on November 7th, 1962. In her autobiography she wrote very modestly, “About the only value the story of my life may have is to Show that one can, even without any particular gifts, overcome obstacles that seem insurmountable if one is willing to face that fact that they must be overcome; that, in spite of timidity and fear, in spite of a lack of special talents, one can, find a way to live widely and fully. Life is meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life” (Roosevelt. xix).
Like her i refused to turn my back on life and my curiosity at times has led me to places where I never thought I will be as a person. It is not that I have no fear or I am not timid….I too have my fears but I am willing to give my all to overcome that fear and face the challenge ahead. So when I jumped into the crisis situation there is a feeling of being scared to the core.
We had lost 14 persons, so many displaced and schools closed and I waited and waited for our leaders to get together but there was no sign. I reached out to the Interfaith team on the ground and they expressed their frustration because the earlier agreement was not honoured. A friend in need is a friend in deed; through Wednesday evening I reached out to one friend after another sharing my crazy thoughts. Then by the morning of Thursday it was not enough just to talk about peace and not believe in it. So I took it upon myself to request for a breakfast meeting and here I met one great leader who gave me time to speak and he listened. Once I was done with the breakfast my crazy dream was not just a dream but there was a road-map.
Then lucky enough on another side of the city the Speaker of the County Assembly wanted to bring the elected and nominated MCAs together. We never talked but shared a similar dream and yes by morning nature had aligned itself to make the dream of peace a living reality. This was the beginning of an amazing journey which saw us all gather from 12 noon to 4pm at Laico Hotel. As the meeting progressed I was joined by Bishop Qampicha and Ven. Kargi Denge from the interfaith team joined in and before long the chairman Bishop Kihara. Without glossing over issues we made our voices heard and the bishops made their remarks. The leaders present also made their remarks on the best way forward. Amazingly the leaders all agreed on a ceasefire and there was a press statement to that effect.
This was just the first step and there was need to go beyond the comforts of boardrooms in Nairobi to the ground. It was Friday early morning drive to Marsabit and we were home ready for the meeting at 10 am. The Marsabit Interfaith Team on the ground already had a meeting to set the ground for the big meeting bringing together both communities in conflict. The meetings started way later at 5 pm and not at the agreed time by all but it was enough time to share the resolutions with the community representatives present.
All leaders held hands as a sign of peace. We also had a team from across the border joining the process to help in fast tracking the peace process. The next day was a celebration of Mashujaa Day in Laisamis and then we were back to Marsabit for the next meeting.
On this day I was just home waiting for the Bishop to finish with the church and give us direction. Then I got a call from Bishop that the meeting is already underway and I had to make my way there…….I we all sat and listened some of the elders spoke of fresh incidences……It was not the tone we had expected…….as they progressed….I was feeling pressure from within then the anger and frustration that I was feeling inside took over the better part of me! There was this little voice screaming inside of me just wanting to be heard and I felt chocked. May be whatever I was about to say did not make sense to anybody other than me but it had to be said for my own sanity. Then we all accepted ceasefire and raised our hand to accept peace over violence. A select team from both communities joined the interfaith team together with 2 MCAs of Torbi/Bubisa and Sagante wards.
Each time you jump into a crisis you must be game-on everyday! You must be alert and give your best but you also need a thermometer to let you know when to stop and reflect and take care of yourself or you get completely burnout. It has been 7 days and 7 nights of not taking a break. Even happy smiling souls like myself get tired; even the men & women of the church and the mosque get tired. The levels of concentration and attentiveness combined with with the intensity of context creates conditions that are demanding and draining. Imagine getting home for lunch and literally collapsing on my bed for the 3 hours, when I got up I thought it was another day. I know its not enough but at least I feel my head is lighter having napped.
As the rains poured in my beautiful home of Marsabit so did my long lost sleep pour into my head!
I felt some calmness I haven’t felt since September 5th when the initial incidence occurred almost 50+ days ago. But my heart is still heavy we have just taken the first step and we need to build on the foundation of the peace we have laid………. I know I am not alone I celebrate all the people who took their time to go beyond their professional call of duty and do all they can to make peace a reality!
Peace is a process and not a one off event!
So let us not be people who talk about peace and end up with just the talk alone. We need to strongly believe in peace and I bet the team that we have now in the mediation process believes in peace and is working towards getting a lasting peace for our home county Marsabit! We cannot do this alone but together with our leaders and all the communities affected by the past and ongoing skirmishes. PEACE IS POSSIBLE!
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