Emma and Ngala were still at school when conflict broke out in Central African Republic (CAR). Their school was in one of Bangui’s eight districts which was hit particularly hard by the violence:

“The school was looted and inhabited by Séléka rebels. Sometimes they arrived in the middle of our classes. We had to flee because there were attacks and weapons inside the school.”

In March 2013 the predominantly Muslim Séléka rebel coalition seized power from former President Bozizé. In response, predominantly Christian militias, the so called anti-Balaka emerged. Clashes between the Séléka and the anti-Balaka plunged CAR into a cycle of revenge killings. Emma and Ngala decided to join with other students from their school to respond to the violence. They decided that the best way to improve their situation was to talk to the armed groups and their communities about peace. With the help of Conciliation Resources they were able to turn their student association into a youth peace committee with students from across the 4th arrondissement:

“We knew that it was very important for youth to be involved. Not only are youth more receptive to messages of peace but we are also best placed to reach out to youth involved in armed groups.”

Emma and Ngala were able to gain access to Camp Beal, a former French military camp that had been occupied by ex-Séléka since the beginning of the crisis. In the camp, they found women, youth and children who had accompanied the ex-Séléka fighters. The youth peace committee established good relations with the ex-Séléka General which allowed them to talk to the young people in the camp about returning to school or university – they helped those that agreed to re-enroll. While many provinces in CAR have experienced a new upsurge in violence, Emma and Ngala see that things are improving in the 4th Arrondissement. Ngala says:

“It is hard to measure the impact of our work with certainty but if you see that people are moving freely around the district, this is maybe partly thanks to our work. Today, there is permanent contact and dialogue with the armed groups. Ex-Séléka don’t move around the streets with their arms anymore. Maybe this is also thanks to the change in mentality we initiated through our activities.”

Photo and story: Conciliation Resources

Matar Chaib lives in a war zone. His town of Bria, in the Central African Republic, has been controlled by warring armed groups since 2013. Despite living at the heart of conflict, he knew that peace was possible, and knew that he could make a change to help protect the people of the town.

In March 2013, the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition overthrew President Bozize, and seized power in Central African Republic (CAR). When the rebels entered Bria, the capital of the Haute-Kotto region, in 2013, mistrust, fear and rumors quickly started to spread – and tensions began to rise between different communities and ethnic groups within the town.

Deeply concerned for the town’s safety, Matar Chaib decided to bring together leaders from different communities within Bria to take action and prevent violence against the civilian population.

This was the beginning of Bria’s Local Peace Committee (LPC). In the Central African Republic, LPCs are community-led structures that play a vital role in leading reconciliation processes. In a city abandoned by state authorities and police forces, Matar Chaib and the other LPC members quickly became the primary contacts for the local armed groups:

“We started talking to them. We were used to meeting them anytime. Whenever something concerning the population went wrong, we met the local armed groups to discuss the impact on civilians.”

In 2016, when tensions began to escalate among different factions of the Seleka, Matar and his colleagues traveled up to 90km by motorbike to the surrounding areas to mediate between the different groups – they talked to them about the humanitarian suffering resulting from the fighting inside the city:

“Some understand easily. Others do not. We need to go slowly, one step at a time, until everyone is ready to engage into direct dialogue with the other parties. Everyone is speaking about peace, everyone wants peace. Even the leaders of the armed groups.”

After long negotiations led by the LPC and involving the Sultan from Ndele and a parliamentary delegation from Bangui, the Seleka factions signed a non-aggression pact on 21 September 2017 – the International Day of Peace.

For Matar Chaib the signature of the agreement has been a major milestone. While killings have occurred since, they have not triggered reprisal attacks as was the case before. From Matar Chaib’s perspective, things are slowly changing:

“Displaced people are coming back to visit their houses. Those who are lucky enough to not have had their houses destroyed or burnt down start cleaning them.”

Story and photo: Conciliation Resources

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