Twenty-five per cent of Lebanon’s population are refugees, and many live on less than US$4 a day. Refugees in Lebanon often facing discrimination, but some Lebanese groups are helping refugees learn life skills regardless of their background.
The Amel Association has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for helping vulnerable youth in Lebanon. Dr Kamel Mohanna, founder of The Amel Association, says no one deserves to go without a chance of education.
“Because we didn’t choose our family, our nationality, our religion – we need this,” he said. “Amel plays the role of catalyst in Lebanon, in the Arab world, as a model of change.”
Ahmad Dirki teaches English at The Amel Association in Haret Hreik, Beirut, and said he is very proud of his student’s accomplishments. One of his former refugee students, who moved to Germany with his family with the help of the UN, went on to pursue writing studies at university there and has written two published short stories.
“Now he is one of the best students at the university,” Dirki said. “He keeps saying that the English he got here, plus the support, gave him the hope to continue.”
With 500,000 children seeking refuge in Lebanon, work like Ahmad’s and The Amel Association’s is crucial for peacebuilding.
“Education is a priority,” said Lucas Wintrebert, Amel Education Coordinator. “Because all these children – in the age to go to school – are really the future of Syria, and the future of the region, because these children will be in charge of re-building their country, of re-building an identity in the Middle East, and they will be the ones that will create the world, and the Middle East, of tomorrow.”
The joint United Nations–World Bank report, Pathways for Peace, was published on March 1, 2018. It is the first report that these two organizations have prepared in concert, and this alone represents something very new. The joint undertaking reflects the sense of urgency that many of us feel at organizations with a global reach to find common solutions to address violent conflict in the twenty-first century.
It is estimated that by 2030, between 45 and 60 percent of the world’s poor will live in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence. As such, no improvement in the reduction of world poverty will be possible if we don’t work together to reduce the occurrence of violent conflict. Since 2010, violent conflict has increased rapidly, as measured by all possible indicators: in numbers of conflicts; civilian casualties; the scope of forced displacement; and the economic cost to affected countries, their neighbors, and even entire regions. Today’s conflicts are also increasingly difficult to end. They are more internationalized, and in most cases cross borders. They also feature the involvement of an unprecedented number and diversity of armed groups and are strongly influenced by global issues: ideology, trafficking of all sorts, illegal financial flows, climate change, fast movement of populations, and increasing geopolitical competition. In Pathways for Peace, we offer strong evidence that most conflicts today feature, at their origin, group-based grievances around exclusion, especially exclusion from power, resources, and access to security and justice. We know, however, that it is typically not exclusion of the poor that creates conflict; rather, conflict is generated by the exclusion or frustrated aspirations of groups that might be relatively well off. Inclusion is not straightforward, it requires negotiation between various groups and the State, as inclusion of some can be experienced as exclusion by others. The report, which we partially base on an analysis of countries that have been able to successfully address the risk of violent conflict, has several messages for policy makers in countries and for the international community.First, development policies have a strong role to play in preventing violent conflict; however, so far development policies have been placed only marginally on the agenda of prevention efforts, which constitutes a significant missed opportunity.
Second, pathways toward violent conflict take a very long time to be forged, sometimes generations; however, most prevention efforts are focused on crisis management in the short term. We need prevention efforts long before a crisis starts: When early risks are first perceptible; at the beginning of a crisis, to avoid the eruption of violence; during conflict, to avoid its expansion; and long after conflict ends, to ensure peace holds. Early efforts, and those undertaken long after conflict ends, are neglected in today’s prevention panoply, and this constitutes another major missed opportunity for all of us. Third, development that solely focuses on growth and poverty alleviation is not sufficient to reduce today’s risk of violent conflicts. In the last decade, more conflicts have started in middle-income countries than in low-income ones. We need development to be inclusive, and specific themes require careful attention. For example, gender equality plays an important role in making societies more resilient to violence, as does engaging citizens and holding the state accountable for providing security and justice. Regional imbalance and decentralization, and providing access to inclusive services are also important themes for prevention. Finally, we need to build strong bridges between diplomacy/peacebuilding, development, security, and humanitarian assistance efforts. We must aim these efforts at the regional, national, subnational, and local levels for greatest impact. Photos: World Bank Group
While the peace process between Israel and Palestine is often conducted at a state level, some groups are working with youth at a grassroots level to build peace.
Forward Thinking runs forums in conflict zones to promote a more inclusive peace process, and held forums in Gaza recently.
“Forward Thinking essentially deals with mediation, and promoting political dialogue, with the view of trying to resolve differences,” said Forward Thinking co-founder and director Oliver McTernan.
“Our principles are not to visit a country, or get engaged in a country, unless we are invited to do so,” he said, “and then once we are invited to do so by credible partners in any country then our goal would be to let those partners set the agenda for the discussion.”
The mediator’s sessions in Gaza focused on the role of youth in peacebuilding. More than half of the Palestinian population is under 24 years old, but youth often feel politically marginalized.
“Youth are the biggest category that suffers from the years of division,” said Mamoun Swidan, Palestinian Authority Presidential Adviser for Youth.
“They have a lot of issues and worries, dreams and ambitions,” he said. “The focus should be on youth.”
“It discussed lots of issues; such as youth, employment, parties, and political participation,” said Amani Al Faleet, Islamic University of Gaza student.
“It also discussed important points about how we – Palestinians – could consolidate peace and reconciliation between parties.”
“It was quite good to discuss different opinions and issues that people may feel ashamed to discuss in the Gaza Strip,” said Tahani Abu Dagga, Former Palestinian Culture Minister.
There is hope that a new generation of Israelis and Palestinians can revitalize the peace process.
“This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination…” – Robert F. Kennedy
North and South Korea have clashed for seven decades, but now a group of musicians are building peace, one note at a time.
The Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra recently performed a concert on the border of North and South Korea in the dangerous Demilitarized Zone. The 100 musicians moved outside for the final song so people across the border could hear the music.
“The DMZ – the demilitarized zone – in the Korean peninsula is one place on earth that desperately needs music,” said the orchestra founder Hyung Joon Won.
Joon Won founded the orchestra in 2009 to promote reconciliation. He dreams of organizing a performance with musicians and singers from both sides of the border.
“I believe in the power of music, which can definitely help and promote reconciliation and peace between two countries,” Joon Won told PeacePrints.
“Conflict happens, in my mind, in my opinion, when there’s no communication, for groups, or for people. For example, North and South Korea – we do not have communications at all,” he said, “but music, for example, when we are gathered through music, we learn instantly how to communicate.”
“I really wish North and South Korea will talk and meet through music, so the world will see the hope of our reconciliation and peace, and the value of music – to contribute to building bridges as to the division of our nation, conflict, and a lack of communication. Peace is Harmony.”
Footage courtesy of PeacePrints, an independently funded blog for peace projects around the world. Learn more about PeacePrints here.
