Addis Ababa - Funded by the Peacebuilding Support Office and implemented by the IOM, UNDP, UN WOMEN and UNESCO, a Community Dialogue and peace building initiative took place in Gedeo Zone, SNNPR in Ethiopia, 7-10 September 2019.

A high level delegation composed of Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced People, visited the community based dialogue and peacebuilding initiatives at the disputed West Guji and Gedeo Zones to lend support to the process.

The delegates visited Chito town in Yirgechefe District to observe the current condition of host communities and returnees. Upon their arrival, they received the blessing of the community leaders, Abagadas, from both Guji and Gedeo Zones, before visiting the host communities and returnees.

They participated in two focus group discussions, for men and women, which discussed the needs and requirements of the community, receptivity of the host communities towards the returnees, the potential threats to the reconciliation process, and ways of sustaining peace.

The delegates also got a chance to witness an ongoing community dialogue at Chito town where 70 community members (35 host communities and 35 returnees) including community leaders, Abagadas, were participating.

Organised by IOM and facilitated by the town administrators, the community dialogue was conducted as a prelude to the Training of Trainers (ToT), scheduled for October, that will focus on reconciliation between returnees and the host communities.

Despite the restoration of relative peace in the zone, which has been followed by the return of many displaced people, there remains a need for humanitarian support.

“Host communities are also suffering with us, since we returned, for they have no adequate resources, but keep sharing with us the little resources they have,’’ one of the returnees at the community dialogue said.

As part of the community initiative, a soccer match was organized by IOM for 24 Chito Elementary School boys and girls composed of returnees and host communities from 5th to 8th grade.

The match was organised to bring members of the community together irrespective of their ethnicity, with football teams composed of children from host communities and returnees. 

Town and district administrators, along with members of the entire town, were present to support, and at the end of the match, the head of Admin and Security Bureau addressed community members emphasizing the importance of including returnees and the peaceful coexistence of Gedeo and Guji’s.

“Just as we were cheering for the children based on their performance, and not on their ethnicity, from now on, let us not judge people based on their ethnicity. Instead, we should start involving everyone in our day to day life to make our community better and to promote peace.’’

Participants were awarded prizes such as school stationery.

For more information, please contact Alemayehu Seifeselassie at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251 11 6611117 (Ext. 1455), Mobile: +251 91 163 9082, Email: salemayehu@iom.int