Urgent Appeal: Can you help us raise money for three peace conferences in Abyei this December?
Your help is really needed to enable Concordis run three Peace Conferences in Abyei (the territory between Sudan and South Sudan) in December, to negotiate safe cattle migration this season.
Tensions in Abyei are already very high, and poorly managed cattle movement through this volatile space is sure to bring serious bloodshed.
The communities have asked us to bring the relevant parties together, and to ensure a well-managed, carefully negotiated migration. They know that leaders on all sides will respond to our invitation – they trust us because of our long track record in Abyei.
We know these conferences work because last year, with conferences and despite the backdrop of war in Sudan, the cattle migration season was notably more peaceful than in previous years without them.
This simple intervention saves livelihoods, saves harvests, and ultimately saves lives.
The money will cover transport for 230 delegates, accommodating and feeding them and paying translators, note takers and facilitators to ensure they communicate effectively. Each conference lasts 5 days, and there are three - one for each cattle corridor.
If you can help us, please click this link:
If you would like to know more about why these conferences need to happen and why things are so much more difficult for the communities involved this year, read on.
Abyei is a contested territory between Sudan and South Sudan. Even the word, “contested” is contested.
Thousands of cattle are driven through the territory every year in search of pasture, but sometimes that pasture already contains cattle, or is farmland that still contains crops. This often brings conflict between those who move and those who are settled. Fights break out; cattle from either side are rustled. Historically, this time is always very tense and often exceedingly violent.
But...
Last year, amazingly and despite the ongoing war in Sudan, Concordis’ peace conferences ensured that the cattle movement season passed off without serious incident.
A Peace Conference is an important week-long meeting to plan timings and routes of the seasonal cattle migration, and to establish clear accountability for any violence or cattle thefts that should occur. Leaders of all the different groups involved come together to negotiate the issues, and we ensure that women and young people from all sides also have their say. They do that for Concordis because we have taken the time to get to know them, have earned their trust - having worked in Abyei for over a decade - and they see how effective these discussions can be. A Peace Conference doesn't just happen; it takes months of preparation and works best in the context of ongoing relationship.
Why are things so much more difficult this year?
The contested territory of Abyei is struggling with the effects of war in Sudan to its north, political unrest in South Sudan to the south, and now there are floods - awful floods - due to the El Nino effect. Thousands of homes have been destroyed.
Homes in Abyei Town are flooded so badly that people are camping on the roads. 15,000 people have been affected and 3,000 homes destroyed. Roads linking the town to the rest of South Sudan and to the Amiet Peace Market are becoming increasingly impassable, causing food scarcity and rising prices. Unusual flooding in the south has also covered pasture. This means that the usual migration of cattle into Abyei from the north will be supplemented by additional cattle coming into Abyei from the south, as they escape the floods.
The steady influx of people fleeing the war in Sudan is putting more pressure on the limited space and food. Malaria is rife as mosquitos thrive in the flood water.
Tensions are growing for people who already live under extreme pressure. We know from ten years of working in Abyei that, if not managed very carefully, these tensions will explode into violence during the cattle movement season.
But it doesn’t have to be like that.
These events in December will bring together the key people needed to promote a peaceful migration season. This will include traditional leaders from each tribe, as well as the herders and farmers directly affected by the season. Women and youth from all sides have a strong interest and an important role to play in promoting peaceful migration - they will be active participants.
Peacebuilding is a process, not an event, and the success of a peace conference is 90% in the preparation. The Concordis team has relationships developed over more than a decade of working in Abyei and is preparing the ground for a successful conference. We achieved that last year and have reason to hope that we can do so again. But we need your help.
Can you help us raise £20,000 GBP to host this peace conference and to keep Abyei calm?
Thank you so very much.