It is a new dawn for the Fwara and Haworu sections of the Haforiere Community domiciled in Torit County’s Hiyalla Payam in Eastern Equatoria State as they agreed to live in peace and cease violence.
On Friday, thousands of women, youth, elders, and children from the two camps gathered in the Miryang area to conclude a two-day dialogue that resolved to impose heavy fines and jail terms without bail for any person who steals cattle or instigates conflict.
Since 2013, the two sections have been engaged in recurrent conflicts, cattle rustling, and cyclic revenge killings despite living together. The hatred ran so deep to the extent that they did not attend each other’s ceremonies and even funerals despite intermarriages and deep blood relations.
John Omoroho Franko, one of the youth representatives from Haworu, said they resolved that errant people would be jailed for six months without bail. Killing however will be dealt with differently.
“If you kill someone’s cow you will pay cattle, for a goat, you will pay three head of cattle, one to the government and two for the owner, for a chicken, you will pay five goats, two to the government, and three to the owner,” he explained. “So, if thieves want to carry on with crimes, they will face it without compromise, that is what we have agreed.”
The youth leader from the Fwara section, Emmanuel Abahasi Jimmy, said peaceful coexistence is the only option left for his community to qualify for staying in the area.
“What we have said really comes from our hearts and let those who do not take it seriously and want to create problems, abuse their mothers and raise their hands,” he said. I thank you, commissioner (Christopher Andrew) because our children and women have suffered for a long time. Just see how these women and children rushed to welcome you. They were doubting if the peace would become a reality but now it is real. We suffered because of two people but today we leave whatever happened behind here in Miryang.”
For her part, Santina Kuruju, a female representative, doubts whether the peace will hold due to the rigidity of the youth.
“For some of us, if the peace does not last four days, we will doubt it. Maybe it will succeed and if we sleep peacefully for a month, we will greet and thank you a million times, our commissioner,” she said. “We have sung bad songs bashing these warring men of ours and were about to migrate from this village because they gave us a hard time. If the peace here today comes from our hearts, then I am happy. All the songs that instigate violence must stop from today.”
A female elder, Anna Ichaa Silvestru, also cast doubt on the success of the peace initiative and worries that the restless and indisciplined youth will instigate conflict again.
“Mr. Commissioner, you will experience losses moving to us here every time because I do not think there will be peace. I am telling you the truth, in just one week, you will come back here. If you want real peace, you should have brought the medicine that prohibits this youth from eating meat,” she lamented. “We are all reconciling here for nothing and they are just deceiving. Try to sleep here and see, we shall be mourning the funeral of a goat. You can see these ugly youth, they are the ones who are spoiling us and they are very ugly and cannot even give birth to children like us who stood for this country.”
Meanwhile, according to Lt. Col. Sastilio Oliha, the head of the Justice and Peace Mission based in Hiyalla and a son of the area, peace must come from the hearts of the people not just the words they utter, to avoid the future recurrence of violent conflict.
“We did not come here for nothing, we came here for the things that pained us in the community and we are one. Hon. Commissioner, the devil is in the midst of the people at the border between Fwara and Haworu,” he stated. “They go and kill goats, and cattle and eat, but today, I request God that all the bad things must come to an end. With the voices of the Monyiemiji (youth), if this comes from their hearts, including my sisters here, it (conflict) must end today so that we start a new life.”
For his part, Torit County Commissioner Christopher Andrew insisted that the communities seek peaceful approaches to conflict resolution.
“Today is a big day of happiness for me and all the people of Haforiere and this peace is what the government wants for its citizens. Earlier, some people were doubting about the sustainability of this peace but I want to assure you that the same God that united us today will guide us up to old age,” he said. “There will be no information of anyone stealing someone’s property or someone killing another. Our hearts have changed and nothing bad will originate in Haforiere again other than good messages. Forgive the past and people should stay in peace and justice.”
The two-day peace dialogue was an initiative of local chiefs in collaboration with Torit County and the Justice and Peace Mission, an office of the army formed by the Eastern Equatoria State government to pursue criminals.