Tuesday, May 19, 2009

NATIONAL HEALING CONSULTATIVE FORUM _ KARIBA 13-14 MAY 2009

List of Organisations Represented at the Kariba Consultative Meeting:

Heads of Christian Denominations

Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference

Zimbabwe Council of Churches

National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO)

Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCZ)

Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (ZINASU)

Christian Students Union of Zimbabwe (CSU)

Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA)

Zimbabwe National Pastors’ Conference (ZNPC)

Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children (ZNCWC)

Musasa Project

MS-Danish, Zimbabwe

National Association for the Care of the Handicap (NASCOH)

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP)

Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET)

Africa Evangelical Association

NOVASC

Victims Action Committee (VAC)

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum

Center for Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA)

WASN

Institute of Theological Reflection Today ITRT

NB: This is only a list of organizations represented at the Kariba consultative workshop. A full list of all organizations in the civic society is in Appendix 5.4

Background: the need for National Reconciliation and Healing

Over the years since 1980, civil society organizations and churches in Zimbabwe realizing their biblical and moral mandate have independently carried out peace- building programs in particular geographical areas they chose to work. In the last five or so years, however, some of the organizations have on occasions found it beneficial to collaborate with like-minded sister organizations to carry out certain specific interventions. It was out of this spirit that the National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in Zimbabwe (NANGO), the Christian Alliance, the NGO Forum, other civil society organizations and the Heads of Christian Denominations (HOCD) comprising the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) and The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) decided to partner each other in the Zimbabwe Church and Civil Society Forum (ZCCSF) to facilitate national reconciliation and healing in a coordinated and harmonized manner.

After the constitution of the Organ for National Reconciliation and Healing in the new all- inclusive Government of Zimbabwe, the forum heartily welcomed this development and made contact with the Organ to explore ways of collaborating and working together.

The forum noted that Article VII of the historic Global Political Agreement (GPA) of September 15, 2008 states in part that the parties agreed to:

“ … give consideration to the setting up of a mechanism to properly advise on what measures might be necessary and practicable to achieve national healing, cohesion and unity in respect of victims of pre and post independence political conflict”

The agreement took cognizance of the fact that there were periods in Zimbabwe’s history that were fraught with conflict and during which acts of political violence were committed, and also the fact that unless the hurt, pain and sense of loss that were occasioned by these conflicts were effectively addressed, Zimbabweans would never experience genuine peace, unity and national cohesion.

Such periods include:

The pre-independence war period

Gukurahundi

Land re-distribution

Operation Murambatsvina

Violence during elections

Others: as will be defined by the communities in specific localities

For national reconciliation and healing to take place effectively, it is necessary that the entire nation participates in a comprehensive, all- inclusive, holistic and clearly defined national process underpinned by strong political will and desire to reconcile and heal the nation.

At the Church and Civil Society Forum workshop held in Kariba over the period 12 – 15 May, 2009, the Forum, from its vantage position of representing various sectors of the Zimbabwean society, resolved to formally engage the Organ for National Reconciliation and Healing in the facilitation and implementation of national reconciliation and healing as envisaged in Article VII of the GPA.

In engaging Government in this process, the Forum took into cognizance the fact that for an effective, sustainable national reconciliation and healing process to take place, it was necessary to engage all stakeholders, including Government.

Guiding Vision, Principles and Values for National Healing and Reconciliation

Vision

We as CCSF envision National Healing and Reconciliation as a home grown inclusive process that will lay the foundations for a peaceful and cohesive Zimbabwean society; where the security of individuals and communities is guaranteed; where the dignity of the individual is respected; where broken relationships are healed; where trust is restored; and where diversity is celebrated.

Guiding Principles for a National Healing and Reconciliation Process

The following are the principles that should guide a national healing and reconciliation process:

Upholds truth and justice while cognizant that justice delayed is more likely to be justice denied

Rebuilds trust, strengthens relationships and enhances equity and social cohesion so as to ensure a healthy and prosperous society/ nation

Is proactive by laying the foundation for sustainable peace

Is all inclusive attending to particular needs and views of social groups like:

Victims

Perpetrators

The poor and disadvantaged

Minority groups

Women

Children

Facilitates holistic healing by providing psycho-social support, trauma healing, and spiritual restoration.

Provides security to both victims and perpetrators so that they can open up without fear of victimisation

Is contextually relevant by being home grown (By Zimbabweans)

Engages all stakeholders realising that the contribution of all Zimbabweans as individuals and social groups is needed.

Allows the views and healing needs the people express to guide the time cut off points and the healing process.

Guarantees the involvement of communities as equal partners through a grass roots oriented approach that considers community peculiarities.

Is committed to introspection and acknowledgement of the role that stakeholders have played in contributing to the undesirable environment

Is facilitated and implemented by people who acknowledge and address their own need for healing.

Respects and upholds the life, dignity and human rights of all citizens

Core Values for CCSF National Healing and Reconciliation

The following are the core values that guide the relationship between members of the CCSF:

Equality

Transparency

Honesty

Integrity

Shared leadership

Mutual respect

Cooperation

Accountability

Humility

Diversity

To treat each other with compassion

Ongoing introspection

Strategic Objectives for a Sustainable National Healing and Reconciliation Process.

The strategic objectives are based on the observation of the fowlling critical factors:

That Zimbabwe is currently going through transitional processes whose positive results will better inform and support the National Healing and Reconciliation process (e.g Constitutional, Institutional, Media, Political Reform processes)

That the resultant framework for National Healing and Reconciliation needs to be informed and guided by consideration of the grassroots’ input, views and desired outcome.

Given such factors, the strategic objectives for a sustainable process are therefore to:

Investigate views that stakeholders particularly the grassroots have regarding what should constitute a national healing and reconciliation process and provide awareness on the current reform processes in Zimbabwe.

Identify the conflict issues and dynamics that need to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable national healing and reconciliation.

Identify and provide for grassroots situations that require immediate relief interventions.

Built capacity within the grassroots communities for peace building, handling truth recovery and conflict resolution.

Determine the kind of truth recovery approach and justice that Zimbabweans want for sustainable national healing and reconciliation when the environment is more conducive through a generally accepted conclusion of the constitutional reforms that have a bearing on related processes such as media, electoral and political reforms.

Modalities for Implementation

Activities

Structural Activities

The forum will undertake various structural activities as outlined below:

The Kariba document will be presented to the Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation and the engagement of the organ will then be initiated thereof.

Member organisations present at the Kariba Consultative meeting will feedback to their structures on the output of the meeting

The first roll out activity will be the hosting of an all-stakeholder national consultative meeting. This meeting will be mandated to:

Make presentations on the formulation of CCSF to a wider stakeholder base.

Consolidate Healing and Reconciliation as a national process.

Invite more stakeholders into the forum.

Carry out a Peace-building skills audit among stakeholders in order to create database of practitioners.

Intervention Activities

The intervention activities are as ascribed below:

Stage 1: National Sensitization Process

The intervention activities will begin with the national sensitization process which will allow the forum to listen to the people’s concerns, needs and expectations for the national healing and reconciliation process.

Sensitization Process Guidelines:

This process allows for an understanding of the context of the extent of the conflict effects, which will later inform further processes as assessed by the research team of the forum.

The process must firstly encourage open expression of grief & rage triggered by the conflict. This must be within a CONTEXT PROCESS i.e. to be implemented through the cultural and traditional norms and structures of the particular community.

The process can thenspecifically involve the following:

Civic Education on the National Healing and Reconciliation Initiative and its relation to the Global Political Agreement and the Constitutional Reform Process.

Allowing for communities to express their concerns and their desired outcomes from the national healing and reconciliation process.

Recording the concerns and input of the communities for transmission to the research team/department.

Familiarisation with the community members, processes, structures, cultures, history, conflict perspective and other important indicators.

Building relationships with communities.

Stage 2: Mapping

At this stage the sensitization team will then provide information to allow the research team to do the following:

Understand the conflict perspectives in the communities from a practical angle.

Relate the reality on the ground to the national perspective.

Understand the major conflict motivations and their specific context and inter-relations.

Identify immediate key needs for parallel processes that can be followed (e.g. relief work, trauma treatment, trauma counseling, re-integration of displaced, livelihoods programs etc).

Stage 3: Community Capacity Building

Start to build community capacity building programs for communities as informed by stage 1 and stage 2.

The capacity building programs must address the following:

Dismantling Bias and Prejudice

Conflict grows from biases & prejudices regarding culture, ethnicity, gender, religion, political affiliation, nationality, language, handicap, skills, etc.

Developing Skills in Interest-Based Processes

There will be need to develop skills within local communities to implement agreed strategies e.g. group facilitation, public dialogue, strategic planning, collaborative negotiation, mediation etc. Communities will normally respond to being empowered to run their own programs or to being part of the teams running programs.

Capacity Building Design

Capacity building programs must then be designed for each community (ward or cell) taking into account the arising contextual needs. Some generic outline of such programs will highlight the following:

Communication Skills

Negotiation Skills

Emotional Processing Skills (e.g. working through rage and guilt, assuage of grief & loss

Mediation Skills

Counseling Skills

Community Building Skills (Developing interest-based, collaborative leadership and becoming productive, functional communities again)

Conflict Resolution Systems Design Skills (To prevent future disputes and to resolve future disputes before they become intractable)

Stage 4: Institutionalisation

This helps manage or prevent future conflicts within the community without the outbreak of violence, & without outside intervention.

Institutionalisation also involves the creation of “WARD PEACE AUDIT TEAMS” or “CELL PEACE TEAMS” to identify the systematic sources of violent conflicts and potential threats to peace in the community.

Other Parallel Processes

It is important to note that as the linear processes are being pursued as discussed above, there will be need to identify other parallel process that may arise due to the realised needs in the communities.

Re-integration

There could still be persons who were displaced during the conflicts who are still away from their natural communities. Once such needs are realized, reintegration processes must be ensured as parallel processes.

Framework of Re-integration

Reintegration must focus on physical, social, economic and spiritual re-integration of persons back into their natural environments, state of life, mind and heart.

Trauma Healing and Treatment

Some victims of trauma have had no treatment or counseling to-date. It will be important to note such cases and immediately refer them for any such need.

Restitution and Compensation

There may also be immediate cases for the need for restitution and compensation. Where any such cases are clear, it will be important to consider them.

Total Framework and Implementation Design

The total framework and design of the implementation process will be informed by the sensitisation from the various communities. The forum will not be prescriptive but will attain input from the affected communities and will thus develop implementation and frameworks based on context and community needs and requirements.

Lobbying and Advocacy

The forum will establish a lobbying and advocacy wing which will engage with the following processes:

Parliamentary and Legislative processes

Constitutional Reform Process

The Political processes (i.e. the GPA)

Community processes

The Media

National Vision building processes in order to counter the inherent culture of violence and disrespect for the sanctity of human life.

Supporting Structures

National Structure

The forum will operate as a coalition of Church and Civil Society organisations, run by a secretariat of persons seconded from the membership. (Refer to Appendix 5.3)

Grassroots Structure

The forum will ride on the available nationwide network of its membership. It will therefore establish provincial and district structures which will eventually feed into the ward and cell structures. The guideline is to facilitate a bottom-up and victim-centered process, which will ensure contextual relevance in all interventions developed.

Functional Structure

The structure of the forum will comprehensively cover the following:

Administration

Fundraising

Media Liaison

Lobbying, Policy Cordination and Advocacy

Research

Documentation and Publication

Capacity Building and Programs

Resources needed to effect implementation

Personnel trained in peace-building and other requisite areas

Budget

Equipment and facilities

Appendices

Definition of Terms

National Healing – a process of healing the spiritual, emotional and socio-economic damage from dysfunctional conflict, that acknowledges the truth of what happened and upholds justice while implementing peace monitoring and building mechanisms to prevent further such or new counter productive conflict in order to achieve more social cohesion and open the way for socio-economic recovery and progress.

Justice – Establishing factual truth about a case and impartially arriving at a fair resolution that upholds the rule of law and affirms human rights and dignity.

Restorative justice – is a community based way of holding perpetrators accountable for wrongs committed by bringing the victim and the perpetrator to a settlement through establishing and acknowledging the truth, restoring losses so that there wrongs are not repeated and to begin healing of the relationship between the two and that they can build trust to peacefully live together.

Retributive justice – is based on the established law legal means to punish the perpetrator as a corrective and deterrent measure, and a way of making him/her accountable.

Transitional justice – is ensuring justice and fairness in dealing with past offences and crimes in a period of movement from an unwanted post conflict situation to a desired situation that restores normalcy, equity, peace and social cohesion.

Reconciliation – is a process (or the end of such a process) that deals with the past through confession, listening, restitution and forgiveness to restore peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and commitment to building trust between groups or parties that have been at conflict.

Accountability – is to allow the rule of law, an authority or others to assess and determine one’s conformity to a standard through transparency and accepting responsibility over one’s action instead of acting with impunity.

Compensation – is repayment in some form as acknowledgement and redress of injustice perpetrated to somebody in a given society.

Truth telling – is recovering and acknowledging the truth of what happened by allowing for honest verbal disclosure of, and expression of emotions from, the full facts in order to facilitate settlement and healing.

NOTE:

A working group will be set up to work on comprehensive technical as well as theological or sector specific definitions of terms and concepts on the subject of national healing.

Communication Strategy

Father Chiromba (HOCD) will be spearhead all communication on behalf of the Forum.

The role of the media team will be to ensure that any communication from Father Chiromba is broadcast to the intended audience, at the approriate time and in the appropriate manner and form.

National and grassroot structures of the Forum members will also be utilised for communication processes, as cordinated from the Father Chiromba through the Media team.

Other Potential Organizations Under CCSF

Christian Care

Crisis Coalition

General Agriculture & Plantations Union of Zimbabwe

Lawyers for Human Rights

LDS

MAZ

Media Institute of Southern Africa

NCFWC

Peace Builders’ Network of Zimbabwe

Zimbawe Congress of Trade Unions

ZFCM

ZimRights

NFBCZ

Ruwadzano

ZACH

UDACISSA

Council of Chiefs

Business council of Zimbabwe (ZNCC, CZI, EMCOZ, RTG)

Law Society of Zimbabwe

War Veterans Association

Bulawayo Agenda

Combined Harare Residents Association

National Constitutional Assembly

Diaspora

Artists for Democracy

Unthunzini/Mumvuri Association

Funding modalities

The organisations that have been raising funding for the Forum are: HOCD, NANGO and Christian Alliance these have been mandate to continue untill December 2009 when a new funding strategy will be initiatited. Other Individuals organisation will also continue to contribute as needs arise.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

ZIMBABWE: A COLONY AGAIN

It's all over in the Zimbabwe official paper, the Herald " 'good news' visas have been scrapped." Who ever thought we would be annexed with such easiness. Visa requirements have been removed and any Zimbabwean who can afford to pay for the transport can go to South Africa even without a passport. This effectively puts to rest our sovereignty. We are now the tenth province of South Africa. Indeed we have had it tough, the demands made by SA were just too much. The removal is also extreme. It heralds something more than what meets the eye.

In church circles the Methodist Church of Southern Africa MCSA which comprises of SA, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia and Botswana has always argued that the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe should be part of this larger family. We have argued that we are a country that can stand on its own so there was no need to be part of this larger body. I am sure MCSA has more ammunition than before to convince their Zimbabwean counterpart to benefit from this promised union.

Zimbabweans can now visit SA for 90 days and are given permits to seek work for that period. While Zimbabweans are going to benefit SA is the chief benefactor. We now use their money and in order to get the money SA has lifted the restrictive rules so that many Zimbabweans can cross over and work for that period come back and buy goods from SA. After 90 days they come back and use the money they had earned and then go back again. Our shops are now full of goods coming from SA so we have to have the money to buy them.

The question to ask is will Zimbabwe recover its industry. The good news may not be good news after all. Our recovery will take long to be realised because we are getting already made stuff from SA. The worst scenario would have been America scrapping the visa since we are using its money also. This has not happened. Africa is colonising itself. This maybe our way out. God bless.

Friday, May 1, 2009

CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

Crime in South Africa: Who is responsible?

It is not a problem for experts on crime to have the answers. I write this article from a layman’s point of view, as someone who has been observing and listening to a few Zimbabwean individuals who have been victims of crime in South Africa for the last ten days I have been in this country. I may be accused of being an arm chair theorist. Nevertheless I will share with you my brief insight into what I have always suspected was also contributing to crime in SA.


While it is believed that South Africa is one of the worst crime ridden nations in the world it is also fair to look at the allegation with some critical introspection. South Africa plays host to many nationals from across Africa and other countries world wide. We will take special interest on nationals from the African continent. The continent is poor and those who migrate to the rich SA include criminals among them. SA’s guests range from genuine migrants to criminals. It is correct to say that SA has benefited from the cream of Africa. It has also suffered from many criminals from across the continent that have settled in this country.


Just imagine the criminals of Africa assembling in SA! They in turn scramble for crime in different parts of this land. Everywhere you go you see Nigerians, Somalians, Congolese and Zimbabweans. I have mentioned these four countries to represent the four regions of Africa, namely West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa. I am convinced that the majority of Zimbabwean criminals left their country and the biggest number must be in SA. SA police force is therefore not only trying to manage its own criminals but criminals from the rest of the continent.


If criminals are dangerous in their own country what about when they have illegally migrated to another country? The local criminals will in many cases be out done by their guests. African diplomats based in SA should be having difficult time here because they should be trying to portray a positive picture about their citizens. Diplomats would be the last to admit that their own people are causing crime here. It is also tricky for the host country to clear itself from its own criminals. This then becomes a yoyo. Diplomats here will point fingers at SA criminals as the perpetrators of crime. SA government cannot put all the blame on foreign criminals. It is indeed a catch 22 situation.


Whether SA wants it or not it has to play the big brother role. While it is the richest country in Africa it is also the most crime ridden. Is it its riches which have attracted the worst of criminals in the continent? It’s very easy to say the same riches have wooed the best of Africa to this country. The old adage that one cannot have his cake and eat it at the same time applies so well to SA. It is indeed a mixed bag. SA is getting both the best and the worst of Africa.


What I have realized is that while it is very easy to blame SA for the crimes committed here we should also do some self introspection as African people. Zimbabweans I managed to speak to about crime in SA indicated that those who steal from them are Zimbabweans criminals. One Mr Ndoro (not his real name) was going back home for a break. As he disembarked from a local taxi he was approached by two Zimbabweans who greeted him cheerfully. They offered to carry his goods for a small fee of ZAR20 to Park Station where buses to Zimbabwe are taken. Just after approaching a corner Ndoro was accosted by these erstwhile helpers. They demanded that he surrendered all he had in his pockets. Ndoro was amazed at how they knew where money was usually kept. They helped themselves to the ZAR800 he had. They then offered him ZAR70 to find his way in town. Ndoro had to go back to Zimbabwe so he looked for his sister in Johannesburg who gave him money just to go home and come back.


Another Zimbabwean James (not his real name) noticed that after welcoming his wife coming from Zimbabwe at Park Station he was followed by a group of Zimbabweans who were speaking fluent Shona language. Before he arrived at the taxi rank they approached him and asked for money to which he responded that he did not have any. With cheek in mouth they asked him why he had wasted their time. “As compensation just give us little money because you have wasted our time following you and then you tell us you do not have money,” bragged one of the criminals. James behaved like a bouncer and told them off. He could afford to do that because James is heavily built and he played a bouncer and got off the hook at that time. He no longer wants to use that bus station because a repeat of that might be fatal.


As a result of these criminal activities a number of Zimbabwean visitors no longer want to disembark at Park Station in Johannesburg. Many now cut their trips and end in Musina, Polokwane or Pretoria. Johannesburg has become so criminal ridden that a lot of Zimbabwean visitors shun to make it all the way there. They are now being deprived of their right to make choices of places to shop from or just to visit.


If this is the experience of Zimbabweans it should also go for other nationals from countries like Mozambique, Malawi and DRC to mention a few. Thieves from their countries would also cause havoc to their nationals at the time of arrival in SA. A number of visitors are coming for the first time and these are easy prey. Our won criminals are causing untold suffering to innocent travelers coming from their own countries. It is indeed a paradox instead of being welcomed with open arms our hopes are shuttered by our won people. It is sad indeed. It is cruel and inhuman but that is our reality.


SA needs to be protected by SADC countries. These countries should own up and agree that they are contributing to the crime rate in this country because of their citizens who are here illegally and depend on criminal activities. While Africa is benefiting from SA riches it should be prepared to share the criminal blame loaded on it. It would be much lighter for SA to deal with its own criminals rather than tackling the bulk coming from the continent. Putting our heads together as Africa we can help SA to fight crime in this country. Africa, help your own to fight crime so that by 2010 the congregating world will enjoy African hospital at its best when they come for the world games. We can do it. God bless.