Stop extremism. Teach Afghan kids to embrace peace

Most stories we hear about violence coming out of Afghanistan describe suicide bombings, roadside attacks or firefights between the Taliban and NATO or Afghan forces.  What typically goes underreported is the everyday violence that occurs in communities between neighbors and family members and it is most frequent in the less-educated, more conservative regions of the country where a culture of violence and aggression has existed for generations.

Guzal is a 12th grade girl, and one of 900 students who enrolled in HTAC's peace education program in Jouzjan Province, a region in norhtern Afghanistan.  In class, Guzal learned about the fundamental principles of peace and took particular interest in non-conflict resolution and mediation; concepts she had never heard of before, but she found them interesting.  Little did Guzal know, she would soon need to use these new skills to prevent a horrible tragedy from happening.

During the course of the school year, Guzal's grandfather (who owned a house in good condition on a reasonably-sized plot of land), passed away, leaving the property unclaimed.  A furious conflict erupted between Guzal's step grandmother and her uncle.  The grandmother wanted to pass on the house and land to her step-children while the uncle insisted the house was his.  As their back-and-forth argument escalated, her uncle threatened to kill Guzal's step-grandmother.

Guzal, relying on her non-violent conflict resolution and mediation skills that she learned in class, interceded.  As Guzal tells the story, she stoood between her raging uncle and step-grandmother, explaining that killing one another would not resolve things; that there was a better way.  After a tense half-hour, she convinced them to take their matter to court and resolve the problem in a fair, proper manner.

During the proceedings, Guzal, acting in a neutral manner, helped both her uncle and step-grandmother explain their case to the judge.  The judge divided the property legally and fairly to the satisfaction of both parties.  When it was over, Guzal's uncle (overcome with emotion), apologized to Guzal's step-grandmother for his harsh behavior and both of them hugged Guzal, thanking her for mediating their conflict. 

When Guzal finished telling HTAC her story, there was a contented smile on her face.  She had learned about peace and a tool she could carry with her for the rest of her life.

HTAC recognizes that teaching Afghans about peace and cooperation must involve not just schools, but entire communities.  That is why we are investing in educating and training local community leaders and citizens in developing conflict resolution and peace building skills so they can work out their differences in non-confrontational ways while establishing trust and cooperative relationships.

Working with local leaders and other influential citizens, HTAC peace building initiatives in selected regions of the country have helped reduce violence in homes (especially in more rural areas of the country), fighting between neighbors, and have reduced broad-scale aggression between communities.

By giving leaders respect while introducing methods of basic mediatiation and conflict resolution (using many of the same principles their children learn in schol), we are beginning to see local communities embrace the benefits of peaceful everyday living and begin to reject violence, physical aggression and/or threatening behavior.

A major part of HTAC's peace building plan is teaching male leaders to become more comfortable allowing more local women to join local councils and participate in decision-making for their community.  This not only helps protect women's rights and gives them a voice, but the presence of women creates a safer, more trusting environment for peace building to occur.