Peace building in Timor's violent capital

Timor Leste blog Friday, 4 January 2008

Concern Worldwide is strengthening its work in the areas of
peace-building and conflict transformation in Timor Leste. Given
Timor's status as a post-conflict society with an edgy and, at times,
volatile security situation, the work is both timely and relevent.

Last year's widespread violence that left a tenth of the population
homeless and nearly spiralled into a civil war is a fresh scar in the
collective psyche of this young nation. It's hard not to be. Evidence
of the fallout is painfully visible in the capital of Dili where
ragtag camps of internally displaced people crowd neighbourhoods,
city parks, hospital grounds and the boundary of the international airport.

Low-intensity but often brutal violence is a constant feature of
daily life in this impoverished capital. Beheadings are not uncommon,
nor are incidents involving poisoned darts, machetes, knives and
other instruments of urban warfare. Gang fights involving scores of
young men, often members of martial arts groups, erupt in Dili's
streets with depressing regularity.

In an effort to support stability and the rule of law in this
fledgling democracy, Concern is supporting local non-governmental
organizations, individuals and institutions that are working on
resolving conflict non-violently. In the autumn, Concern and some
partner organizations hosted a training workshop for the leaders of
martial arts groups in techniques of conflict analysis and
resolution. Future sessions are scheduled.

Concern's peace-building officer, Juliao da Costa Cristovao Caetano,
also received some training himself in December that he plans to
incorporate into the agency's work. Caetano recently returned from
Bangkok, Thailand, where he participated in a conflict transformation
workshop for humanitarian aid agencies operating in violent places or
complex political emergencies. The goal was to help participants
better understand conflict; find constructive ways of engaging with
unpredictable and rapidly changing circumstances; to understand the
relationship between policy and practice in peace building.

The training will help me to better integrate conflict analysis into
Concern's programs in Timor Leste. And it will be useful in my work
engaging the martial arts groups and others interested in building
and solidifying peace in this country, Caetano said.

http://www.concern.net/what-we-do/where-we-work/blog/a1000008/blog.html