Somali Youth Spreads the Word About Peace

Huda Qalib tears up when she hears the stories of clan violence. People “fight and kill each other over small things,” she says. “I wondered what they were thinking at the time.”  Together with a team of other activists, the 23-year-old aspiring media professional is organizing a series of community conversations throughout Somaliland to bring together people from all walks of life to discuss sources of and solutions to clan-related conflict.  Conversations are prompted by viewings of media spots which have been produced by the youth activists, followed by youth-facilitated discussions on the issues raised in the media spots.  The events are being carried out through IREX’s Uniting Communities to Mitigate Conflict (UCMC) program.

Over the past several months, Huda and her colleagues have produced more than 40 media spots – including radio dramas, television debates, public service announcements, documentaries, and newspaper articles – all addressing different methods to peaceful approaches to clan-related conflict and what people can do to promote peace in their communities.  According to Huda, “The media spots wake people up to stop fighting.” 

For some youth, it was their first time using media tools, an opportunity they found exciting as a way to get their voices heard and to spread a positive message to their peers.  Huda describes her first experience trying to gather interviews from strangers on the streets during an IREX workshop.  “Everyone I approached on the street said no!  They didn’t want to appear on TV.”  Nevertheless, she persevered and finally found someone who agreed to an interview.   She hasn’t stopped since.   “In my experience,” Huda says, “through media, I can make a documentary film talking about clan issues and it gets other youth talking about clan conflict."  Too often, Somali youth are drawn into conflict thinking that violence mediated by clan is their only way to secure basic necessities in life.  “Youth are the new generation for tomorrow,” she says. “Through UCMC, I’ve learned how to empower other youth to spread the message that people from other clans are their neighbors, too.”

She describes the “unforgettable” community conversation recently held in Hargeisa where two communities with a long dispute came together to discuss the history of the conflict.  “They hadn’t talked to each other for many years.  Because of suspicion on both sides, they couldn’t resolve the dispute and still felt the need to fight.”  Yet both sides expressed a desire to emerge from the stalemate of the conflict.  “It was very emotional when they explained how the fight had begun but in the end, we wouldn’t let them leave until they came to some peaceful agreement.” 

Huda is currently studying at the University of Hargeisa.  “Inshallah I will graduate at the end of the year,” she says.  Inspired by what she has experienced through the community conversations, she says, “My goal is to make peace through media.  I want to continue making documentaries to promote awareness about the effects of conflict.”  

UCMC is funded by USAID and administered by IREX.

Video Caption: Huda's team prepared this collaborative documentary about ways communities can promote peaceful approaches to clan-related conflict with video gathered from South-Central, Puntland and Somaliland.