When a conflict is raging, the world is horrified by the images and stories in the news.
When the conflict stops, the media leave. The stories stop, and the region falls out of the world’s view.
Often the only time we hear about the country again is when it stumbles and conflict boils back up.
In the meantime,
the new leaders of these post-conflict
zones are faced
with the staggering task of
holding the peace.
In building a country after
serious conflict, new leaders are
often faced with a population
comprised of youth and widows,
a shattered infrastructure and a
devastated economy. Some are
trying to form a government, a
military, a police force, from a
generation that has grown up
surrounded by brutality, corruption and atrocity.
In virtually any country that has suffered long-term conflict,
justice and human rights have been nonexistent.
When the weapons are laid down, the work of peace building begins. It is a long road, with no guarantee of success.
While posing unique challenges, post-conflict zones provide fertile ground for growing peace. Providing help and resources to the governments of post-conflict regions while they get their countries on their feet and functioning, and helping the individuals who have suffered to rebuild their lives and communities without violence are among the most effective actions one can take today to help create a more peaceful world.
The Zones of Peace program accomplishes this by planting the seeds of peace in post-conflict regions, starting with specific, small geographic zones where resources can be focused.
By intensely implementing a series of programs in these zones, we are creating models that can then be replicated in other regions.
