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Banadir Traditional Elders Discuss Their Role in Improving Community Relations
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Hiiraan Online
Saturday, February 04, 2012

On 31 January, a day meeting participated by about 50 traditional elders, women groups, intellectuals university students and media was held at IIDA center. The meeting was facilitated by Somali Peace Line
which is held on month basis. The agenda was roles of Benadir traditional elders/leaders on community mobilization towards selecting right leaders who can save the community whom the elders represent.

The discussion subject was demonstrated by a 30 minute small drama that was about the result of two neighboring clans who selected two different leaders for their communities. For this drama, one clan
selected a knowledgeable committed honest leader who provided very good services for his community while the other clan selected a warlord who corrupted the elders to select him and when he was
elected, he neither provided any service to his community nor kept his promises of corrupted elders.

Then the discussion went well and traditional elders and leaders’ roles were seen very crucial for peace building and community relation if they play their traditional roles. There have been criticisms
against elders’ recent conducts of failing to put the community interest ahead of personal interest. However, elders themselves acknowledged this bad conduct reasoning that some of them were made by
politicians not their communities and then work for politicians. But the presented elders promised to make change of this behavior and will advocate for community common interest.

A session of introduction and relationship building among the participants were made. The participants requested to create a peace building network friendship where every four members who are strange
to one another were given 20 minutes to socialize themselves and create peacemaker family. The participants were very much pleased about this exercise and extremely happy building news relations.

Almost everyone who spoken at the meeting appreciated the messages of small drama and creating new relations with peacebuilding associates and finally thanked to Somali Peace Line for its tireless efforts of
promoting non violence mechanisms to overcome country’s prolonged conflicts.

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