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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC / MEDIATION
STORY: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC / MEDIATION
TRT: 4.07
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / SHANGO / NATS
DATELINE: 13 FEBRUARY, 2014, BOSSANGOA, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
1. Wide shot, aerial of Bossangoa town
2. Various shots, Bossangoa resident doing daily activities
3. Various shots, Muslim residents in Bossangao town
4. Various shots, women walking carrying their belongings
5. Low shot, women walking
6. Wide shot, people walking
7. Driving shot, Bossangoa destruction
8. Various shots, IDP’s in the camp
9. Wide shot, Tibo meeting community members
10. Med shot, Tibo, community leader
11. Med shot, community members
12. SOUNDBITE (French) Tibo, community leader:
“Before we used to live together as brothers, those who live in Liberté are our brothers, the Muslims are also Central Africans. We cannot stay aside and do nothing about what is happening. We need to have the courage to bring ourselves together again.”
11. Wide shot, Tibo with UNHCR staff in the camp
12. Various shots, Jean Baba
13. SOUNDBITE (French) Jean-Mathurin Baba, UNHCR Field associate:
“Through its mediation efforts, UNHCR is trying to look for common spaces where the two communities can sit around the same table. UNHCR is organizing trainings to members of both communities so they can themselves become mediators.”
14. Wide shot, Tibo talking to IDP women in the camp
15. Close up, mother with her baby
16. Wide shot, Tibo sitting and talking to women
17. SOUNDBITE (Shango) Tibo, community leader:
“Good morning everyone. We are here gathered to see what we can do to meet again with our Muslim brothers with whom we have lived in this village for a long time and to be able to resume a normal life. All together.”
18. Wide shot, Tibo talking to women
19. Med shot, women and children during the meeting
20. Wide shot, Tibo talking to women
21. SOUNDBITE (French) Tibo, community leader:
“The one who can bring us peace is ourselves. Peace should come from within. We, the population of Bossangoa, have to establish peace. If today we have peace in Bossangoa, perhaps we can extend that peace to the surrounding villages and gradually to all Central Africa.”
22. Med shot, Tibo talking to community members
23. Wide shot, IDP women carrying their belongings
For over a year now, civil strife has displaced thousands of people through out Central African Republic.
UNHCR is working on bringing mediation and conflict resolution among Christian and Muslim communities.
Bossangoa is located 30 kilometres north of Bangui, the capital of the African country.
Bossangoa, where the conflict began in 2013, used to have 50,000 residents, both Christian and Muslim communites.
Civil strife divided them. The Christian went to a church, the Muslims went to a school and d the ongoing insecurity prevents both communities to return home.
Tibo, a community leader, grew up in Bossangoa.
SOUNDBITE (French) Tibo, community leader:
“Before we used to live together as brothers, those who live in Liberté are our brothers, the Muslims are also Central Africans. We cannot stay aside and do nothing about what is happening. We need to have the courage to bring ourselves together again.”
The destruction of property includes homes, businesses and schools.
UNHCR works with both sides to mediate and find an end to the conflict.
Jean-Mathurin Baba is a UNHCR field associate.
SOUNDBITE (French) Jean-Mathurin Baba, UNHCR Field associate:
“Through its mediation efforts, UNHCR is trying to look for common spaces where the two communities can sit around the same table. UNHCR is organizing trainings to members of both communities so they can themselves become mediators.”
He adds that mistrust is high and hard to overcome.
Right now, only around 1,000 Muslims still remain in Bossangoa.
The violence in CAR has torn the social fabric of the Central African Republic.
SOUNDBITE (French) Tibo, community leader:
“The one who can bring us peace is ourselves. Peace should come from within. We, the population of Bossangoa, have to establish peace. If today we have peace in Bossangoa, perhaps we can extend that peace to the surrounding villages and gradually to all Central Africa.”
But as Tibo points out, there is still time to try and curb the curve of the spiralling violence that has torn the country.
It will take courage and compromise from both sides to bring back peace to CAR.
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