SOUTH SUDAN / COFFEE FORUM

Download

There is no media available to download.

Request footage
A group of women from formerly feuding communities, sponsored by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) gather to drink coffee together and harness the power of women in mediating conflict. UNMISS
Description

STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / COFFEE FORUM
TRT: 03:57
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: AZANDE / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 08 OCTOBER 2024, TAMBURA, SOUTH SUDAN

View moreView less
Shotlist

1. Various shots, women attending their weekly coffee forum
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aida Iniasi, Chairperson, Women in Tambura:
“We have seen this coffee forum has brought together many people from different ethnic groups. We can see Dinka, Balanda, Acholi, and other minor tribes have joined us and we have become friends. If women can come together as one, their hearts will be filled with joy and peace can come. We as women are the ones suffering, we don’t have anything. A woman who runs leaves behind her belongings, their children being killed. However, our regular meetings can help heal the trauma.”
3. Various shots, women attending their weekly coffee forum
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hellen Mariamba, Resident, Tambura:
“In reality, we, the women of Tambura, are suffering. However, all of us are standing behind one cause and that is peace. Today, we need peace in our hearts. That peace begins with me, moves to children, neighbours and everyone else in Tambura County. We stand strong as women to talk to our youth to stop fighting.”
5. Various shots, women attending their weekly coffee forum
6. SOUNDBITE (Azande) Luciana Zinione, Resident, Tambura:
“I am tired of sleeping under a plastic sheet, that’s why we need peace. We need unity so that we can go back home and sleep well.”
7. Various shots, women attending their weekly coffee forum
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Margret Joshua, Gender Affairs Officer, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“Women in conflict are seen as survivors, as victims, as vulnerable, but these women in Tambura have really stood firm to ensure that they contribute to peace. They are implementing resolution 1325, which takes into account women, peace and security, and also early warning. This coffee forum is doing a general analysis of the communities around and is informing even the [UN] mission on early warnings in the conflict zone.”
9. Wide shot, women dancing

View moreView less
Storyline

A group of women from formerly feuding communities, sponsored by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) gather to drink coffee together and harness the power of women in mediating conflict.

Under an ancient mango tree, the unique smell of freshly brewed coffee suffuses the air. It does so alongside the rhythms of local music and the sounds of hundreds of women singing, dancing and rejoicing throughout a rainy sky sunset in Tambura in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State.

An evening gathering for a coffee forum suffice for formerly feuding communities to sip a cup for peace together.

These women, from a variety of ethnic groups, have been enjoying their coffee since the last couple of months in 2021, but not in one continuous sitting, however. No, instead they get together once a week.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aida Iniasi, Chairperson, Women in Tambura:
“We have seen this coffee forum has brought together many people from different ethnic groups. We can see Dinka, Balanda, Acholi, and other minor tribes have joined us and we have become friends. If women can come together as one, their hearts will be filled with joy and peace can come. We as women are the ones suffering, we don’t have anything. A woman who runs leaves behind her belongings, their children being killed. However, our regular meetings can help heal the trauma.”

The pioneering aficionados of the tasty black gold were first brought together by UNMISS’ Gender Affairs Unit. This happened at a point in time at which women from the area’s multicultural communities, most of whom had been displaced by violent intercommunal conflict, had not been able to interact for more than half a year.

When UNMISS created the coffee forum to give women a safe place to share their experiences and stories, some 250 participated. Since then, they have become around 400.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hellen Mariamba, Resident, Tambura:
“In reality, we, the women of Tambura, are suffering. However, all of us are standing behind one cause and that is peace. Today, we need peace in our hearts. That peace begins with me, moves to children, neighbours and everyone else in Tambura County. We stand strong as women to talk to our youth to stop fighting.”

The main purpose of the Sunday gatherings is to harness the power of women in mediating conflict and hone their natural abilities as peacemakers.

Conflict mitigation and ways to build social cohesion and unity are often discussed, and that is still for a reason: Another eruption of intercommunal violence took place in April this year, and some tensions persist.

SOUNDBITE (Azande) Luciana Zinione, Resident, Tambura:
“I am tired of sleeping under a plastic sheet, that’s why we need peace. We need unity so that we can go back home and sleep well.”

Once a month, the UNMISS Gender Affairs team in Yambio travel to Tambura to facilitate and moderate the coffee forum discussions. They are pleased with what they observe.

SOUNDBITE (English) Margret Joshua, Gender Affairs Officer, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS):
“Women in conflict are seen as survivors, as victims, as vulnerable, but these women in Tambura have really stood firm to ensure that they contribute to peace. They are implementing resolution 1325, which takes into account women, peace and security, and also early warning. This coffee forum is doing a general analysis of the communities around and is informing even the [UN] mission on early warnings in the conflict zone.”

The UN peacekeeping mission continues to patrol in and around Tambura to facilitate the movement of humanitarian teams and the invaluable emergency relief supplies they carry with them. It is generally believed that the visibility and actions of the Blue Helmets have contributed significantly to reduced tensions among the multiethnic communities living in the area.

View moreView less
27328
Production Date
Creator
UNMISS
Alternate Title
unifeed241008h
Geographic Subject
MAMS Id
3271335
Parent Id
3271335