Alex residents have been urged to take their destiny in their own hands to restore the peace which prevailed in the area decades ago.
This was the message during a recent meeting of the Peace Committee held at Sankopano Community Centre.
Peace committees were established in 2010 with the support of the Action Support Centre, a member of a global network of organisations and people working to transform conflict situations through lobbying and advocacy, promotion of human rights, capacity building and dialogue.
The committee was an attempt by residents to create a platform to address different conflict situations which flare up occasionally. In most cases, the conflicts resulted in damage to property, endangered lives or even death and further divisions resulting in secondary conflicts and ongoing simmering tension.
Committee member, Refiloe Khunou, said the xenophobic attacks and occasional riots, for whatever reason, prompted the establishment of the committee – whose role it is to mobilise the community and get residents to be the custodians of processes to restore peace in the area. He said peace would not be established without their participation in all matters that impact them.
“Peace should never be taken for granted,” he said.
“It is the bedrock of stable families, good political systems and thriving economies.
“Alex has no order because it lacks these basics for peace. We need leadership that will guide in establishing this peace, restore order, ensure people listen to each other, resolve problems collectively and are included in planning and implementing development programmes in the area.”
Khunou stressed that the tensions resulted from people feeling excluded from the development processes and, in frustration, they took out their anger on weaker members of society such as women, children and foreigners.
Former committee member, Patience Phasha, urged the committee to continue seeking peaceful solutions to the problems which she said were resolvable. She said they should seek local solutions which were informed by the participation of all genders, age groups and backgrounds, neighbourliness and love.
“This should be done in the interest of leaving a stable foundation for the future generation of Alexandra,” she concluded.
Details: Refiloe Khunou 078 520 9171.
