IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 2, 2007 Attention: Religion Editor
CRWRC Media Contact US, Beth DeGraff 616-648-7821
NEW VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA STRAINS FRAGILE PEACE
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.: On July 25, 2007, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that deadly clashes between the ethnic groups
in Central Nigeria are causing increased numbers of villagers to flee for safety into the surrounding region. Hundreds people have been internally displaced in neighboring villages. The
report states that since June, a number of people have been killed in land disputes between the groups. Last week, nine people were killed when militia soldiers fired on a crowded mini-bus
near Takum (http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73403).
John Orkar, Nigeria Country Consultant for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (www.crwrc.org) based in Jos, asks for prayers for peace in the area.
"Pray that the involvement of God-fearing people in the Nigerian government will curb the vices that characterize the nation's polity," Orkar says. "Pray for full equipping and provision for our teams here in Nigeria. Pray for peace in Takum."
Orkar and CRWRC Field Consultant, Bulus Ali, currently in Takum, report that church and government representatives in the area are working together to end the violence.
"The peace committees have been working on this continually, sometimes at risk of harm to themselves," explains CRWRC West Africa Team Leader, Mary Crickmore. "The core problem is that people retaliate disproportionately to a provocation, and the retaliation escalates - until it spirals into mobs of people who get out of control, burn and kill." Christian Reformed World Missions (www.crwm.org) Africa Director Ron Geerlings, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., received confirmation of the situation yesterday from staff in the area.
Several agencies, including CRWRC, the Christian Reformed Church (www.crcna.org) Office of Social Justice and Hunger Action(www.crcjustice.org), the Reformed Ecumenical Council(www.rec.gospelcom.net), CRWM and others participated in the Takum Peace Process (http://www.crcna.org/pages/osjha_peaceandwar.cfm) in Nigeria during a previous violent outbreak in the mid-1990s.
The Christian Reformed Church has had a presence in Nigeria for more than 80 years. As a result of the Takum Peace Process, churches and organizations in Nigeria and North America created a forum for alienated communities involved to begin to explore solutions to the conflict.
CRWRC's Mary Crickmore reports that last week's violence is the third surge of ethnic conflict in the Takum area of Nigeria where CRWRC and CRWM have long-standing ministries. The current conflict began in 2006 and has sporadically escalated into violent outbreaks since then, with July's mini-bus attack being the most recent.
"Nigeria is a country where violent conflicts have, are, and may occur in the future -- with serious consequences on the lives of the people there and on development efforts," says the CRC's Peter VanderMeulen, one of the crafters of the Takum Peace Agreement. "The Church and development agencies must be prepared to continue to engage in peace and reconciliation efforts in the Central Nigerian states."
"Dealing with conflict situations through dialogue is a slow and challenging process that requires patience," Crickmore adds. "But the outcomes can bring lasting peace, dignity, and a sense of belonging and fulfillment that can save these communities from untold hardship and suffering. The current violence needs to be stopped before whole communities are destroyed as happened in Takum in 1997-98."
Call Beth DeGraff, CRWRC Media Contact in the U.S. at 616-648-7821 to arrange an interview with CRWRC-Nigeria or other staff. Or contact CRWM Africa Director Ron Geerlings at 616-241-1691 for more information.
For more information about CRWRC programs in Nigeria, visit www.crwrc.org or call 1-800-55-CRWRC. In Canada, please call 1-800-730-3490.
CRWRC is a Christian, non-profit organization of the Christian Reformed Church in North America providing a ministry of development, relief, and justice education to people in need around the world.
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Beth DeGraff US Media and Justice Contact 2850 Kalamazoo SE Grand Rapids, MI 49560 degraffb@crcna.org ph: 616-241-1691 x4191 fax: 616-724-0806