Oftentimes, when we hear of a conflict somewhere, it is usually the case that two parties are already at each other’s throat. But when you think about it, except for the times that the Badsiders attacked me unprovoked, no two parties just go into conflict just for the hell of it.
Conflict does not materialize out of a vacuum. There are various and several factors that bubble beneath the surface before you see a full blown conflict.
It is therefore critical to recognize conflict from its earliest stages so that it can be aborted before it graduates into a full-blown crisis of sorts. Some experts in conflict management identify five general stages of conflict:
1. Latent Stage Of Conflict – this is when conditions exist that could lead to conflict. In The Gambia, some of those conditions are human rights violations, land issues, tribal and political issues that if left unaddressed, could lead to conflict
2. Perceived Stage Of Conflict – As the name implies, this is when there exists some perception on the part of one party that another party is an obstacle to their goals. You know, how some groups/parties think certain other groups are the reason why they cannot get this or that, well, .
Here, is it important to note that perception is oftentimes reality! If one party is seen to be the reason why another cannot own land or get political power, that perception is essentially an issue that can materialize into that group speaking or acting out based on their perceptions.
3. Felt Conflict Stage – That is when the actual conflict is internalized. Subdued anger, incubating frustrations just waiting to boil over. Here, the perception has calcified into reality and you see people priming themselves to go at each other.
4. Manifest Conflict Stage – This is the stage when two parties actually react to each others actions/inactions. At this point, there is no more maslaha. Things often take a turn for the worse.
5. Conflict Aftermath Stage – This is the stage after the conflict and the way the water flows depends on how the conflict was resolved.
It is critical to recognize these stages within any community/society/country so that one may be in a good position to address issues before they become more serious. You do not have to wait until Alagie gets Njundu in a chokehold before reacting. The various fault lines in The Gambia such as land resources, class, tribal, political, religious, are all important factors to keep an eye on and manage dutifully to promote peace.
This believe that “our country is peaceful” simply because we are not physically at each others’ necks is not the solution. There are many other idiots like the guys that “assaulted” Nyang Njie.
It may take only one small incident on the political and tribal tinderboxes we are precariously perched on, for things to get out of hand. Critical to any conflict is information flow! With the advent of social media and our penchant for rumor mongering on WhatsApp audios, it is very easy for misinformation/disinformation to lead some into attacking each other physically and all it takes is one incident before it spirals into something even more serious.
We like to call ourselves “peaceful.” For us, peace is the absence of conflict. Despite the brutality between 1996 and 2016, we claim that to be a peaceful period. Not realizing that forcing people to be peaceful and without justice is not sustainable. That is why some smarter folks identified “negative peace” and “positive peace”.
Negative peace is a false sense or perception of peace where peace supposedly exists without justice. You know, the battle cry “no justice, no peace”, well, those who ignore the justice part and continue to claim that they have peace refer to “negative peace.” If peace is maintained through injustice (abuse of human rights), it is only a matter of time before the reality of that “peace” leads to full-blown conflict. On the flip side, Positive peace is anchored to justice for all and sundry. Perhaps a utopian concept but one worth aspiring to by all people.
So as we go around claiming to be a peaceful people or claim to be a land of peace, it is important to note what type of peace are we talking about. Peace as they say is not only the absence of war or full-blown conflict. And conflict is not only when two or more people are at each other’s throats! As my friend says: May peace be yours! Positive peace that is!
