what alternatives exist beyond the negotiating table?

There are numerous articles about the current crisis. These tend to focus on what sparked the conflict; who did what or said what to whom and when, who killed who and who retaliated, who is to blame and who has the moral high ground.

This distracts from the consequences of the crisis. The many women forced to give birth in deplorable situations in the bush or in camps, the children separated from families, fearful and unaware of where the next meal is coming from, the families scarred and anxious for members on the front-lines sometimes on opposing sides, patiently waiting for news bearing death. These are the communities of the affected and every time a town is captured or recaptured, this is not victory.

At this stage of what looks like the beginning of a protracted negotiation process, it is imperative that we begin discussing alternatives to the Addis Ababa peace talks.  There is consensus that current hostilities are a symptom of our failures of leadership and many of us doubt that this same leadership will provide a lasting resolution.  It is also impossible to believe that negotiations divorced from the reality on the ground, negotiators apart from the communities of the affected, and negotiators for whom the suffering of hundreds of thousands remains an abstract concept to be bartered with understand the urgency with which we need cessation of hostilities. 

Perhaps it is time we as South Sudanese begin to think of ways to bring our family members and our communities together to look for a resolution.  It is time for we as South Sudanese to remind ourselves of the ways our cultural gatekeepers resolved disagreement and hostilities. It is time for us to begin strategizing on how to call upon the community leaders of the affected to issue a cease and desist order.  These are our young men dying, and for a cause led by people who do not live amongst us in the first place.

A comprehensive agreement might not come out of these community-based initiatives; but perhaps it will halt the recruitment of young men or reduce the numbers of those going to the frontlines, and will ultimately safeguard innocent lives – the elderly, women, children and men, all of whom are innocent bystanders.

These words reflect my idealism, but I firmly believe there must be existing alternatives to the dialogue in Addis Ababa. It is possible that hostilities have moved beyond the parties at the negotiating table and we need parallel efforts at calling for and sustaining peace.

we need a wunlit.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/daily/july99/sudan7.htm