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SOCIAL CONDIT.
The local authorities call a meeting on the management of social conflict between farmers and nomad herders
From 18-21 March 2002, there was a meeting of sultans and local authority leaders, at the Study and Education Centre for Development, at N’Djamena. The meeting had as theme: «Traditional Chiefdoms and Conflict Management between Farmers and Herdsmen«. Important questions were broached and recommendations made for attention by government and non-governmental organizations.
Corridors for seasonal migration of herds
The first question brought up was the question of respect for seasonal grazing corridors. At this level, one has to remember the successive droughts of 1974, 1984 and 1994, which considerably reduced the pastoral potential of many Sahel countries and particularly, Chad. Some pockets of land which had a little moisture and thus provided some pasture, were invaded by cattle, and this gave rise to frequently lethal quarrels between farmers and herders.
Add to that the rapid increase in population which does not match the amount of arable land available. The migration corridors were taken over for cultivation after the introduction of oxen for ploughing. There followed the obstruction of access paths to pastures and water holes. Traditional methods of settling disputes became ineffective, and the Law of 31 October 1959 dealing with questions concerning the country’s nomadic population, also became difficult to implement because the opposing sides were always trying to get the upper hand.
Each side tried to woo the politicians, so as to be granted impunity. Two examples among many others clearly explain the situation. On the night of 29 January 2002, in the administrative region of Béboni, in the south, three herdsmen armed with rifles burst into the village of M’Bairo, demanding reparation with interest for a cow killed in the fields. Sinogar Ngardoum, a peasant who asked for an explanation, was killed on the spot and 19 oxen were taken by the herdsmen. Likewise, on 2 February in the Komé administrative region, in an oil bearing area, a confrontation between farmers and herdsmen took place, following the destruction of a field of food crops and cotton. The herdsmen used firearms wounding three farmers. One herdsman was killed plus a bullock. When the authorities heard what had happened, all they did was to send security forces into the region to take away the peasants’ plough oxen — but without resolving the conflict.
Paid herdsmen
The second point examined by the meeting, was the emergence of a new kind of cattle breeder. Formerly in Chad there were two kinds: nomads and sedentary herdsmen. Both respected the laws and traditional customs. Their presence near cultivated fields did not constitute any problem, even when living side by side with farmers. On the contrary, there existed a kind of solidarity pact between the two communities. The herdsmen exchanged their pastoral products for millet grown by the cultivators. The latter then allowed the herdsmen to graze their herds on fields once the harvest had been gathered, and so profited from the resulting fertilization. The herdsmen received a small amount of grain as recompense. Nowadays, some herders receive a salary to work for people involved in politics. Armed with military type guns, they scoff at the villagers and graze their cattle on fields which have not yet been harvested. This third category of herdsmen who work for barons of the regime — both the administrators and the military — have destroyed the elementary rules of living side by side. When a conflict arises, the paid herder is protected and the farmer whose field is destroyed finds himself in prison.
The third point is linked with the mobility of animals and a new system of herding. Faced with the extent of these conflicts, some cattlemen succeed in recruiting cowherds, most of them minors, in the agricultural community. Thus, the cattlemen seek to bring conflict among the farmers themselves. When the animals destroy one or another field, they tell the farmers that the herd was looked after by one of their own sons and not by one of the nomad cattlemen. This strategy enables them to avoid paying compensation for the field which was destroyed, and they also avoid being wounded or killed by the farmers. This is but an idle fancy. The way of carrying on increases rather than diminishes the conflict, and makes peaceful living side-by-side between the two communities, almost impossible.
Seeking solutions
What is being done on the ground to put a brake on this situation? The Association of Traditional Chiefs of Chad (ACTT), in collaboration with national and international NGOs have held a series of in-depth consultations on the problem. After seminars and meetings, exchange of information, and awareness sessions arranged for this purpose, a Mediation Committee, as framework for dialogue and negotiation, has been set up. But the Committee finds it difficult to do its work, because of interference by politicians and administrators, in spite of the Defence of Human Rights Association’s call for restraint.
Traditional chiefs would like to have the matter confided entirely to them, so that they could find a lasting solution. This suggestion has come at a time when democracy and decentralisation is being mooted. People are asking how such a responsibility could be entrusted to traditional authorities instead of to locally elected representatives. Many have reserves about the traditional chiefs real motives. Rather, they have requested the government to table a new law on the seasonal migration of herds. The one in force at the moment is obsolete because of present-day political and social evolution.
Other recommendations would hope to provide wells for watering the herds. Also, in conformity with Decree 293 of 13 May 1993 (the Disarmament of Ordinary Citizens and the Restoration of Traditional Chiefs’ Authority), to call in all military arms held by salaried herdsmen. ACTT‘s Secretary-General, Mr Maluck Ali Mahamoud, recommended that civil administrators and the army should stay clear of the running of customary affairs.
Mr Moctar Diffane is Secretary of State at the Interior and Security Ministry. He represents his minister in legal affairs and reassured the sultans and local administrators that «the government guarantees its unshakable support in efforts to find satisfactory solutions to intercommunity conflicts». Let us hope that these words are not just an expression of a pious hope. The State’s authority is at fault because of corrupt practices, impunity and partisan management of public affairs.
- Missé Nanando, Chad, May 2002 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment
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PeaceLink 2002 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement