Tigrai Development Association

Conflict Resolution Project

The overall goal of the three-year project is to promote conflict resolution as an essential strand running through development initiatives with displaced people in the region through the establishment of a conflict resolution unit within TDA International.

There were more than 300,000 internally displaced, over 100,000 deportees and over 12,000 Eritrean refugees currently in Tigrai mainly due to the Ethio-Eritrea war. The historically close relationship between the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea, in particular between communities living around the border as destroyed. There was very little trust and virtually no collaboration between the peoples of the two countries.

The Conflict Resolution Project (CRP) is designed to create mutual trust and promote harmony among the peoples of both Ethiopia and Eritrea particularly among those living in the border area. It aims to deal with the psycho-social rehabilitation of communities affected by conflict, through the establishment of a unit working with various user groups.

Based on its objectives, the project has so far been successful in giving training to the beneficiaries on counseling and on how to conduct awareness arising workshops on conflict and related issues. Co-ordinating committees have been established for displaced people in four Woreda towns bordering Eritrea. The project released block grants to five different institutions, which enabled them to conduct a number of successful workshops for their constituencies on conflict resolution.

The project has developed four types of leaflets distributed to students, teachers, other civil servants and the civil society as a whole. It has organised a weekly radio programme on conflict resolution. A two year calendar promoting harmony was published. The resource centre which has been established by the project is giving various services to the staff and other beneficiaries of the project. The project staff also benefited from different training on conflict handling and peace-building.

The project has been evaluated by an external evaluator and the result indicated that everything was going successfully as scheduled except the tour to Eritrea.

The major focus of year three will be to find means and ways of communicating with people around the border area and between the two countries so that the peace building process will be successful. The other focus will be our publicity campaign and conducting various training and workshops around the border. The disbursement of the block grant will continue to those organisations best able to play key roles in promoting dialogue and peace building process amongst communities in this area.