DRC: 4,532 militia fighters lay down their weapons

This extract is from Peace Direct. Views expressed are the author’s own.

In the last  two years in eastern DR Congo local hero Henri Ladyi has convinced 4,532 militia fighters to put down their weapons and leave the bush.

Of the 4,532 people no longer contributing to the violence and instability in Congo:

• 1,078 have joined the police force;
• 1,200 are now in the national army;
• 1,604 have re-joined civilian life and been supported into working co-operatives
• 650 are children.

Henri’s success is not only in convincing fighters to give up their guns – his programmes are designed to assist the fighters to live in peace – so they will not return to the bush at the next call to arms. After Congo’s brutal war, poverty is endemic and without means to support themselves, many former militia would drift back to their ranks. Henri’s organisation Centre Resolution Conflits (CRC) puts each through an extensive programme to prepare them for a life outside the bush. The men are trained in farming, animal husbandry or in a skill, then they are supported into working co-operatives, so they can pool their resources for the benefit of the whole community. For all of this Henri budgets just $200 per person, a fraction of the cost of UN projects.

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