Since the beginning of the year, the talks that were under way between the different armed groups in the Djenné locality have resulted in the signing of a ceasefire agreement on August 1 under the auspices of the Center for humanitarian dialogue and thanks to the mediation of a young griot who has always worked for the return of peace in his locality. Since then, the free movement of people and goods is a reality. Weekly fairs stopped for more than two years in some villages have timidly resumed but some cases of violation of the agreement are to be reported.
In this period of high water, access to the city of Djenné remains very difficult. Work on the dam-bridge to connect the east and west of the city were delayed following an attack on March 8, 2018. Generators and other heavy equipment were burned on the site. Work resumed after an operation to secure the area by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa). Unless you go through Dioro (Segou region), it is imperative to cross the rivers that surround the city by ferry or boat. Something to create a temporary activity for young job seekers like Ali, 24 years old, from Djafarabé. He spends his days in his small motor boat docked on the other side of the shore.
As soon as they see a vehicle, Ali and his comrades come running to offer the passengers, crossing for the sum of 200 francs each. “The ferry does not work at night, so this is an opportunity for us to earn a little more money. People are forced to park their vehicles here and pick them up during the day to get them crossed by ferry”, he explains. According to Ali, his daily gain varies between 5 and 10,000 francs and that they are ten to do this job at each period of high water.
“A pact of non-aggression”
In Djenné, we have an appointment with Komani Konaté. Since the beginning of the crisis, this griot relies on ancestral values to mediate between the conflicting parties. Talks between the various armed groups in the locality led to the signing of an agreement on August 1, 2019 under the auspices of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue and also thanks to the mediation of these men whose work is not always highlighted, like Komani Konaté. This forty-year-old is well known in the circle of Djenné for the actions he undertakes as part of the return to peace in his locality. “I am a griot, so I have the legitimacy to speak with all the armed groups in the locality, be they Fulani, Bambara or even Dogon. They listen to me all because I am their servant and their griot,” he rejoices. And to continue: “here, several Fulani families had left, but we made sure that they came back and returned to their home. Today, they are very many to return without being worried”.
Komani Konaté also contributed to the release of hostages in the circle of Djenné, whether Donso or civilians. The agreement signed on August 1 was formalized a few days later during the visit of the Prime Minister, Dr. Boubou Cissé. According to Komani, this agreement is the result of several months of negotiations, “but the visit of the head of government almost created a problem. It was when the Prime Minister arrived in Djenné that we made him aware that the conflict in our circle between the Donso group and jihadists, we farmers and Fulani herdsmen. We have made peace, if the authorities could not do their job to reconcile us, it was up to us to find the solution. It is this agreement that we presented to the Head of Government. But we heard later that he came to Djenné to reconcile the parties”, he says.
Another point raised by our interlocutor is the DDR process (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration). “The Prime Minister said that after his departure, the work of DDR will begin. We clearly told him that for the moment, we are not in the logic of DDR. We talked about a ceasefire and the rest will follow. To our surprise, the military began the same day to take the weapons of the Donso. We spoke with the head of government, myself, I’m still the mediator so the Donso were able to recover their weapons”, he says.
Komani Konaté recognizes limits and admits that despite his efforts, the conflict is far from over. Schools are still closed in many localities and it is often thanks to the Donso that some schools manage to open, he says. In Mali, 920 schools remain closed depriving 276 000 children of education according to the latest report of the United Nations Office of Coordination (OCHA).
Religious and traditional leaders are also playing their part
In the city of Djenné, the notables spare no effort for the return of peace and social cohesion according to the imam of the great mosque, Alphamoye Djeyté. “When the problem of the Center arose, we worked hard for peace by giving prayers, conferences and other initiatives for the return of peace. What is needed is to tell the truth and to fear God. Every Monday and Friday, we meet to make blessings”, says the imam. He added that the situation has improved following the agreement. “We feel peace in the city, because before and today are not the same. It was difficult before traveling one to two kilometers out of town without being worried. But today, even a single woman, can walk from town to town, day or night. We feel the benefits of the agreement because the weekly fair is more crowded today than before. He advocates the peaceful settlement of the conflict and the return to values.
For the village chief, “there is nothing like peace, if people get along, everything will be fine”. This conflict, he said, surprised them. “We did not search for it and we did not expect it either. It was a surprise. All we do today for peace and social cohesion is to help young people in their work so that they can earn a living, and to return to village chiefs their power of the past. We make blessings night and day for the country and sacrifices without the help of anyone”, he says.
On Wednesday, October 16th, our meeting with young tourist guides – now unemployed because of the prevailing situation – next to the Djenné mosque coincided with the passing of men in Donso hunter outfits. Alone or two on motorcycles and with their rifles and amulets, they were heading towards the exit of the city. After asking, we learned that the Donso of the communes and circles of Djenné had a general meeting in a village located about 16 km from the city. That’s how we decided to join them.
In the “den” of the Donso
On the spot, we did not have difficulties to approach them. They were more than a hundred to meet in a relatively wooded place. It’s the hubbub, bursts of laughter, in short, the atmosphere was friendly. But beyond all this noise, these armed men are on the alert.
Sitting on a mat and leaning against a tree trunk, the Donso chief of this locality (Donsoba) Mamadou Sagara looks back at the reasons that led them to take up arms. “The conflict started when they (jihadists) came here to preach. It was not a problem, but it was when they wanted to enter our mosques with their shoes and weapons that we refused because this does not exist at our place. We know that it is not part of the religion since we found the religion here when we were born. At home in Djenné, nobody can claim to come to teach us religion because it exists here, since a long time ago for more than 1500 years” he explained. And to add: “that’s how it all started, one day very early in the morning, they came to tell us that they will destroy our village. We said we do not agree and we’ll get up and if we get up, it’s not going to be easy. We informed everyone here and elsewhere and those in Kouakourou. Everyone came out and when they saw us, they got scared”.
Since then, says Amadou Diarra, one of the leaders of the Donso of Gania, “we noticed that when our people go to the farm, they are kidnapped. When they go into the bush to look for wood, they disappear. Some spend one day, others two days before being released. Some are no longer found”. And to continue: “This is what prompted us to convene a meeting to discuss it and to agree that these events are beyond us. It was after that that we organized ourselves. Afterwards, these same armed individuals came back to tell us to close the schools and to authorize only the Madrasahs (Koranic schools), to get rid of everything that deals with the Whites otherwise we will not be able to be on good terms with them. … This is how we said we will not close our schools and we started securing our area while retaliating against attacks. They wanted to attack us, but we chased them away. They shot us killing two of our people and wounding three others”.
According to Sagara and Diarra, the last straw which broke the camel’s back was when the jihadists cut off the road to the participants of the traditional collective fishing ceremony at the backwater of their village. “One time, we spent a week, from Sunday to Sunday fighting them without respite and every day we buried our dead. It is after all these acts that we erected camps everywhere to defend us”, says Amadou Diarra.
The Donso confirm that there is indeed a ceasefire agreement between them and the jihadists. “When they saw their strength weakened against us, they called for a ceasefire and put an end to the abductions of our animals and vice versa. But we should stop interfering between them and the authorities, since initially they said they were not fighting us and that the authorities are the targets. They chased the commander of the waters and forestry and then turned against us. Given all this, we asked how can we dialogue because the authorities are our people?”, says Amadou Diarra.
If there is a lull in the city of Djenné, this is not the case in several localities in the central region of Mali where the number of internally displaced people fleeing the violence has almost quadrupled between May 2018 and May 2019, according to OCHA-Mali.
Sahelien.com
*Produced with the support of the IMS Sahel Program, funded by DANIDA.