What We Do
Somalia

Tackling violent extremism from Somalia, the world's most devastating country in conflict

With the goal of resolving the chains of violence to create a positive cycle of peace, our main mission focuses on empowering young individuals to disengage from Al-Shabaab, a so called violent extremist organization, by becoming agents of peace. Our approach supports the reintegration into society and promotes reconciliation and rehabilitation with local communities.

Since the 1980s, Somalia has experienced a civil war that spread throughout the country and gave way for a 21 year anarchy to rise up from 1991 to 2012. Although a federal government has been established, the conflict has been intensified and the security system remains critical. This prolonged conflict has led to a continuous increase in refugees and internally displaced individuals, and has caused repeated famines.

Al-Shabaab has remained at the core of this conflict, as the organization is often considered one of the most active and dangerous armed groups in the world. Al-Shabaab has carried out attacks in Somalia and neighboring countries such as Kenya, which has destabilized the entire region. Efforts from the Somali government and the international community for conversation has been refused by them, and traditional conflict resolution methods including peace agreements are ineffective against the active fighting.

Young individuals in this harsh environment are feeling despair over the never ending conflict, and are forced to join Al-Shabaab out of necessity for survival through coercion, kidnapping, or brainwashing. Furthermore, a serious problem occurs once joining the so-called organization, as they are unable to leave out of fear of being rejected by the local community and retaliation from Al-Shabaab. Currently, between 8,000 and 10,000 members are estimated to be part of the armed group.

While the Somali government, the African Union, and the US military are attemping to suppress Al-Shabaab through milittary action, a fundamental solution has not been achieved and the cycle of violence continues.

Our approach in this harsh environment has been focusing on working in cooperation with local military, intelligence agencies, government agencies, and local communities representatives to break the cycle of violence from the front lines and create a precedent for a world without terrorism.

Initiatives in Somalia

In addition to supporting young individuals disengaging from Al-Shabaab, we provide support for defected combatants and detainees to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society and work to foster reconciliation with local communities. Through these efforts, we aim to break the cycle of hatred from the front lines of the conflict.

We operate from a federal government run rehabilitation facility, located in the capital city of Mogadishu, for defected combatabts and central prison housing prisoners. Furthermore in Dusamareb, Garmdugu province, a front line region of the conflict with Al-Shabaab, we operate a rehabilitation facility for defected combatants in collaboration with the provincial government.


1.) Supporting Disengagement from Al-Shabaab and Facilitating Disengagement

With cooperation from the military and intelligence agencies, we spread information on special amnesties and reintegration programs, and uplift the voices of defected combatants through radio broadcast, leaflets, and community information sessions. Also, we directly support disengagement from Al-Shabaab by providing over the phone consultations via a toll-fee hotline.

Furthermore, we provide capacity-building training for the military and police who are receiving defected combatants, focusing on improving their treatment and compliance with relevant international laws and norms.


2.) Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration Support

We provide various rehabilitation and social reintegration support programs for incarcerated prisoners and defected combatants residing in rehabilitation facilities. Our goal for them is to reintegrate into society as unique agents of peace. Examples of specific programs include:


Care Counseling

During care counselling, our goal is to help former combatants redefine their identities and develop their own values that do not contribute to cycles of violence. We first acknowledge their beliefs and frustrations without denying the beliefs they hold. Conversations that respect the personal background and circumstances that led an individual to so-called violent extremist organizations are prioritized, and we channel these conversations into their dreams and goals after release. Care counseling with each individual is conducted repeatedly with each individual to build trust.


Vocational Training and Income Generation

To promote economic and social independence we provide vocational training to acquire locally in-demand skills in the community, such as woodworking, sewing, ICT, and for women skills such as henna tattooing and makeup to support employment opportunities. We also discuss how to utilize these acquired skills in daily life and how to generate income which develops realistic and practical plans.


Basic Education

We offer basic subjects such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, English, Arabic, social studies, science, and business to be taught five days a week. In prisons, we employ model prisoners who are literate as teachers.


Religious Re-education

Many young individuals have never read the islamic holy texts and often have a biased understanding because of their indoctrination by Al-Shabaaab. However, directly refuting their beliefs as wrong would be counterproductive.

That is the reason why we don’t utilize a one-sided approach that attempts to correct their thinking. Instead, we collaborate with local religious leaders to create forums for group discussions on topics such as reconciliation with society, sin and forgiveness, peace and nonviolence and traditional islamic beliefs. This emphasizes the need to foster diverse perspectives and critical thinking skills. For inmates who are not permitted to leave their cells, we provide broadcasting equipment to deliver lectures.


Disillusionment Prevention Sessions

When young individuals face a reality that does not meet their expectations after reintegrating into society, the risk of re-radicalization increases. Disillusionment prevention sessions address potential problems in community life by discussing them in advance, exploring solutions, and adjusting expectations to prevent disillusionment.


Guarantor Arrangement and Long-Term Follow-up

At the time of the release or graduation, we arrange guarantors and ensure the creation of a safe environment so that they do not become isolated. In addition, we provide at least a one year follow-up to support their reintegration into society over the medium to long term. Post release gradation and subsequent follow up, small cash payments are made in multiple installments to use as preparation funds for social reintegration. In addition to maintaining continuous contact, we conduct occasional visits to provide them with advice on business, daily life, and other matters.


Support for Improvement and Enhancement of Prisons and Rehabilitation Facilities

To this date, we have renovated educational facilities in prisons and rehabilitation facilities by installing computers, stationery and blackboards, provided medical kits and medicines, constructed cells for those under 18 and isolation rooms for the sick, and established and operated libraries. By combining these efforts to show visible support, we aim to facilitate negotiations with the government.


3.) Efforts toward Reconciliation with the community

Dialogue sessions and awareness raising activities

In many instances, former members of armed organizations are unaware of how the community views them, and conversely, the community members do not understand how the armed organization views the community. The lack of mutual understanding results in misunderstandings which widen the emotional distance between the two sides, making the already difficult reconciliation during conflict more challenging.

To bridge this gap, we hold dialogue sessions aimed at reconciliation, where we invite representatives from local communities and former members of armed groups. These sessions allow young individuals to share their compelling reasons for joining the organizations and their experiences in prisons and rehabilitation centers. By engaging in discussions with participants as members of the community, we create a foundation for reconciliation.

Furthermore, radio broadcasts are also being used to encourage defection from armed groups, and are widely accessible to the general public, contributing to a better understanding of the backgrounds of the young individuals who joined these groups. We also conduct diverse awareness-raising sessions in collaboration with government agencies.


Emergency Humanitarian Assistance to Conflict Affected Areas

We provide emergency humanitarian assistance including food, water, and medical care, to those forced to flee their homes due to the prolonged conflict resulting in famine. We also combine this with educational support for children in refugee camps who lack adequate education.

These activities are not conducted in isolation. Rather, they are linked to conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and efforts are made to ensure that young individuals who were formerly involved with Al-Shabaab can participate in some way. This fosters a positive attitude toward atonement and reintegration into society among the individuals involved, as well as leading to reconciliation with the local community.


Examples of young individuals who received support:

-Hussein, who took on the responsibility of assisting disengagement of young combatans (article here)
-Mumin, who became the assistant manager of a restaurant (article here)

No matter how difficult the situation may be, I will never again make the wrong choice

- Siad, a former member of the so-called violent extremist organization al-Shabaab

Your support is crucial to break the cycle of hatred
and save people from armed conflict.

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