190 SVETLANA SHARIPOVA AND HERMINE DE SOTO. (Usetiiony 9. £5: Trdtions and Modernity Women's Asaiaon (202) Invention o stat (011 “Tate 50. Maori of te Sasnd Frum of Women NGOs of Takin, ot 35, 9p. 39-40, 52. Wold Bank (212) Emponement and Povey Recon, Washngon, DC: Wold 8 Young mothers as agents of peacebuilding: Lessons from an early childcare and development project in Macedonia Deborah Davis This chapter focuses on the lessons learned from an inter-ethnic peace building project in the mountains of Macedonia,’ near the border with Kosovo, carried out in quiet deflance of the ethnic wars in the Balkans. The project, called Lifestart in Emergencies, was created by UNICEF to underpin military and diplomatic peacebuilding efforts in the region with social healing and sustainable community-level conflict resolution pro- ‘esses, Carried out in. impoverished, isolated communities where the Only sources of income were subsistence farming, timber cutting and smug- fling, and where women rarely lett the home oF spoke to their neigh ours, the project attracted fttle attention during its five years of existence. Further, due to the lack of documentation that characterizes ‘many emergency projects in confit zones, it now has been largely for gotten, and would not have come to the author's attention had it not ‘been for her association with the World Bank, which provided some of the initial funding. However, the principles on which it was based ~ that conflctaffected families ofall ethnic groups need support and protce: tion, and that the empowerment of women within families and commu nities helps in bridging ellie, religious and politcal bariers ~ continue to have a profound influence on the character of ongoing reconciliation elforts inthe region Lifesart in Emergencies was launched in 1996, shortly after the Day ton Accords brought an end tothe ethnic violence in Bosnia-Herzegovina and ereated space for other peace efforts inthe region. The project was suspended in 2001, when NATO launched air strikes along the Kosove-192_DEBORAH DAVIS Macedonia border to prevent the ethni confit that had spread to Kos- ‘vo from also destabilizing is neighbour to the east, Macedonia - one of the few Balkan countries that had not yet been engulfed in ethnic war, ‘The fact that Macedonia had managed to leave the Yugoslav federation ‘in 1991 without an outbreak of ethnic violence was a testament to the elfectiveness of long-standing power-sharing arrangements between the country’s two largest ethnic groups, the Macedonians and the Albanians However, Roma, Turks and other ethnic groups had remained marginal ized until the government acceded to UNICEF's demands, during nego- tiations over the design of Liestart, fo include young’ mothers and children from ethnic minority families, and to allow educational materials in the Romani and Turkish languages as well as in Macedonian and Albania AA the time Lifestart was launched, the families living in the Macedo- nian highlands had been “ving all they had ~ food, clothes, money” to the tens of thousands of Kosovar Albanian refugees pouring over the border to escape the Serbian invasion of their homeland. As the Kosovo crisis continued, however, and the Albanian population in. Macedonia arew larger, the Macedonians began to feel overrun by the refugees and resentful of their inereasing demands for politcal power and bilingual ‘education. To help diffuse these tensions, Lifetart in Emergencies trained 1a multi-ethnic team of family Visitors ~ young mothers from the moun ‘ain villages who would meet with Macedonian, Kosovar Albanian, Tark ish and Roma families in their homes and speak to them in their own languages Early childcare and development (ECD) served as the entry Point for these interactions, which soon expanded to community meet ings at which parents and grandparents from the different groups sat together to drink mountain tea and discuss what they could do to give young children a sense of security and hope for the future. Programme facilitators talked about children's psychological and physical needs, and the eed for adults to encourage them, treat them with kindness and belp them develop a sense of self-worth, They als talked about the Conven: tion on the Rights of the Child! and its requirement that parents actin the best interests oftheir children, The parents Were then invited to think about how their children were affected by the behaviour of adults in the family ~ particularly the impact that violence against childeen and their mothers would have in creating an angry outlook on life and the perpet ation of violence on a larger scale From the beginning, Lifestar in Emergencies embodied the link be tween peace in the community and peace in the region, and an under standing of how both affect the wellbeing of families. Ageinst the memory of “mass executions; exploitation as human shields; rape; mase expulsions; burning and looting of homes and villages; destruction of YOUNG MOTHERS AS AGENTS OF PEACEBUILDING 193 xops and livestock; suppression of idemtty, origins and property owner: ship by confiscation of documents; hunger, starvation and exhaustion; and ‘many other abuses of human rights and international norms of civilised behaviour” that the Kosovar refugees had endured before reaching ‘Macedonia, the project aimed “to initiate and develop in the mother and the other family members [a] culture of communication that would be supported with love, respect and tolerance", as a UNICEF evaluation of Lilesart noted, while “the objective ... was to develop the individual personality of the mother [so she] would understand responsible parent- hood”.® The idea that women’s empowerment was central fo community peacebuilding ~ the organizing principle of the operation ~ was not artic- lated. Instead, feilitators took the approach that “the priority functions and role of the female” were to protect and advocate for her children, and therefore young mothers had tobe given the “personal esponsibility fand mobility” they needed (o “devote @ significant proportion of their time to the development of their children”. Women were given permis, sion by the male elder in the family to beeome involved in community wide children’s learning activities, which soon included literacy classes and, eventually, confit resolution exercises across both religious and ethnic boundaries. In this way, the projet was able to build on its advo- acy for children to “expand and improve community networks. and strengthen... the position of the women” within their communities ‘The strategie value of community peacebuilding The family-centzed approach to peacebuilding was fist developed in the border regions of Norther Ireland, where communities affected by the ‘many decades of “the Troubles” were showing alarming levels of violence fgainst women, depression among young mothers and high rates. of Suicide ~ the Teading cause of death ~ among young men In the mi. 1980s the women of Northern Ireland ~ peace activists, advocates of women’s and children’s rights, women in religious orders, psychologists and academies began to organize support networks, menial health pro- grammes and home visits for conllctaflected families, particularly in rural and Irshspeaking areas. In 1994, with the creation of the EU Po- framme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the order Counties of Ireland, these grasstoots efforts were recognized as ‘community-based peacebuilding programmes and given EU funding. One of these programmes was the original Lifestart of Northern Treland, founded by the Sisters of Mercy in the late 1980s. Like other peacebuilding projects in Ireland's bor Lifesatt provided home-based services for conficvaffected familios. However, it was194 DEBORAH DAVIS YOUNG MOTHERS AS AGENTS OF PEACEBUILDING _195 Lifestr’s core parenting programme, built around early child learning research from the United States, which attracted the interest of UNICEF for use in Southeastern Furope. As evidence emerged from Northern Ireland's peacebuilding pro- grammes that, as noted in a later EU evaluation, there is a need for funding bodies to understand the strategie aims” of community peace- building.” UNICEF insisted that the project be inclusive, as desribed above. The following section discusses the Macedonia project in more fetal ‘The Macedonia project and peace in Southeastern Europe As Britain end Northern Ireland made their dificult way towards a pea agreement" women in Southeastern Europe were alzo building ont self-help traditions of families and communities to create a subculture of peace, in which peace was understood as interethnic early childcare, sross-border mental health and support for confit-alfected families, Peace was considered not jus the absence of war, bt a dynamic process of eoalition-bulding, mutual respect and understanding at the commu: nity level, as well ay responsible behaviour on the part of national and world leaders. These sentiments were expressed in a petition to the United Nations in 1997, signed by nearly 100,000 women from Western and Eastern Europe ~ as well as Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North ‘America and Latin America ~ and addressed 10 the governments of the world ‘We are howifed at he level of violence witnessed during this century fand we demand} that war... be delegitmized as an acceptable form of socal behav Jour, and that goveraments and evil society together develop new institutions that do nat reset to volenee forthe stlerent of disputes. One of the women who signed the petition was Dr Flora Brovina, « Kosovar Albanian paediatrician and co-founder ofthe Albanian Women’s League (AWL), which UNICEF had selected as the implementing agency for Lifestart in Emergencies Dr Brovina was the granddaughter of a ‘woman who bad been a resistance fighter. Half a century Inter, when the Serbian army invaded Kosovo and decreed that ethnic Albanians could rot be admitted to hospitals ~ not even for childbirth, as they would be “giving birth to terrorists" — Dr Brovina Set up & network of under ground clinics and trained thousands of women in basic medical care. In 1992, as the Serbian assault on her people escalated, she and SO other Kosovar Albanian women in the fields of medicine, law and academia formed the AWL in an effort to bring the peace work of thousands of {grassroots women in the region into public awareness. UNICEF's selection of the AWL as the implementing age start in Emergencies brought it tothe attention ofthe international com: munity. In 1999 ~ the year that Dr Brovina was captured by the Serbian army and put on til for terorism for treating wouinded Kosovo Libera tion Army combatants! ~ the AWL became a founding member of the Gender Task Force of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. One ofits early achievements was to have rape recognized as a war crime, leading tothe fist rape rials by the International Criminal Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia. The task force was also instrumental in the work leading to the passage of Security Couneil Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security" x for Life- In the midst of ethnic violence, young mothers challenge family violence™ cies was launched in the Albanian Macedonian border region in 1996, it was introduced as a means 10 help young children whase lives had been disrupted by et . What the children had lived through was described in a poverty assessment ear ried out in Albania shorly after the war had ended: When Lifestart in Emerg [Tuer] are pockets of severe poverty inthe North mauintsnous ares [and] the health of young children and tele mother is poor, with maternal mor tality nine times hisher than the national average and infant morality three ties hipher than the aatioal average for 2002. [Nuztion] i often poor be tause of porery and misinformation, Living conditions of chiten and fries fe not only marked by tration family structure and various forms of ise Clty and foaton, but also by blood feuding snd lnterconmunity tensions ond confit “These kinds of conditions had led to decline in the under-ive popula tion in every country in Southeastern Europe. Between 1990 and 1996, the year Lifestart was introduced, Albania lost nearly 9 per ceat of its tunder-five population and Macedonia lost nearly 8 per cent. By 202 When most of the violence had ended, Albania had lost nearly 30 per cent ofits underfive population and Macedonia had lost nearly 25 per cent compared to 1990." Tt is remarkable that, under such conditions, Lifestart was abe to reach a total of 5,000 Kosovar Albania, Macedonian, Roma and Turkish far lies, including 9,00 children, during its five years of existence. The family Visitors and educators who implemented the project were trained in196_DEBORAH Davis family dynamics, the psychological dimensions of the crisis, the physic cal, emotional and cognitive development of children, mental hygiene ‘and parents’ communication skill. As tensions in the region increased, the project also introduced conflict resolution and community cohesion components For ther intial contac, family visitors spoke first with the grandfather or other male in the household about the goals of the programme. They ‘would then ask his permission to allow mothers of young children 10 attend community meetings For Roma yomen, who generally were not allowed to attend, an educator would work with mothers and children in their homes. At these meetings, small groups of mothers ~ and often the male elders who accompanied them - would hear discussions about how children learn, the effects of abuse and neglect (beatings when they do something wrong, tying them to trees when the parents are working) tnd ways to help them feel safer and have hope forthe future. Ths sup Portive, non-critical approach helped both mothers and their husbands and fathers 10 see how the effects of political violence ean be com: pounded by family violence, “Every child has the right to grow up in a caring family", a brochure for parents explained, and there is support for famles who have liticuty providing cate. Pycho-scil ‘support and home care can help cldren and thet families to cope with men ysl, emotional and socal need. There are maay fessons WAY some children cannot prow sometimes dus to ness or death of parca bu often Ave to serious neglect and abuse, [I hat happens] there ae temporary slice. ‘natives that fan] provide such care until the sation fa the biologiea fly ‘Aside from such parenting materials, Lifestart ia Emergencies, duced little documentation, a is often the case with crisis projects € for an evaluation by UNICEF, which included a Likert-type sur 1.400 participating mothers from the diferent ethnic groups. The mothers were asked about the changes they had noticed as a result of the project in themselves and their relationship with their chil, in their families and in their communities. The possible answers were “litle™, “much, ‘very much” or “not at all”, As there had been no baseline survey. the results must be viewed as ancedotal. Nevertheless, it i significant that 70-80 per cent of respondents reported experiencing “much” or "very ‘uch’ change, as opposed to “little” or "none a all”, for every one of the 49 indicators Additional evidence of Lifestar’s impact can be drawn from other projects that were also based on the model of involving parents from dit. ferent ethnic groups in the education of thee children, One such project as Moza, funded by the Swiss Ageney for Development and Coopers YOUNG MOTHERS AS AGENTS OF PEACEBUILDING 197 tion and implemented by the NGO Search for Common Ground, which focused explicitly on teaching confit resolution skills to pre-schoolers While “At the beginning parents were very skeptical and faced a great «deal of pressure from their communities to withdraw their children from the Mozaik kindergartens ... Parents are now very enthusiastic about Mozaik’s unique approach ... [and] consider bilingual kindergartens as a crucial element in ther children's development and extremely important forthe ‘healthy’ future of Macedonia’s ethically diverse society.” Another project, the Childfen's Theatre Cente, tained parents and colder children in tolerance and conllict resolution through the perform: ing arts, The centre was funded by the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and implemented by the Open Society Institute. One activity was Street Stories, in which about 90 children from different ethnic back grounds (Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Roma and Bosnian) turned ethnic conflicts they had witnessed in the streets into skits Then they ‘acted out the different roles infront of other children, parents and teach rarents had to be convinced that the project [did] not sim to take ‘Once they understood thet sides in the conflict”, an evaluation noted the project aimed at creating a better life fr their children, most parents cautiously allowed their children to participate Both the Mozaik and Lifestart evaluations give a sense of the s ism and lack of trust that characterized the population when L ‘vas launched, They also provide a broader context for assessing the sig changes reported in the project's miro-level evaluation rifleance oft survey Lifestart evaluation findings ‘The Lifestart evaluators looked at a number of indicators of change in the participating mothers, their children, their family relatives and their Mothers’ changes in relation to the children Between 70 and 80 per cent of participating mothers reported that the project helped them to communicate more elfectively with their children, bbe more patient, ereate the conditions for them to investigate and play more often, express love and praise, understand their stages of develop and teach them personal hygiene. Notably, more than 55 per cent said they no longer physically punished their children, and almost 25 per cent said that as a result of what they learned in the projec, they now physically punished their children “very litte”, However, about 20 per font said they sil punished thei children “much” or "very much198_DEBORAH DAVIS YOUNG MOTHERS AS AGENTS OF PEACEBUILDING_199 The mothers also had an opportunity to answer an open-ended ques tion on the most important lesson they had learned about their elation ship with their chldeen, Their answers included To create various toys and show my child how to use them + To be less nervous with the child; to soothe my child when hejshe is + To educate myself about my child's needs at his + To change my behaviour towards my child + To accept each developmental change of the child as natural + To spend more time with the child thai the grandmother does + To mect and learn from other mothers, her age Changes in the mother Participation in Lifestart helped mothers to understand the critical role they play in ther children’s development, They also became more aware of their need for socialization and how to seek support when they had problems. More than 80 per cent agreed “very much” with the statement ‘hat “parents are responsible for providing conditions for the proper de velopment of their child”. In the mothers’ own words, Lifestat contrib uted to their personal change in the following ways * Tam now more relaxed, more tolerant, more satisfied and more sociable. My expectations of the child are now more r that a kind word is worth more than any threat + Tpersuaded my husband to take part in the project. * am now more persistent in solving problems. + Now I can solve problems easily and without frustration + Tam now sure thatthe parents are erucal fora healthy fem. sonable: am now sure T acquired new knowledge {became more communicative; made new friends. now have an open attitude towards the children and we try to find a common language My self-confidence increased, * Tnow know that there are times when the father can take care of the child as wel as the mother. | leamed that one has to ereate appropriate conditions first before planning to start a family ‘Changes in the family ‘The survey also found that other members of the family recognized the importance of the mother's work and defersed to her on matters of child ‘sing. Close to 89 per cent reported being treated with “more” of “very ‘much more” respect in the family ater having participated in the pro. and 92 per cent reported that relationships in the family were ‘or “very much better". In addition, more than 87 per cent of the women reported that their husbands were “more” or “very much more interested in learning about the development of children and in ereating better environment for the child's development; and 92 per cent of the ‘others said they were the ones in the family who decided what is best forthe child. Inthe mothers’ own words + The family is thankful for the programme and warmly weleomes it + The family members grew closer. + We solve problems together * The father got closer to his child + My husband notices improvements in me, + consult my husband more often, + ‘There is greater understanding of family members for each other. * communicate better with the other family member. + Now my husband helps me with the edscation ofthe children. Changes in the community Relationships in the community also improved as a result of Lifestart More than 80 per cent of the mothers said they now exchange opinions With neighbours and other people “more” or “very much more” often Many conversations are about how to improve the conditions for chil dren to play, and the important role of mothers in the family and com. ‘munity, Ninety per cent reported undertaking “more” or “very much more” joint activities with other adults for the sake of the children: 94 Per cent said that interest in “Schooling for parenthood” had increased “much” or "very much"; and 81 per cent said that both mothers and fa thers ad become active in creating better conditions for ther children's development. In the mothers" owa words * The residents ofthe refugee settlements talk about the programme. + Now there is a need for a kindergarten in our vilege + We talk more with others about the future of our children People's sell-confidence and desire to create better conditions for the children have increased. ‘We would like to have a place where children can spend some time to gether in groups Besides the mothers who participate in the project, the meetings were also visited by mothers who were not part of the programme. We ourselves organized a meeting of the women from the city and the villages who took part i the programme,