Issue

Conflict and Peace Building

Nearly 30 years after the Rwandan genocide, thousands of maimed amputees remind us of the war that took 500,000 lives in 100 days. War leaves marks that cannot be erased—not only in Rwanda, but on every continent.

Reporting from Conflict and Peacebuilding examines the roots of conflict, whether it be religious hatred, sectarian rivalry, a security vacuum, the struggle for natural resources, or the desperation that results from poverty.

Pulitzer Center journalists also cover war’s aftermath: the transitional governments that result in chaos, diplomacy that goes awry, peace talks that never end, and the people who suffer the consequences, young and old. We see the children who go hungry, lose their homes, leave school, become combatants, or join the jihad.

Often the end to conflict leaves turmoil in its wake while the road to peace seems circuitous: In South Sudan, rebel-commanders-turned politicians plunge the country into civil war. In the U.S., troops return home from one war only to be re-deployed to another. But everywhere, in every conflict, there are also voices crying out for peace, determined to heal the divide.

 

Conflict and Peace Building

October 31, 2007 | Al Jazeera

Part 2 - Battle for Basra

Basra is Iraq's economy – its Rumeila oil fields tap one of the largest pools of petroleum in the world, and without its revenues the central government in Baghdad would collapse. This wealth makes Basra the site of a battle for political control between the three largest Shiite parties in Iraq – al-Hakim's SIIC, Moqtada al-Sadr's 'Sadrist Current', and the Islamic Virtue Party, which controls the Basra governorate and is linked to the Oil Workers' Union.

September 30, 2007 | Foreign Exchange

Dangerous Allies

New alliances with Sunni militias have reduced attacks on American troops in Anbar and elsewhere in Iraq, but will this new strategy lead to lasting stability, or is it feeding a sectarian civil war and exacerbating a growing refugee crisis?

September 30, 2007 | Pacifica Radio

Rick Rowley and David Enders on Pacifica Radio

Rick Rowley and David Enders were interviewed on Pacifica Radio's KPFA 94.1 "Living Room" program on September 13 and Rick was interviewed on KPFT Radio's "Arab Voices" on September 12.

On "Living Room," host Kris Welch interviews David Enders and Rick about the testimony given September 10, 2007 before a joint session of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees by Army General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in occupied Iraq.

September 30, 2007 | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Refugees Flee Iraq but Find Long Wait

Salam and Hanan's 6-month-old son, Hamoudi, will probably not grow up in Baghdad. He will have lots of company.

Salam, Hanan and Hamoudi are among about 2 million Iraqi war refugees living in Syria and Jordan. They left Baghdad in June after their house was raided by militiamen because Salam worked as an accountant for the Iraqi government. He took a leave from his job, but it seems unlikely he will return. He was also threatened by members of a political party after filing a report that implicated party members who work in Iraqi government of embezzlement and corruption.