Non Violent Peacekeepers playing a role in South Sudan

NCWC delegate Ellen Judd sat in on a session at the CSW with  Mel Duncan (a co-founder) and Doris Moriani, the  CEO of Nonviolent Peaceforce, and suggested this would be a good article to share. Also the link the Nonviolent Web site -
www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org

Many of you have been inquiring about the volatile situation in South Sudan, where we presently have 125 unarmed civilian peacekeepers on the ground.
I want to be clear that I am not writing to ask you for money. As someone who has been interested in Nonviolent Peaceforce, you should be informed about the work that is being done amid an escalating war. 
 
Yesterday, our Country Director in South Sudan, Tiffany Easthom, was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Company: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2451150545/.
 



We have teams protecting civilians in ten locations including Bentiu and Bor, communities that have experienced civilian massacres in the past week. Tiffany is on her way to Bentiu as I write this.
 
The crisis is overwhelming. I am so proud of our peackeepers who are courageously standing with and protecting as many civilians as they can.
In Bor, two of our peacekeepers were in the United Nations base when the attack started. They took shelter inside a tukul (mud hut) along with five women and nine children. 

On three seperate occassions men with guns approached the peacekeepers and demanded they leave the women and children to be killed. By refusing to leave them, the peacekeepers saved the lives of these women and children. 

We just completed the training of a new team of peacekeepers yesterday and start training for another team next Monday. We have a trauma counselor on the ground supporting our peacekeepers and providing psychological first aid.
While this is a highly combustible situation, I want to assure you we are following strict security protocols to protect our peacekeepers. 

Currently, I am on my way to Los Angeles to speak at the Pacific Council about unarmed civilian peacekeeping and protection work in South Sudan. 

Mel Duncan, Co-Founder and Director of Advocacy and Outreach, is in New York advising UN officials about civilian protection in South Sudan. 

I will keep you informed as the crisis unfolds.

In Solidarity,
Doris MarianiCEO Nonviolent Peaceforce