Global changes and natural disasters have led to the migration of people to different communities all over the world. South Sudan Communities that were once fairly homogeneous are experiencing large influxes of newcomers from different tribal, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.
A community that feels threatened by its growing diversity or is at a loss about what to do with the newcomers is at risk for all kinds of harmful confrontations including riots. Consider a community that went from being primarily Afro-Arab to being a multicultural community. When the new members started to move into the community, the existing organizations, which reflected the dominant culture, did nothing to change the way they go about doing their business. One day, a boy (from a minority tribe) was attempting to cross the street and was killed by a drunk driver who happened to be from a majority tribe. The driver did not get the punishment that the majority tribe in the community felt he deserved. The boy’s family, friends, and other citizens staged a protest in front of the city hall. Feelings of injustice were already on the rise. When a minority tribes walked by the protest and made a derogatory comment, a fight broke out and before they knew it, there was a riot.
Could the violence have been prevented? Most likely, if there had been structures and processes in the community to ensure that all its citizens were treated equally and fairly. Such negative incidents, which have happened before and continue to occur in some communities, demonstrate how important it is for us to build an inclusive community.
WHEN SHOULD YOU BUILD AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY?
An inclusive community can be built at any time. The need to have an inclusive community, however, is most obvious when there has been a decision or an incident that caused harm to a particular group of people.
It is important to consider the motivation behind an individual, a group, or a community’s desire to build an inclusive community because the motivation affects the following:
• Types and sequence of strategies selected – if there were a crisis, you might have to start with a strategy that transforms the conflict. If there were no crisis, but rather the vision of a community leader that sparked the effort, you might consider starting with a public education campaign.
• Resources available – more resources could be mobilized if the motivation came from a large institution or a local foundation.
• Amount of support and obstruction – if the dominant group in the community is just as motivated as any other group, there is likely to be more support. If, however, the dominant group has no interest in changing the status quo, there are likely to be more barriers.
• Rate of progress – if the major leaders and groups support the effort, progress is likely to be faster.
• Expected outcomes – if the goal is to raise awareness, everyone involved is likely to be satisfied if they learned new things about other groups. If the goal is to promote fair treatment of every group, everyone involved is more likely to be satisfied by policy change.
ENGAGE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL LEADERS REPRESENTING THE MAJOR GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY FROM THE BEGINNING TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE.
Convene a community council comprised of influential leaders from different groups to help you review, analyze, and summarize the information that you gathered before. Be sure to identify cultural resources and assets as well as needs.
The process of convening this community council is an important consideration when you are working with two or more racial, ethnic, and cultural groups to build an inclusive community. Consider carefully the history of exclusion and power differences.
WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL ENTRY POINTS AND/OR STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY.
Consider the way in which a problem or concern was raised and described by different groups and their leaders and the groups that may be associated with being the perpetrators, objects, or by-standers of exclusive practices. This information will give you a sense of the individuals or leaders who are most ready for change and those who are most resistant to change.