He recalled that, once the conflict had stopped, he had told Oxfam staff that they should give all of the animals to the Tuaregs who were returning – in other words, to people his tribe had been fighting with only months earlier. His logic was simple – the new arrivals would otherwise have no way of earning money or getting food, and would therefore inevitably end up stealing animals to survive. The only way for the dispute to be resolved permanently and for everyone to settle peacefully, he decided, was for the animals to be given to the returning group.
I found the statement very moving, and remember thinking how different the world would look if more leaders and politicians thought in similar ways. He wasn’t being particularly altruistic. He simply looked at the bigger picture and focused on a solution that was most likely to bring lasting peace, even if it meant his people might miss out in the short term. Moreover, his logic has since been proved right. I was there eight years after the peace accord was signed – and the Tuareg groups were living happily together, side-by-side and without problems.
It was undoubtedly a remarkable meeting. And it’s also one of the many occasions that I have spent time with people in poor communities, learning about their lives, their culture and how they cope day-to-day, and have left feeling more informed, more educated and, crucially, more hopeful for the world in which we live.
Ultimately, when you sit down in those situations, all of the trappings of everyday life disappear. It’s just people talking about the things which bind us all, the concerns and experiences that everyone shares. And it can be interesting for me because I’m in the privileged position of also being able to do that with political leaders and heads of state, often only a few days after I’ve been in remote communities like the one in Mali. Those meetings are important too, of course. They give Oxfam the chance to make sure poor people’s voices are heard and acted upon.
But if I’m honest, it’s those meetings like the one in Mali that I remember more. The ones where the conversation gets right to the essence of people’s lives. Where you find out about people’s hopes and people’s dreams. Where you see how our work has enabled whole families to move away from poverty. And, often, where you meet people who not only renew your faith in humanity, but also remind you of how problems can so often be solved by simply sitting down together and talking.
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