OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AIMM/Mennonite Mission Network) — Without conflict, there is no progress, Siaka Traoré told a group of West African church leaders and expatriate missionaries attending the Institut Missiologique du Sahel, an interdenominational mission training school in Ouagadougou.
Whether conflict is between angry spouses or between a national leader and rebelling people, Traoré, president of Eglise Evangélique Mennonite du Burkina Faso (Burkina Faso Mennonite Church), emphasizes the importance of dialogue in conflict-mediation.
“The non-violent approach to conflict relentlessly seeks out dialogue, and if refused, provokes it,” Traoré said.
Burkina Faso’s 500 Mennonites may seem like a few grains of salt in the sauce of a predominantly Muslim nation that numbers more than 13 million inhabitants. However, because they are known as people of peace, Mennonites are sought out to season society through mediation of family feuds as well as societal disputes.
Mennonites are increasingly recognized for their work in reconciliation and social justice, said Jeff Warkentin, who, with his wife, Tany, works as a church planter in Burkina Faso through Mennonite Church Canada Witness.
Warkentin also serves as member of a national Partnership Council, an administrative organization, that includes Eglise Evangélique Mennonite du Burkina Faso, four North American mission agencies – Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, Evangelical Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church Canada Witness – and Comité de Mission Mennonite Français, (French Mennonite Mission Committee).
Mennonites entered the arena of national conflict mediation in 2001 when President Blaise Compaoré called for a National Day of Forgiveness to bring together factions that had fermented during the four years following the coup d’état that brought him to office. Traoré, appreciated for his peace-building ability, was named to the presidential advisory commission charged with implementing the conciliatory actions resulting from the Day of Forgiveness.
Traoré has experienced both conflict’s pain and the transformative aspects from the beginning of his Christian life. Born into a Muslim family, Traoré found compelling questions in the Islamic texts he studied as a boy, but few satisfying answers.
As he became acquainted with the Bible, he recognized the Old Testament prophets from reading about them in the Qur’an. However, the new flash of understanding came as he discovered the New Testament. In the life and teaching of Jesus, Traoré found the truth he longed for. It was as logical as a mathematical equation, Traoré said.
“I saw that all people are sinners and that God is holy. Sinners cannot come close to what is holy. Jesus came to help us get close to God. There is no way for us, as sinners, to approach God except through Jesus,” Traoré said.
Though many Muslim families reject those who convert to Christianity, Traoré and his father found a reconciling path that allowed them to respect each other’s faith.
“What convinced my father was the correlation between what I said about my faith and how I lived my faith. I continued to obey him and help him over and above what he requested of me,” Traoré said.
The path toward family reconciliation in the face of different religious beliefs is often more convoluted than in Traoré’s story.
Nafi* decided to follow Jesus three years ago and began attending the Mennonite church located in her small village. As Nafi’s Christian commitment grew, so did her husband’s opposition to her new faith. He began beating her severely for the first time in their 26 years of marriage. He said she was neglecting to perform her household duties because she was always attending church services.
After her husband broke out her front teeth with his assaults, Nafi left her husband and her seven children. She feared for her life.
Today, Nafi’s pastor and national church leaders have joined the village chief and other government authorities in mediating between Nafi and her husband.
Tany Warkentin said reconciliation efforts are addressing both the social and spiritual aspects of this domestic conflict. Putting Nafi’s safety first, discussions about church attendance will come later, she said.
“Mediators have been encouraged by the fact that Nafi’s husband says he still loves his wife, wants her to come back home and has assured them that he will not abuse her any more. But for Nafi, the conditions include freedom to attend church,” Warkentin said.
Traoré, who has played a role on Nafi’s mediation team, said God’s love has the power to transform hearts, if God’s human instruments are persistent.
“God can give us our ‘Saul of Tarsus’ on the road to Damascus,” Traoré said.
Traoré encourages recognition of the humanity of both parties in a conflict and teaches ways of responding to power tactics.
Noundia Tandamba, a pastor and one of Traoré’s students, told of a conflict between a wealthy business man and a less-privileged neighbor.
The wealthy man, astonished that his adversary was not backing down in the argument, said, “Don’t you know who I am?”
The other replied, “I know who you are. You’re a person, like me.”
Jeff and Tany Warkentin with their two children have been invited by Eglise Evangélique Mennonite du Burkina Faso to help build up a young church in Ouagadougou, the nation’s capital. The congregation helps to prepare university students for leadership roles in the Mennonite Church. Springridge Mennonite Church in Pincher Creek, Alberta is the Warkentins’ home congregation.
*pseudonym
Lynda Hollinger-Janzen with Jeff and Tany Warkentin and Dan Dyck of Mennonite Church Canada Witness
