Benin/Violent extremism: UNDP raises awareness among young people of the risks of indoctrination

The Projet d'Appui au Renforcement de la Cohésion Sociale, à la Prévention de l'Extrémisme Violent et à la Lutte contre les conflits liés à la Transhumance has started its activities. From August 14 to September 09, 2023, the project implemented an activity to raise awareness among Benin's youth of the risks of indoctrination and recruitment by violent extremists and terrorists, through various digital channels in the project's intervention zones (activity 2.1.2) at departmental level.

The aim is to strengthen the resilience of young people in particular, and of the population in general, to the phenomena of violent extremism and terrorism. Launched on August 14 in Kandi, in the Alibori department, the awareness-raising sessions continued in Borgou (Parakou) from August 21 to 25, and in Atacora (Natitingou) from August 28.t; in Atacora (Natitingou) from August 28 to September 1; and in Donga (Djougou) from September 4 to 8.

Target groups include religious leaders, crowned heads, elders and notables, teachers (French and Arabic), opinion leaders, civil society organizations, young people, youth and women's associations, journalists, webs activists, inter-city cab drivers, transporters, farmers and herders, taxi drivers.leveurs et agriculteurs, conducteurs de cab moto et de tricycle et les Forces de Défense et de Sécurité, viennent des communes bénéficiaires du projet et se retrouveThey discussed the risks of indoctrination and recruitment of young people by violent extremists and terrorists. The awareness-raising sessions were led on the one hand by panels made up of Defense and Security Forces officials, and on the other by actors who had attended the training sessions.All were selected on the basis of their level of understanding of the topic and their experience in raising awareness. It should be noted that this awareness-raising activity comes after the validation workshop of the inception study report, held on July 04 and 05, 2023 at the Hôtel Kobourou City in Parakou. At the end of the awareness-raising exercise, some of the trainers confided in us.

EKOUE Rosaline, Social Assistant, Head of Centre de Promotion Sociale 1 in Parakou

"Violent extremism is a very sensitive issue. Despite this, the people of Parakou came out to listen. I think that in what they said, in the questions that were asked, everyone is now committed to working hand in hand with the defense and security forces to denounce suspicious behavior and certain facts. They are aware that not everything has to be taken into account, because people can be enrolled through financial and material donations. They're now aware that when someone brings in a donation, they have to ask themselves what's behind it. I'd say it was a good session and if the commitment could be respected in the field, that would be a good thing. We also benefited from the support of the defense and security forces, who are willing to work with the people, because every cala is about our own security. Everyone now knows that they must ensure their own safety, the safety of their family and the safety of those around them.

And in the session, what motivated me most was the presence of young people. They are the ones most targeted by extremists, who easily recruit them by exploiting their unemployment. In terms of unemployment, the State does a lot, but it can't do everything for us. On the whole, young people have understood that the situation is serious and that we shouldn't give ourselves over to everyone. We also took the opportunity to talk to the parents who were present. We emphasized the importance of educating children. Today's educated child is tomorrow's father or mother, and an educated child is a man to be won. Education rests on three pillars: family education, school education and street education. But we've noticed that street education is now distorting what the family and the school are doing.

So that's what we've focused on, to tell parents to be even more vigilant, to keep a close eye on their children so that when they discover a material good that they didn't buy for them, they call them out at the same time and try to find out where it came from. That's important. And if they don't have any details, if there's anything unclear, they should hand it over to the police, who can investigate further, because a child may naively be enlisted and then it would be complicated both for him and for the whole family. You have to be very careful, even about the clothes the children wear. Because clothing and hairstyles give you an idea of what's going on in a child's head, and are indicators of the beginning of deviance. We don't want that, and that's why, with the support of our partners, the Netherlands and the UNDP, we've brought together the vast majority of Parakou's population to talk about it.

Koudous ADAMBI (Teacher, Parakou)

"I didn't focus my talk on young people, but on parents, because I believe that parents have a major responsibility in relation to the deviant behavior we see among young people. We told parents that education at home is more sensitive, because if it fails, it's inevitable that education at school will also fail, and the child's only reference points will be things learned on the street, and that's dangerous. A child who doesn't respect his parents at home won't respect his teacher at school, or his professor at university.

Indeed, it was important for me to insist on education because it has a link with the theme of violent extremism. When children aren't well educated, they tend to go to anyone and anywhere. When children are well educated, parents need to know who they are working with and who their friends are. They need to tell their parents how they spent their day, so that if they notice any tendencies that could be problematic in the future, they can be warned. In this way, parents are constantly guiding their children's steps and helping them to avoid bad behavior. If our children are basically well-educated, it would be very, very difficult for them to be lured into terrorism and crime. We're going to keep on talking to the children, and especially to the parents, to get them to assume their responsibilities.

Azimi SIDIBE YACOUBOU Rural organizer, Member of the Parakou opinion-formers' association)

"We came to listen and pass on what we heard about violent extremism. No one today is unaware that what is happening in our country is very serious. It was happening elsewhere and we were learning. We didn't expect it to come home. But here it is. We've noticed that this phenomenon is growing to the point where they're recruiting our own children, our brothers and sisters. That's why we wanted to talk to our brothers and sisters so that they understand the danger they're in.

People have many ways of getting in touch with them, especially young people who let themselves go under the pretext that it's unemployment. There's also the search for easy gain, especially in relation to our girls, who let themselves be bamboozled. Faced with this state of affairs, we have to talk to them so that they understand the danger they are exposing themselves to. Because it's a door of no return. Once in, it's hard to get out. They're trapped. After this exercise, I have a feeling of relief. Because it was like a weight on my heart. How can we get these young people to change? How can we make them understand that what they're doing today is dangerous? There are children who smoke anything. It's too easy for people to catch them. There are children with clothes and hairstyles you don't understand.

Parents can't afford to have kids spend money on their bodies. You wonder where they get all that money. If it goes on like this and we do nothing, one day we'll be surprised to see that our own children are among the jihadists and it's us parents who will be killed first. It's better to sound the alarm early on in every corner of our country, at every level, so that everyone can take responsibility for their children. I'm very relieved after this awareness-raising session, and I hope it will spread throughout our territory so that our children are spared, and avoid these man-traps. In any case, we're committed to continuing to raise awareness so that these extremists never, ever get the upper hand.

Source: matinlibre.com/