Abbreviations
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
In this essay, it will attempt to explain the characteristics of urban violence and how this has consequences on humanitarian work in to creating peace and gaining reconstruction. Crime and gangs will be looked at, as well as how urbicide can have a negative lasting effect on a conflicted society. Peasant as well as slum wars will be used to demonstrate an alternative argument to urban conflict showing how this effects the urban environment. Another aspect of urban violence is that of gender inequality and international law. This will bring forward another issue that humanitarian work has found difficult to gain a grasp on containing due to certain aspects of changes in settings as well as more traditional ways of thinking.
To begin with, there is the question of the peasant war. Dennis Rodgers (2010, p.2) explains that, along with Tönnies (2001, np.) and Simmel (1950, np.), “the foundations of life in the countryside and in the city are fundamentally different, with the former organized organically on the basis of elementary social ties, while the latter is anonymous, impersonal, and therefore more unpredictable in nature.” This demonstrates that both the rural and the urban societies can create conflict but for different reasons. In this section, it will attempt to present both sides of the argument, and also explain the increase in violence in the urban setting. When it comes to the rural setting, Eric Wolf (1969, np.) explains about the peasant wars, and that there was once more violence in the rural life due to peasant alienation, market behaviour andoverwhelming social change. This is a good point and this could explain why people migrated to the cities. I feel that due to this leading to the increase in population in the cities leads to the impersonal setting of the city brings the increase in urban conflict. The increase in urban violence is shown primarily through gangs, and due to this, insecurities through practices and discourses, as well as living in a state of siege feeds this. The issues raised here come from the fate of the peasant, which is really about the fragmentation of rural labour which has been in turn is in part of land (Watts; 2009, p.263). This issue of the peasant wars and the rural issue also presents tensions due to capitalism and putting strain onto those in these areas. This is particularly interesting when it comes to changes in the communities when these issues are brought into the urban setting. This is something that humanitarian work has found consequential from the increase in urban violence.
When it comes to humanitarian work and human welfare, Murtagh and Savage (2012, np.) explain how the “global preoccupation with rapid and unregulated urbanization and protracted urban violence is on the rise.” This leads to the violent cities of the world that “are all synonyms for a “new” kind of armed conflict with grave implications on humanitarian action and human welfare.” Continuing on from this, Murtagh and Savage (2012, np.) describe relationships between urbanization, urban violence and humanitarian action and there potentially being deeper roots and how for centuries, “the clustering of populations into dense urban cities, towns and villages has been accompanied with the escalation and containment of violence.” What can also be seen is that there are always efforts to attempt to guarantee security and are increasingly city-based. Even despite the centuries of conflict academic literature has been ignored on conflict resolution leading to conventional knowledge holding cities back with a lack of agency, which is not autonomous (Murtagh and Savage; 2012, np.). This is another issue that surrounds that of humanitarian work. Despite the vast information that is there for resolution, it is not being used to aid those who are in these situations, which is something that could easily be changed.
On the other hand, there are also implications in the urban setting that raises the interest to those in the urban settings and the increase in violence in these more populated areas. In Managua, it presents an urban society that comes forward with the isolation of inhabitants that have previously lived there as an organic whole. There is isolation from the fear of violence in the city (Moser, 2004, p.13) as well as the roads making it more difficult for the poor to get anywhere leading to high amount of road deaths (Rodgers; 2004, p.122). Even though this is the case, Managua is too small to boast its economy so the new roads, traffic lights, roundabouts and airport were built to try and increase this. The elite are now being able to network themselves directly and do not have to leave their small gated spaces, leading to further segregation and leading to a “revolt of the elites” (Rodgers; 2004, p.123). Also, what is happening in terms of consequences of the new roads is that they are going through neighborhoods, leading to disconnections and isolations. There is also a social welfare with the potential objectification of the labour force leading to the increase of violence.
Despite the gangs having a prolific role in the violence on Managua, the city is a “proud city with an active commercial centre and optimistic plans for growth” in the mid-1990s, but has a fragmented administrative structure (Gordon; nd., p.5, p.8). There is also a high consciousness when it comes to its citizens and the borders between the different neighbourhoods and the surrounding ones, even if it is a small street or alleyway which has a great significance for the citizens as well as the smallscale communities, both socially and practically (Gordon; nd., p.11). As described by Rodgers (2004, p.118), Yolanda talks about the need for heightened urban security as well as the reason of a demographical shift and how also discusses sticks and stones is equal to guns and grenades as well as a local perspective needed in terms of material and human terms, and finally being part of a gang as being part of a group (in terms if bonds). Yolanda (Rodgers; 2004, p.118) also describes that things do not get better and people are always living in fear. This is very different from the pandillas who have “historically stabilized neighborhoods by providing high-level security. Some community members viewed the gangs as at least demonstrating a sense of community pride.” (Covey; 2010, p.161). This security is now absent, leading to fear in the community and unable to trust even their neighbours. This is something that is needed to be addressed when it comes to humanitarian work in relation to urban conflict. This change in community linked in with the gangs could be due to the dealing and trafficking of drugs.
Also adding to urban violence are the slum wars. Mike Davis (2006, p.53) talks about slums and rapid economic expansion leading to a reserve labour force and expelling the former economy as well as urban migration leading to colonial racism in South Africa. This presents the twenty-first century surplus with a slum population that has a vast formal authority bringing the populace to become disconnected. Murtagh and Savage (2012, np.) describe the pressures on humanitarian work with “more than half of the world’s population now living in fast growing urban centres” and this being increased to two-thirds by 2030, it has been observed that this rapid increase in numbers will put even more pressure onto urban centres and the slums have an appearance of “experiencing escalating conflict and crime.” This expansion of slum populations (over 80 percent of global urban growth over the next decades) “is to take place in poor squatter settlements and shanty-towns – has raised concerns about the prospect of the ability of cities to cope and adapt.” (Murtagh and Savage; 2012, np.). This puts strain on both those living in these environments as well as those working in humanitarian aid. The increase in population n such small areas will always have a strain in such areas as cities and towns, leading to the need to control this. The need for this, even if there is not as much knowledge amongst practitioners as that of the rural areas, this is an area that needs to be seen to urgently as an attempt to reduce that of conflict.
The urbicide discourse is a term that has come up on a regular basis when it comes to the relationship between what is destroying and that of what is being destroyed, which is different from what is being destroyed in genocide (Graham; 2004, p.167). This is something that is very much present in relation to urban violence and needs to be stopped so that anything in relation to the city does not get destroyed, or become further so. This is something that is important when it comes to humanitarian work, and should be an issue sided with that of human welfare. Even so, the human welfare aspect is the issue that is always grasped most, with urbicide being pushed to one side. Humanitarian work, by definition, prioritizes the needs of the individual and the “anthropocentric separation of the individual from their material environment and society. … Humanitarianism thus fails to recognize what is at stake in urbicide.” (Coward; 2009, p.115). This demonstrates a problem that could be why there are difficulties in maintaining peace in violent cities and is something that needs to be looked at in further detail and to be pushed more in terms of criteria in peacebuilding and reconstruction.
When it comes to Rio de Janiero, recent efforts by the ICRC, it is one of the cases in point when it comes to attempts by an major international agency “to grapple with protection and violence reduction in urban areas.” (Perrin; 2012, p.319). With this, the ICRC, who were seized by the issue, attempted to respond to urban violence in nonwar settings and expanding its work into precarious environments with a five year mandate for Rio de Janiero beginning in 2008, the aim being “to explore options for engaging in protection and violence reduction in some of the city’s more notorious slums, or favelas.” (Perrin; 2012 p.319). Difficulties that they have come across with Rio de Janiero in 2010 have been with armed violent rages between the drug gangs in the favelas and between young dealers as well as the police with the death toll being in its thousands, summary executions, ill-treatment and psychological trauma in children (Harroff-Tavel; 2010, p.330). This could make it rather difficult in terms of creating peace and post conflict reconciliation due to the various aspects, increase in
populations and insecurities of such societies. That of young dealers is particularly worrying, as this is a vicous cycle that could never end unless is it dealt with as the youth are more impressionable.
Stanley (2003, np.) describes how one of the key challenges in securing peace after all the violence has ended and this is the main issue in what is needing to be dealt with in a post conflict society. From this, Stanley (2003, np.) continues to say how “new actors are now involved in conflict resolution and management at the global level” but there is no consideration for the urban setting to be fitted into resolution. Even if urban violence can be devastating both long and short term, there is not much that humanitarian work is doing to prevent such issues from arising. Even that of natural disaters like in Haiti in 2010 showed that there was paramount importance needed in urban settings and humanitarian converns have increasingly given more attention to the interests of the population when a “proportionality judgment must be made.” (Various authors; 2010, p.311-2). There have been many cases that have shown the failure in protecting victims from urban violence, particularly from xenophobic attacks, for example in South Africa in Monson and Misago (Various authors; 2010, p.514-6). In conclusion here, it must be made clear that when peace is met, it must be shown as it has done so with South Africa when various instruments are used and when so much international support is given for its success. This case study is also showing that there is always an issue, or issues, that need to be made sure do not turn into violence, or goes back into conflict.
When it comes to humanitarian actors, such as World Vision, responding to natural disasters in urban settings means that they need to develop new expertise, polices and relationships so they can respond effectively to needs for shelter as well as legal expertise needed to advise on how to deal with issues on land tenure, rights to housing and evictions, and other issues that may arise (Ferris; 2012, p.2). Ferris also explains how:
[T]he great wars and revolutions of the twentieth century were rural, peasantbased wars, the conflicts of this century are urban in nature. Within the humanitarian community, there is growing interest in the phenomenon of urban violence, particularly gang violence, as the casualties from these conflicts increase. (Ferris; 2012, p.5)
This adds to what has been explained previously throughout this essay with how the change from the rural to urban setting has proved a difficult change for humanitarian work. This has proved difficult by the gang violence and that the leaders of these gangs need to see that there are benefits to be taken from these organisations, who could accept them in way of being accepted by the communities (Ferris; 2012, p.6). This would be a good way of making sure the gangs can be reconciled and also get them into the community without needing to gain a living from drugs. Such reconciliations could be difficult as being part of a gang is a way of life and gives it’s members a family-like bond. As this is the case, there are many factors to think about, but is something that needs more consideration to take the right steps.
Another aspect that needs to be addressed by humanitarian work is the question of women and violence. Pickup, Williams and Sweetman (2001, p.201) describe that there are challenges when tackling against violent men and how they must change so that women live their lives freely and that to reject violence is positive. This is an issue that is still present in more recent times, and a need for peace in relation to women and international security and that there is now a growth in humanitarian work in this area (Scully; 2010, p.280-1). Scully (2010, p.181-2) discusses legal laws that have been created and affirmed of women’s inferiority leading to male violence that needs to be presented in Africa to create a safer environment for women as well as needing to address that of men invoking customary law to justify such acts. There can be problems here, as international human rights are pulled in different directions in terms of needed to respect the local, be respected by the autonomy of the state and also by the belief in the absolute moral authority (Scully; 2010, p.182). This is very much an issue that has been brought about due to human rights and the issues that have arisen around the rules of international law. There is a need to “attempt to create the “modern woman” by seeking to bring women under the aegis of the state” and the need to look at this from a feminsist perspective when it comes to Africa as well as the anti-slavery movements when it came to women needing to be protected (Hodgson; 2011, p.29). As demonstrated, it is important to see that women play a vital role, both past and present, when it comes to any society, and particularly in relation to Africa in this section. Due to this, is it important to make sure that women are equal, and as with the gangs, it is equally important to make sure that the men in the communities feel that they can gain from such changes.
As demonstrated, urban conflict can be a particularly difficult situation for peacebuilding and post conflict reconstruction. As shown, even if there are positives in creating some form of peace, there is always a possibility of a certain situation happening creating violence and/or tensions between groups of people. Even if this is the case, it is important to see that there can be positive steps forward, even if there are backsteps in attempts to do so as seen with South Africa, for example. This has been brought across with the increase of migrants to urban and slum areas, which has a knock on effect to the increase in violence, making it even more so difficult for those working in the humanitarian sector. The lack of structure towards urbicide is something that is needing to be addressed in relation to helping towards peacebuilding and post conflict reconstruction, rather than helping the individuals in the different communities. The need to help women and gender issues as well as youth are also other issues that needs to be addressed in urban violence, and the need for humanitarian work to be more focused and change towards the urban setting from the rural.
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