APCJ_1528_Win2010_00i_122_4 12/30/10 3:22 PM Page 90 Darfur, Grand Conflict: Inter-Communal Rift and Grass-root Initiatives for Reconciliation Khalid Ali El Amin A national-level agreement is important for the people of Darfur and for a broad and deep reconciliation, but power politics and sectional elite interests have persistently foiled mediators’ attempts to conclude settlement of the conflict there. In the meantime, the grassroots have taken reconciliatory initiatives, which have received little or no attention, in efforts to restore some normality to lives disrupted by the erosion of livelihoods among pastoralists and settled peasant communities since 2003. Underlying these initiatives is the economic interdependence between the two groups and responsive, influential local leadership. Although it is difficult for the grassroots to make a significant impact under the current political conditions, they nonetheless have the potential to positively influence reconciliation efforts and the peace process. A CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE OF DARFUR’S SOCIO-POLITICAL FABRIC includes making a distinction between tribal pastoralist groups who claim an Arab identity and peasant, farming communities of African descent.1 Despite the difficulty of distinguishing between an Arab and an African based on skin color, and between pastoralists and farming communities in Darfur, in general the so-called Arab tribes raise animals, while African tribes tend to pursue farming and speak Arabic in addition to their African language.2 Pastoralists move north and south during the wet and dry 1. In the context of Darfur, the term Arab refers to a group of people who self-identify as or claim to be Arabs. 2. Sayed Hamid Hreiz, ‘Darfur anthropology: The ethnic and cultural dimension of the political conflict’ (in Arabic), paper presented at the Institute for African Research and Studies, Cairo University, 2005. ‘Tribe’ in Darfur denotes an identity and a socio-political unit that provides collective security, not an ethnic identity in the sense that its members claim to be descendents of the same ancestor. Households and individuals can change tribal identity and loyalty. With regard to economic activities, members of settled farming communities might rear animals in addition to farming, while pastoralists might additionally practice farming. Thus both communities combine animal rearing and farming, but in different degrees. Tribes of African identity predominantly pursue farming, but animal rearing, which involves continuous mobility, is the dominant activity among tribes of Arab identity. Khalid Ali El Amin is a staff member of the University of Khartoum, teaching and conducting research at the Development Studies and Research Institute. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Leeds. Africa Peace and Conflict Journal, 3:2 (2010), 90–105. © 2010 University for Peace Africa Programme. All rights reserved. ISSN 1659–3944.