APCJ_1528_Win2010_00i_122_4 12/30/10 3:22 PM Page 53 Gaps in the Eastern Congo Peacebuilding Process 53 Table 1 To appraise grass-root awareness of neglecting local problems and understanding of conflict in achieving peace, the eastern Congo’s residents were asked to indicate the level of their participation in peace work and the extent to which they were informed about the various Congolese peace agreements since 2002. They were also asked to assess the importance of local involvement and peace education programs in the region and how much this could contribute to strengthening peace there. The survey revealed three critical issues: the majority of the population is not conversant or knowledgeable about the peace agreements; most respondents, especially youths, had not participated in a conflict transformation program (and thus viewed the ongoing peacebuilding process as a matter of concern only to politicians and militia group leaders); and the majority of the population is deeply wounded psychologically. The field study revealed that residents of eastern DR Congo, and likely the country as a whole, are in need of healing and empowerment. Without implementing a process of community healing, any effort to bring about peace will fail. Among the 306 respondents, 229 (75.3 percent) believed that if conflict persists in the east, it will primarily be because the local people’s aspirations, needs, and vision of peace and conflict have been neglected in the current peacebuilding process. It appears that any future peace proposal should be developed to include a grass-root perspective (see Table 1).53 Further analysis indicated that the low rate of awareness of the roots of the conflict and various peace agreements has an impact on establishing peace.54 Those surveyed acknowledged the importance of peace education and local involvement in peacebuilding and conflict transformation in the region. Peace education here is defined as a multidisciplinary model that embraces human rights, gender issues, social and economic justice, and peaceful methods of solving personal and social problems. Numerous communities suffered at the hands of people who committed crimes, for instance, the rape of women, theft and destruction of goods, and killings. Of the 306 respondents, 82 (26.8 percent) strongly agreed that such crimes had connections to limited knowledge about the roots of conflict, human rights, gender issues, and peace- To what extent are local and peace education necessary for achieving peace? Response Very large extent Number Percentage 64 20.9 Large extent 173 56.5 Some extent 39 12.7 Small extent 18 5.9 No extent 12 3.9 306 100.0 Total Source: Pyana Mwamba Symphorien, 2010. 53. Focus group discussion, Luhago, 10 March 2010. 54. Focus group discussion, Ihembe, 20 February 2010.