Peacemaker Brown blessed with God’s gift

The National People
Brown Yagi (fifth from left wearing brown T-shirt) with other community leaders of the Three-Mile settlement in Lae and a policeman breaking arrows to mark the start of a ceasefire between the two warring factions.

By JIMMY KALEBE
NEGOTIATING for peace in a tense and volatile situation, with no police or law enforcement officers around, is certainly not for the faint-hearted.
It requires a lot of courage and patience. The gift of the gab can come in useful too at times, according to Brown Yagi.
Peacemaker Brown, 37, has been in many such life-threatening situations and succeeded in restoring peace. People look for him whenever there is a tribal fight of ethnic clashes among squatter settlers in Lae.
“I stand for what I believe in, to ensure there is peace, which our women, girls, children and elderly people want. Men cause problems and fight each other (not thinking of the most vulnerable) people who are the ones most affected.”
Brown left his Yasubi village in Okapa, Eastern Highlands in 2012 to look for a job in Lae to support his children’s education.
As one the first settlers at the Three-Mile settlement in Lae, the old Department of Primary Industry compound, he was elected a community leader.
People from other provinces gradually arrived and settled there, putting pressure on Brown to ensure they peacefully co-exist.
Because of the different cultures, language and education background, ethnic clashes became inevitable.
In 2017, lawlessness started developing among the squatter settlers at Three-Miles.
In 2021, a man was killed in a fight.
“His people suspected the death to be caused by another ethnic group and planned a payback. I told my people not to take any action but to negotiate peace.”
The guilty party agreed to pay compensation. Peace was restored.
Brown believes his peace-making skill is a gift from God.

Settlers at Three-Mile in Lae attending the ceasefire event organised by the Seventh-Day Adventist church last Sunday.

People in the settlement look up to him as a person gifted with wisdom and understanding who can stand between two warring groups to negotiate peace.
Two weeks ago, there was an ethnic clash between two groups of people in the settlement where homes were burnt and personal belongings stolen or damaged.
Brown boldly stepped into the fray to negotiate a ceasefire and start peace talks between Eastern Highlanders from Okapa and Southern Highlanders from Kagua.
He told them that the land they were living on were not theirs.
“We all came to Lae City for a purpose and we must stay focused on why we came here. We do not come here to engage in illegal activities and cause harm to others. After all, this is not our land and province.”
A ceasefire ceremony was initiated and organized by the Three-Mile Seventh Day Adventist church last Sunday.
Brown told everyone that they must respect each other no matter what province or district they came from.
The people listened to him and agreed to put down their weapons.
“I encourage everyone arriving (from other districts) to settle here to live in peace with each other.”
Peacemaking for Brown is indeed a gift from God. The Bible verse (Matthew 5: 19) drives him on: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.”

“ I stand for what I believe in, to ensure there is peace, which our women, girls, children and elderly people want. Men cause problems and fight each other (not thinking of the most vulnerable) people who are the ones most affected.”