On a brilliantly sunny Monday morning at the start of the rainy season, a couple of dozen young men gathered for a game of soccer in Jos, capital of the state that encompasses the temperate volcanic plateau in central Nigeria. At first glance the event seemed unremarkable -- laughter, friendly taunts and a fairly casual level of competition were the order of the day.
But the armed guard who kept vigil by the gate at the Hillcrest School was the first indication that more serious matters were at stake. Jos is an uneasy place -- nearly 4,000 people have died in violent conflict over the past decade -- and the young Christians and Muslims on the field had converged from parts of an increasingly segregated city where goodwill between Christians and Muslims is often hard to find.
