Conference OverviewTitle: Beyond Reconciliation: Dealing with the Aftermath of Mass Trauma and Political Violence Date: 2 - 6 December 2009 Opening Speaker: . Apology, forgiveness, reconciliation, truth, amnesty, restorative justice, national healing – these words have become part of the lexicon of a range of strategies to respond to past violations of human rights and their traumatic effects in post-conflict societies. Probably more than any other process of dealing with historical trauma, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) re-introduced these concepts into public debate and brought them more sharply into global scholarly examination. Since the TRC completed its work, the process has been replicated in more than a dozen post-conflict settings globally. Some consider truth commissions and other similar public forums to represent a vision of democratic action in political life. They believe that bringing victims, perpetrators and beneficiaries of oppressive regimes together for sustained dialogue about the past is the only action that holds promise for lasting peace in post-conflict societies. This is the reason the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that 2009 be declared the International Year of Reconciliation. In the words of this august body when it set its agenda to focus the world’s attention on Reconciliation in 2009, dialogue from opposing sides is “an essential element of peace and reconciliation.” There are good reasons to celebrate this new trend in the politics of memory and national healing; the truth commissions that have been set up around the globe have stretched our vision about the important role of public testimony and witnessing in the aftermath of trauma, the role of apology and its relationship to forgiveness and reconciliation. These processes of reconciliation have also expanded our thinking about the nature of what we term evil and the potential for human beings to harm one another. Reflecting on some of these “restorative” strategies brings into sharp focus some of the fault lines in these projects of national reconciliation. At the same time, these moments of reflection present us with important opportunities to deepen understanding of the limitations of projects of reconciliation in countries emerging from conflict. South Africa, for example, just over a dozen years since the truth commission concluded its work, has become one of the most violent countries in the world. The recent mass violent attacks on African refugees mainly in black residential areas is just one illustrative examples of the cracks that started to show, upsetting South Africa’s story of reconciliation and peaceful transition to democracy. What went wrong? What has contributed to this transformation of a story of hope into a nightmare of fear and despair? What can be done to make reconciliation in the aftermath of mass atrocity more sustainable, with a potential to reduce the effects of trauma in individuals and society? This conference will address these questions and explore a range of other issues related to reconciliation processes which may foster or hinder peace between societal groups, and exacerbate or reduce the effects of trauma in individuals and communities. |
