Forgiveness and Reconciliation After an Ethnic Conflict Dr. Jared O. Bell, Assistant Professor of International Relations and Public Administration Faculty of Business and Administration International University of Sarajevo

What’s the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation? What do you think the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation may be? Is it more important to forgive or reconciliation after an ethnic conflict? What’s the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation?

An Introduction to Forgiveness and Reconciliation Forgiveness is both a process and a choice. If legislated or regulated in any way, forgiveness may become fraught with difficulty. If community members – including both authorities and civilians – adopt a forgiving attitude, that can be a very useful public health and community-building tool. Forgiveness may require relinquishing something that was important to you, such as giving up your moral indignation, your desire for retaliation, or your attachment to being right. Community builders can enter into a reconciliation process by listening to the story and the pain of the “other,” then start to build empathy and understanding An Introduction to Forgiveness and Reconciliation

An Introduction to Forgiveness and Reconciliation (cont.) Reconciliation assumes a need, a will, or an actual effort made on the part of an individual or group to live side-by-side in peace with a person or group they had considered to be their adversaries in the past. Pardoning may lead to reconciliation but is different from forgiveness. Reconciliation lies at the heart of building and maintaining peace in a community. In time, people may realize that holding on to resentment has a cost. Only then they can start to work on ways of developing plans to repair the harm. An Introduction to Forgiveness and Reconciliation (cont.)

What do we mean by forgiveness and reconciliation? Definition: Forgiveness is the principled decision to give up your justified right for revenge; it also requires the forgiver to recognize that the offender is “human like myself.” Categories Unilateral forgiveness Bilateral forgiveness Some Key Points about Forgiveness Process Recognition Empathy Reconciliation What do we mean by forgiveness and reconciliation?

What do we mean by forgiveness and reconciliation? Forgiveness (cont.) Common Themes in Forgiveness There is an injury or violation with subsequent emotional or physical pain. The violation results in a broken or fragmented relationship between parties. Perpetuation of injury is halted. A cognitive process is pursued where the painful event or action is understood or reframed with a fuller context. There is a release or letting go of justifiable emotion and retaliation related to the event. There is a regeneration of the relationship What do we mean by forgiveness and reconciliation?

What do we mean by forgiveness and reconciliation? Definition: Reconciliation refers to the restoration of fractured relationships by overcoming grief, pain, and anger. Reconciliation can be seen as a five-step process, including: Developing a shared vision of an interdependent and fair society Acknowledging and dealing with the past Building positive relationships Facilitating significant cultural and attitudinal change Enabling substantial social, economic, and political change Reconciliation can also involve the reframing of identity What do we mean by forgiveness and reconciliation?

By engaging in the process of forgiveness (individual level) Self-forgiveness Common stages in the engagement process Developing forgiveness on an individual level By engaging in the reconciliation process (community level) Promoting forgiveness on community level Ways to build and rebuild relationships Cultivating dialogue Starting grassroots initiatives Utilizing the healing power of sharing stories Developing victim – offender programs How can one develop and promote forgiveness and reconciliation in Post-Conflict Communities?

Some challenges and reflection questions Letting go Assuming that forgiveness means reconciliation Accountability Creating the right climate No set formula Provision of resources Sustaining dialogue Some challenges and reflection questions