AFTER VIOLENCE: 3R, RECONSTRUCTION, RECONCILIATION ...
AFTER VIOLENCE: 3R, RECONSTRUCTION, RECONCILIATION ... AFTER VIOLENCE: 3R, RECONSTRUCTION, RECONCILIATION ...
The first model refers reconstruction to "developers", reconciliation to theologians-psychologists, and resolution to jurists-diplomats-politicians; all approaches to be discussed. The second model would fuse the tasks into one, based on a fundamental hypothesis: reconciliation can best take place when the parties cooperate in resolution and reconstruction. And this may also be where the road to peace is located, if peace is defined as the capacity to handle conflicts with empathy, nonviolence and creativity./5/ Capacity to handle conflict is a major casualty of war. So let us look into that. 2. On Conflict/Violence/Peace Images Violence must be seen in a context, and the context chosen is "conflict". There are many misunderstandings and unfortunate conceptions of conflict, that great Creator and great Destroyer. A common discourse about conflict, in the media, among researchers and people in general, conceives of conflict as an organism with birth, growth to a turning point, and then a decline, till in the end the conflict dies out. That discourse has quantitative time, khronos, on the horizontal axis and on the vertical axis the level of direct violence, from the first sign of "trouble" to "cease- fire", the kairos points of time, in the qualitative sense. The conflict may have "burnt out", the parties may coincide in their prognosis about the outcome and find it useless to continue destroying each other, or a third party has intervened, forcing them to stop, or making them agree to stop. The end is then often called "peace"/6/, a khronos flow. A list of major shortcomings of this discourse includes: 8
[1] The impression is given that violence/war arises out of nothing, ex nihilo; compatible with the idea of evil at work. [2] The impression is given that violence/war has its origin at precise space and time points, and with the first violent act. [3] The impression is given that violence/war ends with no after- effects, compatible with ideas of "conflict termination". [4] The impression is given of a single-peak conflict life-cycle, and not of long periods of latency, multiple peaks etc. [5] A point not to be underestimated: violence/war is seen as a variable; peace only as a point, as zero violence/war. Thus, violence/war is seen as an eruption with a beginning and an end and no other consequences than those that are visible at the end of the violence: the killed, the wounded, the damage; the kind of military communique we have lamented above. Of course, nobody is quite that naive; a considerable literature exists about "causes of war" and the "aftermath". But this image counteracts both prevention and aftermath care. Before an alternative image is developed, let us compare violence to disease, for instance to tuberculosis, TBC. A fruitful way of conceiving of any human pathology is in terms of interplay between exposure and resistance; in casu between micro- organisms operating under the right conditions (for them) of temperature and humidity, and the level of immunity of the body, which in turn has to do with the immune system, nutrition and living standard, mind and spirit. This all plays together holistically and synergistically. Of course some generalities can be identified, but they will never completely cover any individual case, leaving room for empathy with the individual patient and his/her total environment and history, combining the generalizing and the individualizing. 9
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- Page 5 and 6: potential. Violence is not like eat
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- Page 23 and 24: e proud of. Translated into nationa
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- Page 33 and 34: Scenario 4: Z hurts both X and Y fo
- Page 35 and 36: wounds to the spirit never, as psyc
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- Page 41 and 42: Let us try to summarize. Who/what w
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- Page 45 and 46: The white lynchers, victimized or n
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The first model refers reconstruction to "developers",<br />
reconciliation to theologians-psychologists, and resolution to<br />
jurists-diplomats-politicians; all approaches to be discussed.<br />
The second model would fuse the tasks into one, based on a<br />
fundamental hypothesis: reconciliation can best take place when<br />
the parties cooperate in resolution and reconstruction.<br />
And this may also be where the road to peace is located, if<br />
peace is defined as the capacity to handle conflicts with empathy,<br />
nonviolence and creativity./5/ Capacity to handle conflict is a<br />
major casualty of war. So let us look into that.<br />
2. On Conflict/Violence/Peace Images<br />
Violence must be seen in a context, and the context chosen is<br />
"conflict". There are many misunderstandings and unfortunate<br />
conceptions of conflict, that great Creator and great Destroyer.<br />
A common discourse about conflict, in the media, among researchers<br />
and people in general, conceives of conflict as an organism with<br />
birth, growth to a turning point, and then a decline, till in the<br />
end the conflict dies out. That discourse has quantitative time,<br />
khronos, on the horizontal axis and on the vertical axis the level<br />
of direct violence, from the first sign of "trouble" to "cease-<br />
fire", the kairos points of time, in the qualitative sense. The<br />
conflict may have "burnt out", the parties may coincide in their<br />
prognosis about the outcome and find it useless to continue<br />
destroying each other, or a third party has intervened, forcing<br />
them to stop, or making them agree to stop. The end is then often<br />
called "peace"/6/, a khronos flow.<br />
A list of major shortcomings of this discourse includes:<br />
8