English - Support to Participatory Constitution Building in Nepal ...

The Remake of a StateHence, engaging them and assigning responsibility is the way of social andpolitical reintegration.Studies of Rebecca Linder in Afghanistan and Alcira Kreimer, Paul Collier,Colin Scott and Margaret Arnold in Uganda show that post-conflicttransition is very much determined by the security situation at local level,trust of people on government and assurance of justice, accountability,economic opportunity and social well-being (Linder 2006; Kreimer et al.2000).4.3 Revealing truth and healingRevealing truth helps personal healing of survivors and enables victimsand perpetrators to come to normal life. It also assists in the reparationof past justice, establishing non-violent relationships between individualsand communities and bringing former enemies into a common vision andshared culture (Bloomfield et al. 2004).Truth, justice and R&R are strongly interrelated. If we revisit the history ofconflict-ridden countries, many inquiry commissions have been establishedfor ‘truth and reconciliation’. Revealing truth and seeking accuracy aboutthe past is extremely important to shape the R&R process. Seeking truthand giving justice to the victim and making offenders accountable to theirwrong doing can only heal the wound of war and re-establish relations.There is no standard method or universal model of R&R that anyone canjust pick up and apply. As a process, it is context specific, actors-specificand evolving.Healing is a strategy, process and activity which improves the psychologicalhealth and social well-being of individuals exposed in violent conflict.Hence, healing is intimately linked with rehabilitating and reconstructingcommunities and societies exposed in the armed conflict that restore andnormalise everyday life of people and develop their sense of belongingness.Though, interconnected with community and society, healing is basicallyfocused on individuals.Once the truth is revealed, punishment or amnesties are two ways aheaddepending upon the situation and the context. Amnesty is a part ofhealing process. Healing is a process of recovering from emotional andpsychological scar of the armed conflict. It depends upon the intensity,duration and scale of the violence (longer the violence, harder thehealing), level of the hurt caused by the opposition, division in people,stability in society, the past culture of community and commitment andwillingness of the transitional and new governments. Healing of pain, guilt,273