Read the following Huffpost article From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda Reflect on the following quote "Hate, like many other vices, is a learned behavior — it is a choice, a bad choice, but a choice nonetheless. And yet, I believe — I know — that forgiveness works the same way. I have experienced the power of forgiveness in my life — and I have seen it work its healing power in Rwanda today." What the role of forgiveness in the healing process of post genocide/ political violence. How does it help people rebuild their lives? What are the challenges and drawbacks of relying on forgiveness as a tool for getting past the hate? Use concrete examples from your experiences in Kuwait as well as the case studies we reviewed in class.
Read the following Huffpost article From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda Reflect on the following quote "Hate, like many other vices, is a learned behavior — it is a choice, a bad choice, but a choice nonetheless. And yet, I believe — I know — that forgiveness works the same way. I have experienced the power of forgiveness in my life — and I have seen it work its healing power in Rwanda today." What the role of forgiveness in the healing process of post genocide/ political violence. How does it help people rebuild their lives? What are the challenges and drawbacks of relying on forgiveness as a tool for getting past the hate? Use concrete examples from your experiences in Kuwait as well as the case studies we reviewed in class.
ReplyDeleteForgiveness is only achieved through the perpetrators awareness of the damage and destruction his crimes have caused followed by the complete acceptance of responsibility. When so much psychological, physically, and emotional damage has occurred it is very difficult to move towards progress and reconstruction of a community that has suffered a genocide or political violence. However, once the perpetrator has owned up to his crimes sincerely, only then can the society move forward, because unfortunately in most genocide cases, forgiveness is the only thing that can be done. In agreement with the article by Ange Kagame, it is one’s choice to forgive, and when keeping in mind the future of upcoming generations, it is the best option to prevent further conflict. In the Rwandan genocide for example, there were just way too many deaths that occurred that people had lost track, and revenge would only lead to the complete disintegration of the country as a whole. But through the acceptance of responsibility and the on going forgiveness, people have begun to find peace and move on slowly.
Forgiveness plays a role in equalizing the position of victim and perpetrator. To be a victim is to feel degraded and to be inferior, while being a perpetrator is to be superior. This is where acceptance of responsibility and forgiveness come in. It allows the neutralization of the two positions, so that one is not higher than the other. After this, the element of time is the only healer in which memories begin to fade, but will never truly disappear.
However, there are many drawbacks in relying on forgiveness as a way to get over hatred. First, some wounds are simply too deep to heal. So to assume everything will be okay again after an apology is shallow. Even when legal action is taken and perpetrators are sentenced to life in person or the death penalty, it doesn’t change the fact that peoples lives have been destroyed in the most brutal ways. Where does one pick up and start again when his/her entire family has been killed and his/her home has been demolished? Simply relying on forgiveness neglects the consideration of other elements such as the amount of destruction caused, necessary legal action that should be taken, and the fact that forgiveness does not mean forgetting the past. Without these elements, opportunities to take revenge will erupt adding on to the downward spiral of destruction. It is easier for following generations to forgive and forget as they were not directly in the midst of genocide or political violence, but those directly effected will never forget, especially as they continue to be reminded annually of what happened on that specific date and who they lost during that time.
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As an example, I was born after the Iraqi invasion and never experienced what my parents went through. However, I am reminded every year on the 2nd of August about the time Kuwait was invaded. And although people have forgiven and moved on, I still hear hatful remarks toward Iraq as a whole by elders who experienced the invasion. This is an example of how forgiveness does not necessarily lead to forgetting.
ReplyDeleteAnother example, one that highlights the importance of accepting responsibility, is that of the holocaust. Germany has done an effective job at getting past the massacres that occurred in WW II, and it has done so by taking responsibility for its crimes. Germany continues to teach upcoming generations of students about the holocaust as part of their education in school, which allows room for acceptance of crimes and reconciliation with victims.
Japan, on the other hand, refuses to accept the crimes that were committed during the Nanjing massacre. All evidence of the crimes was deleted from Japans history books, and unlike Germany, new generations of students have no way of knowing the magnitude of what the Japanese soldiers have done. By doing this, a massive wall has been created blocking any chance of forgiveness and reconciliation between japan and its victims.
Reference:
Kagame, A. (2015, September 21). From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda. Retrieved December 08, 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ange-kagame/from-victim-to-victor-the-healing-power-of-forgiveness-in-rwanda_b_8168036.html
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What one finds out, or must find out, after holding on for so long and after the inability to forget all conflict-related issues is that forgiveness is key to end any conflict, whether it’s between people or between oneself. I totally believe, and agree with the quotation mentioned in the question, that everyone is able to make a choice. A good choice, a bad choice, a choice that will help one continue his/her life under whatever circumstances, or a choice that will transforms one’s life into a tragedy. These choices, regardless of their short and long-run effects, are all achieved through either the implementation of such ideas into one’s mind by family, friends, media, or by one’s own determination that s/he aspires to live.
ReplyDeleteI can say that the role of forgiveness is very supportive to one’s physical and psychological health when it comes to post-genocide and political violence conflicts. First, forgiveness is a release of hatred between the victims and the perpetrators. When one is able to forgive, all the past conflicts are gradually eliminated which helps (even if just a little) in the process of forgetting. Second, it opens up spaces for those who want to move on and rediscover their lives. It liberates one from the limited thinking of what one should behave or react during/to such issues. Finally, it gives the coming generations the opportunity to live in peace, which will affect people’s relations within and outside the country.
Forgiveness helps people rebuild their lives through forgetting what happened yesterday. It works as a cover to the horrible actions that were done towards a family member, a friend, or a colleague. In addition, and as I already mentioned, it helps one to progress. It is a way that the coming generations can rely on in not only achieving and promoting peace but also overcoming hatred.
Relying on forgiveness have many drawback effects on both the victims and the perpetrators. Usually, victims are those who forgive, and their forgiveness is a reason of the constant pain they have been going through that needs to be healed. Forgiveness sometimes increases the pressure on one’s inner self. It is very hard and painful for one to forget all the killing and the suffering that he/she was exposed to. It is not easy at all to forget that who killed your parents, your children, and friends. How can one rely on forgiveness then? The very act of being in a position where you are constantly exposed to destruction and killing becomes pretty much the direct image that comes to mind when you think about related issues, hence, the ability to erase that image from your mind becomes hard to achieve. Also, and in peace making situations, where the government decides to end all conflicts between the two parties irrespective of the people’s opinions, victims might be forced to forgive, and this would increase the number of murderers (who probably were victims) in order to take back their rights that the government was not able of doing so. Moreover, perpetrators might see the victims’ forgiveness as a weakness and thus they might oppress them at a larger scale.
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ReplyDeleteIn the case of Rwanda, forgiveness is best illustrated when many refugees, Tutsis, and Hutus came back to Rwanda after the genocide and lived together. When the genocide was over, many people, from both groups, wanted to live peacefully in their home again. And the country was filled with its people again because of forgiveness. Also, after the Holocaust, many Jews have feared to go back and live in Germany and other European countries because of antisemitism. Some of the Jews migrated to other countries and some lived in camps where they were protected. In this example, one can notice how some Germans and Jew-hatred people were unable to forgive (although they were the perpetrators) even after years of the genocide. Furthermore, in the former Yugoslavia, and after the Bosnian war, refugees were given the right to go back to their homes in their country, but a very small percentage of people went back so as to avoid further conflicts. This is how some people, especially those who are traumatized form the war, find it difficult to forgive those who were fighting their families and friends (their people).
ReplyDeleteDuring the entirety of this course, we have covered a lot of genocide cases and war-related violence that ended in such a horrible and dreadful way costing many people their lives. I think that forgiveness might not be the only way of getting past the hate, but, it is one way of doing so, and its powerful effectiveness is, for sure, healing.
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I do believe in the saying “forgive but never forget”, because when you forgive the perpetrators you will eventually move past it and move on; or else we will need to choose between forgiveness and revenge. If we were put in a genocidal case or even war for instance, and it was over we will have these two choices. If we choose to forgive then that way we can move past the situation but never forget what happened because I too believe that when something happens one time there is a 50% chance it could reoccur. But if we choose the path of revenge then first of all, we will suffer mentally, physically and emotionally since with revenge comes pain, blood and agony and the generations yet to come will be taught this hate against the perpetrators which might lead to another future conflict. For example, in Kuwait when the Iraqi invasion came to an end. After a few years the Kuwaitis found it in their hearts to forgive the Iraqis for the pain and damage that they have cause because Saddam Hossein took responsibility for the crimes caused, and agreed to be punished by getting beheaded; that’s when the Kuwaiti citizens forgave the Iraqi’s for what was committed. I believe they might have forgave them because the soldiers would have said “we were just following orders”; but they never forgot what they have done. Till this day whenever the date is August the second, all the Kuwaitis would post pictures of the invasion and caption it “Forgive but never forget”. I believe that when you find it in your heart to forgive someone or something you will feel better, because holding a grudge and hating would only cause more pain to yourself. This would teach the new generations that we should forgive the perpetrators and that the new generations of the perpetrators are not to blame so that they would concentrate on what is to come rather on what had come. Forgiveness, will help in rebuilding not only the lives of the people but the country as well. When the people forgive they move past the situation and be more open minded about what is yet to come therefore, the countries growth would come in a positive impact on the people and especially if the perpetrators country is very close to ours, we would find benefits to enhance the development of both countries. The impact of forgiveness would be positive on the economy, society and politically.
ReplyDeleteThe drawback of forgiveness might be that other countries might think of the forgivers as a weak community or country and the perpetrators might take advantage of the forgiveness and maybe repeat the attack. An example of such event, Is after Kuwait forgave Iraq; to show the world their forgiveness the Kuwaitis donated food and money to the Iraqis as a sign of forgiveness. Unfortunately, when Kuwait decided to build a port on Boubyan island which is 100% Kuwaiti territory some Iraqi guerrilla’s demonstrated on Kuwaits boarders, also some Iraqi non-governmental medias threatened Kuwait that they want to reinvade it as they believe that Kuwait is the 19th Iraqi governor or Iraqi state, they are reciting what Saddam Hossein said during the Invasion of Kuwait.
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We learned through Gregory Stanton’s stages that the 8th stage of genocide is denial. The denial of a genocide is what keeps it alive and prevents forgiveness, however, one of the solutions that Stanton presents for is in order to prevent denial, one must forgive. The quote agrees with Stanton's solution as forgiveness comes with a healing power. Obviously, one cannot travel back in time and prevent bad things from happening (yet) and time only moves forward. Forgiveness is part of the healing process, and since time only moves forward, the only thing that can heal the damaged is forgiveness rather than having an open wound fester over the years, which just makes things worse. Just as hate is learned, forgiveness can be learned. Hate is implemented from a high position like government, and the hatred is learnt, it trickles down to the lowest of the low and is internalized because of false consciousness. False consciousness does not always have to be negative, forgiveness can start off from a high position like government and then trickle down to the lowest of the low, thus having the ideology of forgiveness internalized, which will then help people heal.
The role of forgiveness in the healing process of post genocide/ political violence, pushes for a new future rather than just living in the past. Also, the role of forgiveness can help future genocide from taking place. Once people learn to forgive each other then their would be no need for false justifications leading to ethnic cleansing or mass murder. As the article says “to ensure our conflict is not passed from one generation to the next… forgiveness is the only way to draw strength from tragedy individually and to heal collectively.” Thus, forgiveness can prevent the genocide from reoccuring as the new generation learns how to forgive. This is true especially to the Rwanda case because the build up to the genocide began with a lack of forgiveness. The Belgians came in and decided the Tutsis were more superior, thus the Tutsis had all the benefits and the Hutus suffered in lower positions. Once the Belgians were out of the picture, the tables turned and the Hutus were now in power. The Hutus could have forgiven the Tutsis, as it wasn't their fault in the first place since the Belgians came in and decided who was more superior. If the Hutus had forgiven the Tutsis at that time then maybe the genocide could have been prevented and things were different. The Hutus committed genocide against the Tutsis, if the tables were to turn once again giving the Tutsis power then without forgiveness in return they would commit genocide against the Hutus and thus begins an endless cycle of hate. However, with forgiveness brought to the table, it can stop the cycle of hate and give the new generation a fresh start, a start that begins with love and forgiveness rather than a start with hate and people driven by revenge.
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ReplyDeleteForgiveness can help people rebuild lives because before you can forgive, you have to realize that there is something to forgive, which stops the cycle of denial. In the article, Sonia’s story demonstrates how forgiveness has helped rebuild her life, but before that she went through a time of anger due to her PTSD. Forgiveness, is the right thing to do, with that said, it is the hard thing to do and people would much rather ignore it. Kuwaitis today have still not been able to forgive Iraq for the invasion. From a governmental level, there is a lack of forgiveness towards Iraq since the establishment of the GCC. The GCC, a regional organization of cooperation established in 1981 during the Abu Dhabi summit after the Iraq-Iran War had begun, was intended to safeguard member states from the consequences of the war on the Arab Gulf states. The alliance was shaped initially as a political and economic entity; later, it advanced to address the security problems faced by the alliance and its states. This security alliance demonstrated its viability during the Kuwait crisis of 1990-1991, when all the Gulf states allied with the international coalition led by the United States to regain and liberate Kuwait. Iraq saw the GCC countries’ stance as facilitating the “aggression” of the United States in Operation Desert Storm. Many Iraqis perceive the current situation in Iraq as a direct result of the 2003 invasion by the US-led coalition that included the GCC countries. Just like in Rwanda, you can point out the same cycle of hate, Kuwait and other gulf countries “protected” themselves from Iraq and Iran by establishing the GCC, then Iraq invaded Kuwait which added more hatred to the situation, Kuwait still has not been able to forgive Iraq, and Iraq blames the GCC for American involvement in 2003 and now there are terrorist groups spread all over the middle east and it is all tied to hate and a lack of forgiveness. If the gulf countries would forgive Iraq and Iran, they could work together to forgive each other and then the power of that forgiveness may possibly stop terrorism in the Arab region.
However, there are some challenges and drawbacks of relying on forgiveness as a tool for getting past the hate. For instance, not everybody has the ability to forgive, and hate is a cycle that makes issues worse, like right now in the Arab world, forgiveness does not seem like a possibility because the countries, despite being part of the same region and having the GCC, the countries are alienated and focused on themselves, they refuse to look at the big picture. Also, the problems are so big that forgiveness seems like a joke, no one is going to try to “make nice” in order to avoid a war or genocide. The challenge with forgiveness is sometimes it can’t work as a tool for getting passed the hate because people still want to hate. It is like an addiction, if someone does not want to quit then they cannot quit, if someone does not want to stop hating then they can never begin to forgive.
Sources:
- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ange-kagame/from-victim-to-victor-the-healing-power-of-forgiveness-in-rwanda_b_8168036.html
- http://arabcenterdc.org/policy_analyses/the-gcc-in-turmoil-repercussions-of-the-gulf-crisis-on-iraq-gcc-relations/
According to Ange Kagame’s “From Victim to Victor”, the role of forgiveness in the healing process of post-genocide or political violence victims is that in this way they reject their own victimization and gain peace. Thus, for instance, Sonia Mugabo, a survivor of genocide, believes that hatred allows the perpetrators to take over the lives of the victims, which is why it is important to defeat hatred through reprieve for one’s own sake. Although it is a common view that forgiveness liberates criminals and liberates them of their crime, it gives freedom to the victims before all else. As long as they are unable to forgive their aggressors, they cannot forget what happened to them and find it difficult to turn their gaze from past to present. Life in hatred, regret, and fear causes more harm than their traumatic experiences, but forgiveness helps them to accept what happened to them and move on. In this way, victims can rebuild their lives because they start to think about the future without connecting it to trauma. Of course, it is unlikely that they will ever forget the pain of the past, but forgiveness turns this pain into a memory that can no longer hurt them.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge of relying on forgiveness as a tool for getting past the hate is that people may perceive it as submission. In other words, they may think that if they forgive those who wronged or harmed them, they will give up and go against their pride. For example, during my experiences in Kuwait, I encountered a Syrian refugee, who claimed that as long as she remembers how her home was destroyed in the bombing, punishment will find those who are responsible for this tragedy. It troubled her that she did not know who exactly did it and she did not see the faces of the perpetrators, which is why it was important for her to focus on the tragedy itself to reinforce her belief that fate will destroy those who hurt her. This approach enabled her to feel powerful while being in a powerless position, so she associated hatred with strength and forgiveness with weakness. Similarly, other victims may adopt this idea to justify their unwillingness to let go. As long as they perceive forgiveness as surrender to their aggressors, they will not be able to forgive. Therefore, what they need is to reject the notion that they are doing a favor to the criminals by forgiving, for they are actually doing a favor to themselves.
At the same time, there is also a possible drawback of forgiveness stemming from the possibility that the victim will no longer be willing to bring the aggressor to justice when it can be done. Some of the case studies we reviewed in class entailed an opportunity to prosecute the people who caused harm to others, but letting go of hatred may also mean refusal to go forward with a prosecution. A survivor I met in Kuwait explained his unwillingness to forgive as the fear that he will not be able to bring justice on the heads of his aggressors when he has a chance because forgiveness means leaving the past behind. However, it remains to be determined whether forgiveness demands that the victim should forget about the pain and injustice altogether to be able to move on or if it allows seeking fairness and retribution in the face of trauma.
Works Cited
Kagame, Ange. "From Victim To Victor: The Healing Power Of Forgiveness In Rwanda." Huffpost, 2016, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ange-kagame/from-victim-to-victor-the-healing-power-of-forgiveness-in-rwanda_b_8168036.html.
The role of forgiveness in the healing process of post genocide/ political violence means that a new page is about to start and everything that happened may not be forgotten but will fade in time and that will make the people that suffered in genocide feel better because they are about to begin a new life without having to deal with how to get revenge from the perpetrators because that will return them back to the starting point were hate is still placed in their hearts and more conflicts will appear, as Ange Kagame mentioned in the HuffPost article “From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda” that hate and forgiveness is considered a choice which the individual may take to live a better life without any problems, a personal experience by Sonia Mugabo which was a survivor according to Kagame suffered a lot because she was one of the survivors in the 1994 genocide but she managed to forgive because she didn’t want the pain to take over her live she wanted to live in peace so it helped her rebuilt her life in a positive way without having the feeling to take revenge. The challenges and drawbacks of forgiveness is that the victim may have in mind that the perpetrator won’t get the punishment deserved because of being forgiven so that will allow the victim to overthink about what is going to happen to the perpetrator in the form of justice. An example related to Kuwait may be the Iraqi invasion, I don’t think that Kuwaitis is ready to forgive of what happened because its something hard to do because it was a tough experience so the challenge here, is the question of when is it the right time to forgive.
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First of all, I’d like to highlight the part of the quote that refers to hate as a “learned behavior”. I strongly agree, and I also share the same opinion as the author that forgiveness and hatred can both be achieved by choice. However, because it is a learned behavior, hatred can be difficult to control especially when one has been taught to practice and project it for so long due to the circumstances that one had been put through. It cannot be simply avoided by the mere decision of choosing so, when it has been internalized by the person.
ReplyDeleteTake the example of the Hutus in the Rwandan genocide. The Hutus were considered as inferior to Tutsis and were not given a fair treatment, where Tutsis overpowered them throughout the colonial period in Rwanda. With time, this led to built-up hatred and anger in Hutus toward the Tutsis, which kept accumulating and mentally torturing them till they were finally able to let it out in the genocide in which they brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Here comes the role of forgiveness and its huge importance whether before or after a genocide. If the Hutus had forgiven the Tutsis after the colonial period, the genocide might have not happened in the first place. Likewise, to avoid a genocide from taking place again, it is important for the Tutsis to not let their feelings of hatred after the genocide take over them, rather they should gather their strength and be able to forgive in order to rebuild their lives and start fresh. Granted, forgiving would not change the fact that they lost their homes and families, however, forgiving does not necessarily entail forgetting as well. Forgiving will help them heal and move on with their lives and live in the present rather than stay stuck in their past and let their vengeful thoughts ruin the rest of their lives. When the person learns to forgive, they’ll stop focusing on their past and will instead shift their focus on how to build a better present and future, which is more important because focusing on the past would not change anything. One cannot go back in time and change what has already happened, but one can still do something to change their future to the better and live in peace.
Yet, relying on forgiveness as a tool for getting past the hate may not always work. Sometimes, forgiving a perpetrator may be perceived as going easy on them especially if they hadn’t received the proper punishment that one had expected, which would in turn lead to victims feeling even more angry at their perpetrators. It may also seem to the victims that forgiving their perpetrator means betraying the loved ones whom they had lost, and therefore it would be impossible for them to forgive. In some cases, they may be able to forgive for a period of time, but if the vengeful thoughts were strong enough, their forgiveness won’t last and they may want to retaliate again. In addition, since forgiving does not involve forgetting, victims will still feel the pain and anger from the memories that keep resonating in their minds, due to which forgiving would not satisfy them. Also, weak perpetrators who do not understand the strength and courage that it takes for a victim to be able to forgive, may view those forgiving victims as weak targets.
If hypothetically the same conditions of the Rwandan genocide were applied to Kuwait where the Bedoons have been oppressed for a long time, and if they somehow end up overtaking the power in the country from the Kuwaitis, like the Hutus did with the Tutsis, it may as well lead to a genocide. Here, the victims of the genocide would be the Kuwaitis and the perpetrators would be the Bedoons. This is because for a long time the Bedoons have been deprived of many rights which may have led to accumulated feelings of hatred and anger in them, and as we’ve seen in the rest of the reviewed case studies, this has always resulted in bad endings.
Works Cited:
DeleteKagame, Ange. “From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Sept. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/ange-kagame/from-victim-to-victor-the-healing-power-of-forgiveness-in-rwanda_b_8168036.html.
OF course, forgiveness often is a noble and positive reaction toward people who did something unpleasant to you, but nonetheless, it is almost impossible to forgive someone who killed one of your family members. Therefore, people who forgive murderers have a deep awareness, and they have farsightedness and they understand the positive results of their forgiveness. I'm saying that because placing an emotion on a side and thinking rationally is kind of a mature action because they know this is the best choice to move on and to forget the past and build a new generation free of hatred. But we should put in our consideration that the forgiveness without learning from the past is useless, I meant people should take lessons from such cases, in order to move on, the survivors and perpetrators should learn from the past and understand how this conflict originated in order to avoid similar action in the future. Example of that, I think most of the Kuwaiti people forgive Iraqis, and they know this is not the Iraqi people fault but its Sadam and his followers fault, yes we forgive but it is hard to forget, and we should not forget, because, as Kuwaiti people we learned a tough lesson, I was six years old when the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait, and I still remember some events from that invasion, I still remember how my parents suffered during that time. Thus, the survivors of Rwanda genocide should forgive to move on, but they should not forget what happened and they must study the factors that led to this genocide.
ReplyDelete“Hate, like many other vices, is a learned behavior — it is a choice, a bad choice, but a choice nonetheless. And yet, I believe — I know — that forgiveness works the same way. I have experienced the power of forgiveness in my life — and I have seen it work its healing power in Rwanda today”. In my opinion, I think that the word hate is not born when a child is born. I believe that hate is a behavior that comes when you start using your senses. For example, I myself hate the sound that planes make when they dive down because it makes me feel like the plane is going straight down to the ground without stopping. Another example is when you hate another person, it’s either because you don’t like his personality or you and him had problems before. All of these examples show how hate is not a behavior that comes as a special gift when a person is born but rather a learned behavior. The same also goes for forgiveness. Forgiveness in my opinion is something that is also learned instead of already having it when you are born. Forgiveness can be achieved in many, and in some of these waves, you will mostly have a conflict with someone else before you forgive them.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the role that forgiveness plays in the healing process of post genocide/ political violence, it’s an easy way to move on with life. For example, every year, on August 2, every Kuwaiti would go to their social media and write about how the forgive what Saddam Hussein did to them during the Iraqi Invasion in 1990 up until early 1991. What they are trying to do is to move on because this event came and finished. You don’t want to stay hating the same thing for the rest of your life. The Iraqi Invasion happened 27 years ago, and if there is someone who still doesn’t forgive the Iraqi’s, then he/she will not move with their lives until they do. Forgiveness helps people rebuild their lives because it makes them not want to miss what life has in store for them. The main challenge of relying on forgiveness as a tool for getting past the hate is to give a reason not to hate the people that did harm to you ( in this case a perpetrator) anymore. For example, for some Kuwaiti’s that survived the Invasion, they could find a reason not to hate Saddam until after his execution.
Work Cited:
Kagame, Ange. “From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Sept. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/ange-kagame/from-victim-to-victor-the-healing-power-of-forgiveness-in-rwanda_b_8168036.html.
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ReplyDeleteIt is of human nature to seek revenge, to hate and fight back, but it takes a tremendous amount of courage for someone to forgive in order move on in life. To forgive, means to live peacefully, to accept something and to move on in life knowing that it was the past. Forgiveness is a power, that strengthens an individual and a nation, because when one forgives, they agree on giving our nation and our community another chance to live a better life, to move forward rather that stick to the past, to understand that mistakes can be made yet it can be forgiven. It is a powerful weapon, because if we do not forgive, we start hating, our rage starts building up, and that leads to revenge, which makes our desire to hurt others grow bigger and bigger till we start hurting ourselves too. Forgiveness might be seen as weakness, but it actually is the complete opposite. In order to forgive, we have to convince ourselves, that we should live normally with those who once caused us our pain, we have to convince ourselves to see the greater good in a situation that is blinded with hurt and anger. It is a hard process to learn how to forgive, but once people forgive, they will learn to live happily and to accept their past in order to create a better future. As Kagame said, it is a choice, whether we chose the right path or the wrong one, it is nevertheless a choice one makes to determines how they would continue their life.
ReplyDeleteForgiveness plays a huge role in the healing process of post genocide/ political violence. Forgiveness plants the seeds of hope and strength within the community. After mass murder or political violence, people become emotional, mentally and physically drained, it would be harder for them to start reconstructing their lives after the perpetrators destructed it. However, with forgiveness people can be hopeful that tomorrow would be better, that they can only move forward in order to have a better future, this would give strength to the community because it would help them heal. If one did not forgive, they would pass on their anger and rage to many generations to come, thus the hate would grow bigger, if they were to forgive the generation to come will learn to forgive and to live in peace. As Kagame said, “To ensure our conflict is not passed from one generation to the next”, forgiveness ensures that the coming generations are to live in peace, to move forward and to overcome hatred.
As mentioned previously, forgiveness helps rebuild ones life through accepting reality and forgetting the past in order to have a brighter future. Forgiving is the process of accepting what happened and using the outcome to rebuild ones life. The process of accepting what happened is the process of knowing what happened, how it cased you pain, and finally how you are going to try to forget/hide that pain in order not to react to it. Sonia, Kagame friend as stated in the article was a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda, She talked about how trying to hide away the trauma and acting to be brave caused her to have PTSD, which for a while made her into an angry and a bitter person, this continued to affect her life until she found that in order to make the pain and anger go away for her to live in peace, the only solution she saw in which it would make all of this go away was forgiveness. She picked up where she last left her normal life by forgiveness. Which gives us a greater view on how forgiveness rebuild her life, from a bitter angry person to a healed person.
I believe in something that I long heard from friends and family, “forgive but never forget”, it may see hard to forgive without forgetting because one complements the other, but forgetting is hard and takes more time in order to fully try to forget something, forgiving may hide the fear and pain but remembering the incident makes one aware in case it happens again. Forgiveness is indeed a powerful weapon, but it is not the only tool to move forward, there are many challenges and drawbacks on relying on forgiveness to get past the hate. Victims who have forgiven the perpetrators may face social pressure from others because they became neutral with the opposite side, which may create hate and conflict. Another challenge would be trying to forget what happened, all the suffering and pain that was put upon the victims, it is very hard for anyone to forget such a painful part of their past, forgiveness may help one move forward but it can never change the past, thus people forgive but never forget. A major challenge in my opinion would be that the perpetrates take advantage of how the victims decided to forgive them, basically giving them an easy way out, by creating a bigger conflict. Forgiveness can never make someone get over their hate towards other, nevertheless it gives them motive to see the bigger picture, where they would learn to move forward.
ReplyDeleteFrom my knowledge that my family passed on to me regarding the invasion, I realised that no matter how much they say they have forgiven the Iraqi people, they still cringe when they hear the word Iraq. Through their experience in the harsh environment of the painful invasion they learned the saying “ We forgive but we never forget”. If we are to ask them why do you believe of this saying, they would simply say, we are not stupid enough to forget what they did to us, how they killed many people in front of their parents, how they used our women as sex tools, how they took away our land and our homes to settle in while they killed our children. They believe that if the Iraqis did it once, what stops them from doing it again, especially to us as Sadam was our sheikh’s friend. It is not until after the beheading of Sadam that people decided to forgive Iraqis, yet they did not forget what happened, because on every August 2nd, people would post pictures of the night were in the midst of their sleep he took away their rights, land and lives. Forgiving Iraqi would be the right thing to do, and indeed in was the right thing, because many families in Kuwait married off Iraqi families, with the conflict it would've caused so much issues to those families, but now everyone is living with each other and accepting what happened in the past to create a better future for our country.
-Kagame, Ange. “From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Sept. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/ange-kagame/from-victim-to-victor-the-healing-power-of-forgiveness-in-rwanda_b_8168036.html.
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ReplyDeleteAs Ange Kagame states, the power of forgiveness can help put a halt on thoughts of revenge. As it can prevent future disputes between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Forgiveness can break the cycle of hatred and the author encourages Rwandans to take this path in order to create a brighter future for generations to come. Kagame recalls that hate is a choice and so victims of the Rwandan genocide should not be obliged to go after their perpetrators, yet to forgive. However in my opinion, I don’t think that this ideology can be applied to all the victims who have suffered extreme trauma during the 100 day killings. This is because, not everyone can be able to forgive as they will never forget the horrible circumstances that they have went through. It is unimaginable to picture what Tutsis went through psychologically and physically. Although Kagame’s standpoint is positive and beneficial, I do not think it is effective for all victims. Forgiveness can rebuild people’s lives as the author mentioned what her friend Sonia Mugabo went through during the genocide. Mugabo recalls that she suffered from PTSD and found herself in anger post-genocide. And she turned to forgiveness and that seemed to alleviate her anger. This supports Kagame’s statements in which, if Rwandans do not confront their suffering with forgiveness, they will turn to anger and revenge, which can lead to a never-ending cycle.
As for the examples, I have personally seen family members who dealt with loss and relatives who were held captive by the Iraqis. I don’t see much forgiveness from them as it is hard to forgive people who harmed those close to you. Yet this viewpoint didn’t enforce hate but my family members relive those harsh times every August and they do not favor those who come from similar backgrounds as the perpetrators. I think this is understandable because it is a natural reaction. Another example to encapsulate the subject of this article is the Rwandan genocide we read about in Philip Gourevitch’s book. Those who were affected by the genocide fled to nearby countries as soon as the trauma hit them. But by Philip’s encounters with those victims such as Odette, they did go through terrible times but as time went by each had a life to live and different responsibilities to take part in. Some still carry grudges on the aggressors and others don’t. As Kagame states, it is a matter of choice.
I believe that hate leads to revenge in Rwanda what happened in 1994 and through the genocide was the period where hate was present and forgiveness was absent. About 1 million where mured both Huti and Tusi. After the genocide people, have realized that in order to live together they have to forgive although hate was there at the begging forgiveness started to empower people. Forgiveness ’s a choice. In order to move forward, they have to forgive to live and not to repeat what has happened in 1994. If people were still in the cycle of bitterness and anger they will seek revenge at the end. Most of the people lost their family, homes, and friends and most do not want this to happen again heals in order to re built Rwanda again. Although people did not forget they learned to forgive. I also believed what made people forgiveness was that most of the predators were sent to criminal trial. As to others have felt ashamed and ask for forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Kuwait, I would say that the people that expertness the war first hand had forgiven what has happened. As there are many Kuwaiti who have mixed both Kuwaiti and Iraq at the same time and I am one of them my grandmother is Iraq and during the invasion, she was said in Kuwait all of the Kuwaiti had forgiven but not forgotten what has happened. The case of forgiving is the amount of Iraqi that is in Kuwait and going and coming back from Iraq this shows you how people have forgiven.
An example would be the Holocaust of the Nazi. About 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazi just because they were Jews. Hate was the main reason what drove the Germans to kill all of the Jews in Germany. When the war has ended still people the Jews did not return to their homes in fear of others and the hate that the others have held against them. This has led many Jews to leave Europe and to settle in Palestine. I remember watching a documentary once about the Jews in Palestine what I remember was one Jewish man saying that they would not allow what had happened to Jews in Holocast to repeat again.
Another example would be the Cambodian genocide the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot’s Regime. The result of the genocide was an estimated 2 million deaths. In 2001 a trail has begun to convent the people involved. The perpetrators were put on the trail after 30 years. This has somewhat created forgiveness within the community.
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ReplyDeleteThe quote mentioned in the question above is 100% true. No one is born hating, people learn how to hate and when they learn how to hate this hate then can manipulate people and lead people to believe certain ideas and take certain actions which sometimes can be very harmful to the party that’s being hated.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it doesn’t take a lot to forgive, to some people forgiveness is easy, but sometimes people will never truly forgive until they are acknowledged and compensated. An example of that would be the Australian aboriginals, they have been raped, brain washed, kidnapped and oppressed but when they passed the law of the aboriginals to get equal rights they had to compensate them for all the harm that they have caused them throughout the years of abuse. Australia is the best example I could think of when it comes to forgiveness within a nation. They acknowledged their problem and then worked on fixing it.
Personally, I believe that in order to progress and build on the past one must accept reality and forgive and move on. Although forgiving does not come easy ever, especially when it comes to Kuwait since the gulf was not long ago and our families and the older generation still remember it very well and talk about the trauma they went through regularly. But also in the case of Kuwait although what Sadam’s army did was horrific they were under great pressure from Saddam. He bullied the Iraqis and oppressed them as well as committed numerous crimes towards them for almost 30 years before the gulf war started. Us Kuwaitis need to understand that the Iraqis themselves need to fix their internal problems as well as forgive each other before apologizing to Kuwait and owning up to their action
The first thing the quote mentions is hate being a learned behavior, it is, people like some monkeys and children copy behaviors they see happening around them; in this case it is revenge, wanting to do to them what they have done to you and others. revenge is not the way to handle situations, it only causes more violence and causes the cycle to repeat till there is no one left. It only causes pain whereas forgiveness can slowly take away the pain and hatred and turn it into something positive. According to Ange Kagame’s article From Victim to Victor: The Healing Power of Forgiveness in Rwanda, forgiveness is what will ensure that the conflict is not passed down from generation to generation, instead to bring about peace as well allowing times to heal. Forgiveness plays a major role in the healing process but not just for the victims but also the perpetrators; forgiveness puts the people of Rwanda as equals. When both sides forgive one another for the events that happened they are making way of for a new day and a new future, looking at what happened and realizing what happened needed to end so that a newer better future can come of it if what forgives can bring. Forgiving one another doesn’t mean to forget everything that happened, on the contrary, keep the past in mind just enough not to forget and just far enough not to think back on it with vengeful eyes. Forgiveness can help people rebuild their lives because it is a way to get rid of any anger or animosity that some people might have had towards the perpetrators; eventually no one will feel like the victims they will see themselves as strong survivors who are filled with forgiveness. Some of the throwbacks of forgiveness is that one side must apologize for their actions/involvement in the citation, there might be those who do not want to gain peace but want to continue on with past ways, it might spark some conflicts if people aren’t on the same page. An example here in Kuwait would be the Iraqi invasion, after the Iraqis invaded many peoples point of view changed; they disliked and hated the Iraqis for they did (killing men in front of their families, the capturing and torturing of others, the destructions of buildings and families etc.). there are those today who have forgotten what happened, there are those who still carry with them that hatred, and there are those who have forgiven them, but not all. -S00036975
ReplyDeleteAll us humans no matter what we’ve done, or who we broken; in the end we all seek forgiveness at some point. Forgiveness is way complex than what we perceive it to be, especially when it includes countless causalities or deaths. Forgiveness does acquire ultimate strength from the victim of a certain encounter that have profoundly wounded them. In this case entities who have been the target in a genocidal event, healing won’t be the first thing that happens after the doings of the perpetrator, for obvious reasons like the cold blooded murders they’ve inflicted. Due to the fact that a genocide involves generations of people within a society that they have built makes forgiveness a harder task, certainly being influence by political, environmental and social element. One may commit a crime, which makes them the one holding the responsibility of they’re own choices, nevertheless politically based forgiveness would differ to what the actual generations of victims would have in their heart. The survivor of a genocide would find themselves facing the harsh symptoms of PTSD, that conflicts with the on going lives (to this day). Some have found concluded serenity within the process of healing, using forgiveness as a “weapon” to forbid the genocide from taking them under its dark shadow. They chose to promote forgiving what happen in there past incisively, because the past isn’t going to change no matter what happens.
ReplyDeleteWith the power that comes due to the action of forgiveness, it will rebuild all what’s broke even when done right it would be stronger that before. The lives of the individuals who have faced a genocide would be traumatizing throughout, when their home and safety was taken away from them. However, after all that is life; the stronger wins and they would have to find peace with that in order to start with there rebuild. In the article, Sonia which is a survivor of the genocide has found the healing process to be due to forgiveness which has strengthened her to reach peace with herself and others. In Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion, which has long passed but no one seems to forget and some not even forgive. The hate that would be displayed when someone talks about anything to do with Iraq, because of there barbaric, painful act on our country. This is of course a nature instinct that everyone would feel after all they have been through, making it get the best of us rather that surrendering to forgiveness and erase the negative way of thinking in this way. Hating and not being able to forgive is justifiable for the first years or so, nevertheless people and generations change mean they aren’t the “New peoples” doing, so if we don’t encourage the rightful way of forgiveness thinking, our future will be based on hate that is irrelevant to whatever happened.
“To forgive doesn’t mean forgetting” this is what people say when they think back in time where everything happened (genocide), and they have decided to move on and forgive. Forgiveness could be the solution for the word hate, because is shows the people that there are more to life than focusing on one thing in the past, which you probably can’t change. Also, when there is this kind of hate there is revenge, which is not a heathy feeling to get especially after a long time and forgiveness is being a solution.
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ReplyDeleteForgiveness can be interpreted differently from person to person. It mainly involves a decision to let go of anger and thoughts of revenge. Forgiveness is important because it can help the victim, which in this case is many Rwandan Tutsi, free from the control of the person who harmed them, the Hutus. This process can help victims have feelings of understanding, empathy and sympathy for the one who once hurt them and their families. This is really important in the healing process of the country of Rwanda after the genocide because the feeling of hate and anger will stop them from moving on and if the hate and anger is still present, it may cause to another clash, resulting to more damage. Like Ange states, with forgiveness they are looking at a better future for Rwanda because with it they are choosing to end the cycle of hate. However, forgiveness is something hard to have to someone who hurt, murdered and destroyed your family. So many may deny to forgive those who once hurt them. On the other hand, the perpetrator may not feel guilt to what they did therefore they don’t seek forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteIn the example of Kuwait, there seems to be forgiveness to their invader Iraq, however some people still have hate towards the Iraqi people. Yes, the hate is going away slowly with the new generation coming up, but those who lived through it can’t forget the trauma they once were a part of.
To forgive is to find the inner peace in one’s soul. To reflect back to Ange Kagame’s article, I 100% agree when she said that hate is a learned behavior and that it is one’s choice whether they hate or forgive one another. I believe that forgiveness plays a very big role when it comes to one’s mental and physical health. Also, in order to move on and grow in life one must seek forgiveness or they might end up in an endless loop of hate which will cause them to always live in the past.
ReplyDeleteRelying on forgiveness as a tool to for getting past the hate has many drawbacks. For example, some wounds are way too deep and people tend to relive them every time they remember them; it’s like putting a knife through the wound instead of using balm to heal it. The scar will always be there but at least it won’t be an open wound. For those who lost a family member there is a big wall between them and forgiveness and it takes great strength to reach that point of forgiveness
For example, in Kuwait every year on August 2nd people always remember the Iraqi invasion and the older generation that lived through it always tell the younger ones their experience and how they lived through it. Even though people say that what’s in the past is in the past and that they have forgiven the Iraqis. “Forgive but never forget” this is a sentence that I always hear when the topic about the Iraqi invasion is mentioned. But by reopening this wound every year people are not able to find their inner peace.
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In the case of a genocide, a crime is committed that is not only between a handful of people, but a crime against a large population. Therefore getting forgiveness from all the people affected by a tragedy of this magnitude is not possible. However I do agree that hatred is a learned behavior, and that it is a person’s choice to go on with this hatred. On the other hand there cannot be forgiveness without the perpetrator taking responsibility. The perpetrator must admit that they are at fault and take full responsibility for the carrying out of these crimes. Only then can forgiveness become a realistic expectation.With forgiveness comes the ability for the victims to move on when previously they could not have. It allows the victims to carry on their lives without the hatred for the perpetrators. In the Rwandan case specifically the ability for the Tutsis to forgive the past actions of the Hutus will reduce the racial tensions in the country, allowing Rwanda to focus on bettering themselves as a country instead of focusing on violence. However there are some instances where forgiveness can be detrimental when used as a way to forget past crimes. Especially in a case where the perpetrators were not punished for their crimes, giving the perpetrators a free pass. Or even when the problems that lead to those crimes were not resolved, meaning that a repeat case is possible, forgiveness can be a drawback. As for Kuwait, the Iraqi invasion is what comes to mind first. Growing up what I heard a lot in school and at home, is how Iraq betrayed the sense of an Arab brotherhood that was present between countries in the region. How there was always trust between Arab countries but Iraq broke that trust. However I also learned to “forgive but never forget”, that phrase was told to us in Arabic social studies classes repeatedly throughout my school life. That is an instance of forgiveness, or an attempt at it, that I have viewed in Kuwait.
ReplyDeleteIt is through forgiveness that human beings have overcome the several challenges that life has exposed them to. Life can be hurtful at times especially when people act undesirably towards each other. While some people rejoice in the beauty of good things in life, others lament and wish they were dead because of the suffering that they have had to go through. Hurtful things can be done to us by people close to us such as family and friends and also strangers. Going through such difficult times can be very difficult but through forgiveness, human beings can learn to cope with the hurtful memories. Such is the case with the genocide that happened in Rwanda whereby the ethnic clashes led to the death of people among other atrocities. Without any doubt, any person who saw their loved ones raped, killed and even became a refugee holds very bitter memories. They wish they could unwind time and prevent that tragedy but they can not.In her article, Kagame (2015) argues that it is through forgiveness that she and others have been able to live healthily despite the bitter memories that they hold regarding the genocide. With regards to the Rwandan tragedy, it is clear that forgiveness has a healing power that mainly emanates from its ability to free a person from some form of bondage. Rwandese people who experienced the genocide are angered by strangers or friends who turned against each other. They could also blame the government for enforcing the occurrence of the tragedy or the world humanitarian agencies for not stopping it on time. All these aspects can hold a person in bondage such that they become restrained to see the beauty of life. They become slaves to their bitter memories to the extent of becoming depressed and losing focus in life. When one forgives they free themselves from such situations. Forgiveness has clearly freed Rwandese people such that they have been able to bring the country back to its feet. Additionally, forgiveness comes along with the peace of mind that causes joy to the lives of people. The political violence in Rwanda definitely affected the mental well-being of the citizens. Some of them have cried at the thought of the event or sight of its physical evidence. Through forgiveness, however, they have been able to find joy. They are able to focus on the things they learned rather than the hurt and struggle they underwent.
ReplyDeleteForgiveness helps people rebuild their lives. Through it, the people of Rwanda were set free from hurtful thoughts. Moreover, they have peace of mind. The mental wellbeing that has been brought about by forgiveness has enabled people to work together despite their ethnic and religious differences. They have helped each other restore their lives by having similar goals of togetherness. Ultimately, the enhancement of peace and rejection of practices that can lead to wars have become an integral part of the Rwandese people.
While forgiveness helps people get past the hate, it has some drawbacks. When a person forgives, they can be viewed as very weak beings thus exposing them to being hurt again. Secondly, forgiveness does not fully provide solutions to the challenges. For instance, even though the Rwandese people have been able to rebuild their lives through forgiveness the loved ones they lost cannot be brought back to life. Some of them are still refugees and others suffer from permanent physical and mental damages caused by the genocide. As such, forgiveness is not the best tool to deal with anger and hatred. Through my experience in Kuwait, I have observed that people get hurt because they fail to use effective strategies to prevent being hurt. The weak rely on prayers and forgiveness but these have failed in promoting peace.
The role of forgiveness in the healing process of post genocide or political violence is crucial in order for the society to move forward. In the case of Rwanda, it has been an ongoing conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus since the Belgium colonization of the country. They have been going back and forth, creating conflicts between each other for years until the genocide in 1994. This idea of separating Tutsis and Hutus in ethnic groups should be unlearned. By teaching them that they are Rwandans instead of minorities or majorities, the sense of togetherness will bring the society together.
ReplyDeleteThis helps people rebuild their lives, as there would hopefully be a decrease in societal tension. This enables them to move forward and forgive each other. As new generations are born and take control of the government and integrate into society, they should remember that the person in front of them was not involved in the mass killings.
In theory, forgiving makes sense and seems plausible. However in reality, it is extremely difficult but can be done through open dialogue and understanding the need to move forward from the past political violence. A drawback in relying on forgiveness as a tool for getting past the hate is that if someone went through a traumatic experience such as watching his or her father, mother, or sibling die by a machete; they would probably want vengeance or some kind of personal justice to be made.
In the case of Kuwait, I personally have not experienced any sort of hate. However, I do sense a sort of superiority when I see other Kuwaitis talking to non-Kuwaitis. Most of the incidents that I have seen happen would be in the airport. The way the police talk to people who are not Kuwaiti is in a very passive-aggressive and dismissive way.
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