The Paths Towards Justice and Reconciliation“The paths towards Justice

and Reconciliation”

II COLOMBIAN CONFERENCE Harvard University-MIT, April 27 2013

Leonel Narváez Gómez Fundación para la Reconciliación

www.fundacionparalareconciliación.org

Questions1. What is the contribution of the Fundación para la

Reconciliación in the achievement of peace in Colombia?

2. Which is your main achievement to justice and reconciliation in Colombia?

3. Which is your main challenge in view of having justice and reconciliation in Colombia?

12 years urging another view of the conflict!

At the very basis, what defines the Colombian conflict is:

1- A history of exclusion at economic, political and social level (objective factors)

2- BUT ALSO a collectively accumlated anger, hatred and URGE FOR VENGENCE that has not yet been constructively transformed... (subjective factors).

Colombia: A Future Example to the World?

AS IT WAS THE CASE FOR SOUTH AFRICA 20 YEARS AGO, with the work on RECONCILIATION

COLOMBIA IS NOW ON THE BRINK OF DEVISING AN IMPACTING NEW APPROACH TO VIOLENCE: THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF FORGIVENESS AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE.

Additional to countries in L.A, COUNTRIES like Lebanon, Libya and Rwanda start to use this Colombia Technology.

I- What is the contribution of the Fundación para la Reconciliación?

1. Political Culture of Forgiveness and Restorative Justice.

2. Pedagogy of Care and Reconciliation in the schools. Includes Adult Literacy (Learning to read, to write…and to forgive!)

3. The model of Centers of Reconciliation

4. A National and an International Network for Reconciliation that includes 15 Countries of the Americas.

Main achievements

People trained in the Political Culture of Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Colombia:

- 2500 Trainers of Trainers in 45 cities of Colombia - 4500 Ex-combatants prepared to forgive, ask

forgiveness and make reparations. - 105.000 secondary school and adult literacy students. - 250.000 victims of violence.- Presence in 60 cities of 15 countries of the Americas

with over 320.000 people already trained. - Now starting in Lybia, Lebanon and Rwanda.

MAIN CHALLENGE FOR PEACE IN COLOMBIA?

How to overcome two problems: 1- The Political Economy of anger and hatred.

2- Healing the frozen Memory of the Past and the need for a narrative turn.

FIRST PROBLEM!

The Political Economy of

Anger and Hatred!

LA PUTA RABIA!

(The damn anger)

The Damn Anger…

The great majority of victims who have received justice, truth, reparation (and protection against repetion of violence) ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO OVERCOME THEIR ANGER, SADNESS, HATRED, DESIRE FOR VENGENCE… or LA PUTA RABIA… (DAMN ANGER!) of the offenses inflicted on them.

How can I take this damn anger out of me?

• In my luggage, for 7 years, I kept travelling with the shirt and trousers that I had the day I was tortured by the army: I could not get rid of my hatred and anger! (Pacho Galán, ELN ex-Leader 2013)

The Damn Anger…

A trade unionist called Manuel Marulanda Vélez was killed with wood sticks and stones in Bogota in 1952.

That was the name assumed by Pedro Antonio Marin –Tirofijo (sure-shot)- the founder of FARC.

“I convinced 14 cousins of mine and together decided to go to the mountains with old shotguns and machetes…” (Alape A. La vida de Pedro Antonio Marín, Manuel Marulanda Vélez Tirofijo, Planeta. Bogotá, 1989.

This Damn Anger…

“When I was 12, my Dad made me swear that I will take revenge for my uncle who was castrated and his eyes gouged out in front of me! (Martin Sombra, for 40 years Jailer of Farc Kidnapped people).

This Damn Anger…

• “I have not been able to get rid of the very strong anger I felt when I was 10 years old and I saw a group o paramilitary people violating my mother in turns!”. (An 22 years old victim)

PERVERSE CYCLE

URGE FOR REVENGE

RESENTMENT (HATRED) (vindictive memory)ANGER

Mobilization of the Archaic Brain!!!

The damn anger and hatredproduce a vindictive memory…

Political leaders know the great profit of the Mobilization of anger and hatred!

“Santos es un Canalla y un

mentiroso redomado!!”

For 60 years, Colombian politicians have been experts in the economics of hatred and the technology of mobilization of anger!

Venezuela: The Archaic Brain in Full Action!

A historical coincidence:

The Archaic Brain in Full Action!!!

The Archaic Brain in Full Action!!!

During the most violent decade in Colombian history (1995-2005) there were 3 famous people whose paths coincided in the history of Colombia:

CASTAÑO, TIROFIJO Y URIBE!

ALL OF THEM WITH A STRONG VINDICTIVE MEMORY! (León Valencia, Nuevo Arco Iris, 2012)

Paradoxically…

Authors like Glaeser propose:“The most effective weapon against hatred IS

building hatred against the haters. This mechanism taps into the same emotional mechanisms that hatred itself uses”.

Glaeser Edward L. THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF HATRED, Working Paper 9171 http://www.nber.org/papers/w9171, NATIONAL

BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, 2002 , p. 50-51.

The Technology of Production of Hatred

• It works under the law of Supply and Demand (just… like Coca-Cola) and easily, people get addicted!

• If anger and hatred are not transformed…then violence escalates or perpetuates!

HOW TO BREAK THIS VICIOUS CYCLE?

SECOND PROBLEM!Anger and hatred are slaves of the

past… Of a frozen memory

that keeps producing NARRATIVES of anger and hatred!

THE DANGER OF A FROZEN MEMORY • Abuses of Memory (Teodorov), Against

remembrance (Rieff), Memory, history and forgetting (Ricouer), or Poisoned memories (Savater)…

They argue that memories of the past have the perverse effect:

1. of becoming an arsenal for more violence… 2. of perpetuating collective victimhood… and easily

to spark new forms of violence.

THE DANGER OF A FROZEN MEMORY

• The Colombian program of HISTORIC MEMORY… valuable work • But perhaps AN ARSENAL FOR

MORE VIOLENCE?

We claim the Right to Hermeneutics!

When the memory of the past is not properly transformed

( = the rigth to hermeneutics or the right to composition)

then RETALIATION is the natural result.

Urgent need!

A frozen Memory in need of becoming memory in

action…Or the need for a Narrative

Turn!!!

From Anger and Hatred to Compassion!

• When memory is properly processed people generate compassion, kindness, mercy… and often accept JOINT RESPONSIBILITY of the conflict.

• VICTIMS COME OUT OF VICTIMIZATION AND

BECOME VICTORS = political actors!

It is possible only if…

- If there is an evolutionary leap (ascension) FROM THE ARCHAIC-REPTILIC BRAIN

- To the NEW BRAIN made of Compassion, Mercy, Kindness!!!

- H. Arendt proposes forgiveness as a solution against the past: It is a political virtue!

POLITICAL CULTURE OF FORGIVENESS AND RESTORATIVE

JUSTICE (RECONCILIATION)

THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF FORGIVENESS

What Forgiveness is: • A move from a frozen memory of the past…to a

transformative memory opening the horizon of a better future!

• it is a process of personal-hygiene. • IT DOES NOT necessarily INVOLVE THE OFFENDER

(there is forgiveness without reconciliation)• It does NOT mean forgetting or avoidance of Justice.

Basic Structure of the Schools of Forgiveness and Reconciliation “ESPERE”

• Groups of 12-18 people • Trainer of Trainers Approach • 60 hours workshops, divided in 11 modules.

Facilitated by trained staff and volunteers. • Strict pacts of confidentiality• Small Group Work

The Most Important Action both with Victims and

Victimizers

Is to restore 3 basic pillars of life:

1- Significance (meaning ) of life

2- Sense of security

3- Socialization skills

-5.37

-2.84

-4.32

-2.11-2.58

1.21

-7.00

-6.00

-5.00

-4.00

-3.00

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-1.00

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1.00

2.00

3.00

Pre Post

PROMEDIO

Cognitivo Emocional Conductual

Impact Measurement (Toro J. 2009)

SummarySummary• In the process of Forgiveness: – MANAGEMENT OF MEMORY. – How to make the narrative turn and generate new

narratives (de-construction of the image of the enemy).

• RESULT: no retaliation! • In the process of reconciliation: – How to recuperate TRUST between victim-offender

providing truth, justice, reparation and pacts of non repetition?

Conclusions -1

• The Law of Victims: Impressive work being done to help victims have their Land, Health, Education, Psychological support:

• BUT THIS IS NOT ENOUGH! It lacks the essential component to overcome the puta rabia… The vindictive memory! Some say it is a personal problem not the job of the Government! Is AIDS or alcohol not personal and Government problem?

• NB: Great work done by ACR with ex-combatants!

CONCLUSION-2

• The Political Culture of Forgiveness and Restorative Justive is a contribution towards the reconstruction of the human tissue.

• Peace is more sustainable!!!

CONCLUSION-3Humanity is rapidly moving from HOMO

SAPIENS to HOMO REPARANS!

Conclusion 3An Urgent Human Cultural and Political Leap

• Moving from the myth of JUSTICE understood as proportionality and PUNISHMENT (ARCHAIC BRAIN)

Towards JUSTICE UNDERSTOOD AS REPARATION, GENEROSITY, MERCY, COMPASSION… FOR- GIVING!

(A powerful example is the Law of Justice and Peace!)

Conclusion 5Human rights

• Moving from the puritanical generation of Human Rights demanding total PUNITY…

• Towards forgiveness not only as a POLITICAL VIRTUE BUT ALSO AS A HUMAN RIGHT.

Conclusion 6

THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION DOES NOT CHANGE THE PAST…

BUT CHANGES THE FUTURE!

And Finally…

• Humanity is certainly moving towards a higher cultural level characterized by the explosion of the FEMENINE OF HUMANITY made of care, kindness and compassion.

• Those of you who have made the effort to move from the archaic brain to a more evolutioned stage

understand this better!!!

Conclusion

• Over two hundred years ago KANT commented that if human history were destined to culminate in universal peace it would have to confront a serious dilemma: achieve peace by way of moral inspiration or through a process of boundless, catastrophic, violence.

• This is the choice Colombia has at this juncture of its history.

• The political culture of forgiveness and reconciliation is proving to be a good answer!

“NO FUTURE WITHOUT

FORGIVENESS” (Desmond Tutu).

Muchas gracias!