This is an insight written by Sara Rissanen on the recent Bahá’í Chair for World Peace lecture, Reentry and Reintegration after Genocide, by Dr. Hollie Nyseth Brehm held on October 29, 2020.
Genocide. It’s an incredibly difficult topic to discuss. Throughout this talk by Dr. Nyseth Brehm, we didn’t just hear the difficulties of a nation struck by genocide. Instead, we heard a story of reparation and forgiveness. This talk led me to a deeper exploration of human nature and what factors and conditions lead to forgiveness and reconciliation.
Community is at the core of successful reentry and reintegration. The community members of such a horrifying and tragic event as the 1994 Rwandan genocide have an incredibly difficult role in acknowledging the individuals returning from prison as people instead of genocidaires, a viewpoint that aims to see returning individuals as a people who are redeemable, not just as their past actions.
How others label us, and how we come to label ourselves, is important, as labeling theory outlines. Dr. Nyseth Brehm’s research shows that labels matter. How we talk about things matters. In her research, she found a strong correlation in whether individuals were stigmatized and success in reintegration.
The structural narratives of violence in Rwandan communities have shaped the history of the 1994 genocide to be inclusive of the factors that led up the genocide – from colonialism to racialized identities. Shaping it in such a way allows for members of the community to, not forgive the actions of individuals, but put the actions into context. It allows for the understanding that people are responsible for their own actions but they are also influenced by their social surroundings. Understanding a holistic perspective of such a tragic event creates understanding, which can then be a basis for forgiveness.
Gestures of reacceptance put the person before their actions and show the openness of community members to engage further with the returning individuals. These community members have welcomed back individuals who were responsible for killing their loved ones. Think about how hard it would be to be neighborly and accepting to someone who caused harm to a family member of yours, maybe even your own child. This unimaginable ability to forgive has allowed Rwanda to move past the mistakes of the past.
Rwanda’s ability to recover from being a war-torn country and the 1994 genocide is a display of the resilience of humanity. There are numerous lessons we can take with us from this research, applying it back into our lives and our communities. These include the importance of community and the power of forgiveness. This talk has also asked us to consider what we owe to each other, not just the innocent but the guilty as well.
I would like to thank Dr. Nyseth Brehm for her impactful research and for taking the time to share her work with us.
You can watch the full video of the lecture on our YouTube page here.
About the Author
Sara Rissanen is a senior studying Marketing at the University of Maryland. She is currently the Marketing Specialist at the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace. Sara hopes to create a better future by opening the conversation of peace-building among her peers.