Better not bitter says activist Mukoko

By Taurainashe Manonge in The Zimbabwe Telegraph:

Abducted and tortured activist Jestina Mukoko, has said that the pain and trauma she experienced in the hands of state officials last year, has left her Better and not bitter.

Speaking on December 17, 2009 at a meeting organised by the Zimbabwe Human rights forum to celebrate her City of Weimar Human Rights Award, Mukoko also director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, said it was inner strength and the knowledge that people all over the world were rallying alongside with her that kept her going.

“I believe there was a purpose in all this. It might have been a nasty experience but looking at how I now deal with people who have been tortured I have a different perspective to it.”

Dec 24, 2009 National Reconciliation, Victim, Religion, Region: Africa, Country:Zimbabwe

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Long road to healing in Zimbabwe

from Mark Yaconnelli's article in Ashland Daily Tidings:

On the second day of the National Healing and Reconciliation Workshop, after a period of heartfelt prayers and singing, one pastor stood and read the following: "Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

"This is a day for victims," facilitator Mazvita Machinga announced.

It was a day when organizers hoped to create awareness among pastors and community leaders of the needs of victims of political violence within Zimbabwe. In the first exercise of the day, people were placed in small groups and asked to discuss the following questions: What types of victimization have people in your community experienced? What do these victims feel as a result of their suffering? What do these victims need for healing?

Dec 18, 2009 National Reconciliation

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Civil Rights and Restorative Justice project at Northeastern University School of Law

from the project's website:

The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) conducts research and supports policy initiatives on anti-civil rights violence in the United States and other miscarriages of justice of that period. Located at Northeastern University School of Law, CRRJ serves as a resource for scholars, policymakers, and organizers involved in various initiatives seeking justice for crimes of the civil rights era.

There is broad consensus in American political culture that the law enforcement system, particularly in the Deep South, failed to protect participants in the 1960s-era Civil Rights Movement from anti-civil rights violence. Communities across the country are grappling with how to make amends decades after these events. Some have turned to the criminal justice system. State and local prosecutors have brought fresh cases against the perpetrators of old hate crimes. Federal legislation has been proposed to enhance state investigations. A sense of urgency hangs over these efforts, for those most affected by the events are aging.

CRRJ focuses on these public policy and criminal justice initiatives. It conducts research into the nature and extent of anti-civil rights violence. CRRJ works with members of a diverse community – prosecutors, lawmakers, victims – that is seeking genuine reconciliation through legal proceedings, law reform, and private investigations. CRRJ assists these groups to assess and develop a range of policy approaches, including criminal prosecutions, truth and reconciliation proceedings, and legislative remedies. On the research front, CRRJ’s work aims to develop reliable data with which to analyze events of anti-civil rights violence and to support research into the history and current significance of anti-civil rights violence.

Dec 10, 2009 National Reconciliation, Country:USA

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Video of Bougainville conference

from the Peacebuilding Compared website:

On the 13 and 14th June 2007 a public conference was held at Hutjena High School Hall in Buka on Building Sustainable Peace in Bougainville. It was timed to coincide with the 2nd anniversary of autonomous government for Bougainville and was part of the official program of celebrations for the anniversary.

It was an opportunity for the people of Bougainville to draw their own lessons from their history, to reflect on the strengths of Bougainville society in building sustainable peace and development and to look forward thinking critically about where there is still work to be done.

Dec 03, 2009 National Reconciliation

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Peacebuilding Compared Project

from the project's website:

The United Nations is putting foreign troops and police into peacekeeping operations more than in the past. So are other organisations like the African Union. What works in peacebuilding? What are the kinds of interventions that create wars and make things worse for the people? How can international peacebuilding and international law contribute to justice and human development after armed conflict? These are the questions we seek to answer in the Peacebuilding Compared Project.

Dec 02, 2009 National Reconciliation

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