Tabuk City, Kalinga – A peace advocate has proposed the establishment of a body similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of South Africa as a means to heal the deep wounds inflicted by tribal and criminal violence in this province and to prevent them from erupting into fresh violence.
Roman Catholic Bishop Prudencio Andaya informed the media that Chito Generoso, director of the Interfaith Commission on the Culture of Non-violence (ICCN) who was here this week to conduct a seminar on trauma resolution and reconciliation organized by the local Peacemakers’ Movement (PMM) had proposed the creation of the body as an important step towards lasting peace in Kalinga.
Andaya described the South African model which was organized and went to work after the abolition of apartheid as a body which brought the victims and the perpetrators of violence face to face with the former recounting their violent experience or loss of loved ones and the latter confessing their atrocities and asking for forgiveness and amnesty from prosecution.
“There are a lot of things to be considered. The situation of South Africa and Kalinga are different. In South Africa, it was the government versus the people while in Kalinga it is people versus people. We also have a vindictive culture. The groundworks should be thoroughly put in place so that people who confess their violent acts will not be the subject of vengeance or legal action,” Andaya said.
Andaya foresees that there will be resistance because for one thing, in order to settle a case of violence in the province, the payment of indemnity is a must while in the TRC of South Africa, those who confessed their acts were forgiven.
Andaya, however, implied that the proposal is worth considering and that if ever it will be set up, it should be sponsored by the government.
Andaya revealed that as part of its peace efforts, the PMM has organized the trauma and reconciliation seminar because of the recent realization that the healing of the trauma left by tribal and criminal violence in the province has been overlooked in the local peacemaking procedures.
“Many of the revenge killings in the province spring up due to unresolved tensions in the family. Even if settlement is made there are still a lot of cases of revenge killings because the victims are left unaided. We would like to focus our attention to the orphans and the widows. For one, the orphans are potential avengers. In trauma, there is what we call transgenerational effect which means that if the hurts of a generation remain unresolved, it could spring up in two or three generations just like revenging for a grandfather,” Andaya, founder of the PMM, said.
Started in 2003, the PMM whose members are the relatives of victims of violence who are sworn to non-violence is trying to help the orphans overcome their trauma through guidance and counseling programs and is also looking for help for the establishment of a scholarship program for them in the hope of “preventing killings later.”
Engr. Andres Ngao-i, PMM coordinator, states that it is not enough to solve cases whether through amicable settlement or through the courts.
“The payment of the indemnity is not enough to bring complete healing. There should be trauma healing in order to attain lasting reconciliation,” Ngao-i, an experienced peace negotiator, said.
Asked how the PMM can intervene in a current case which involves a fierce tribe, Andaya said that the PMM “should reach out to all victims regardless of status and tribal affiliation.”
“We should be tactful and strategize because they are still grieving. And perhaps, even those who have inflicted the wounds are in need of healing. I am sure they are restless even if we say they have no conscience,” Andaya said.
For his part, Ngao-i is positive that had the trauma-healing seminar been held earlier and the PMM stepped into the recent cases of killings, the revenge killings would have been prevented.
“Had the PMM gone to them, they may have said we think about it. Our thinking then was it is hard to enter the cases immediately because emotions were still running high. They might be insulted. We waited for things to cool down. Counselors should go to console and counsel the relatives of the victims as soon as possible,” Ngao-i said. **By Estanislao Albano Jr.-ZZW
Roman Catholic Bishop Prudencio Andaya informed the media that Chito Generoso, director of the Interfaith Commission on the Culture of Non-violence (ICCN) who was here this week to conduct a seminar on trauma resolution and reconciliation organized by the local Peacemakers’ Movement (PMM) had proposed the creation of the body as an important step towards lasting peace in Kalinga.
Andaya described the South African model which was organized and went to work after the abolition of apartheid as a body which brought the victims and the perpetrators of violence face to face with the former recounting their violent experience or loss of loved ones and the latter confessing their atrocities and asking for forgiveness and amnesty from prosecution.
“There are a lot of things to be considered. The situation of South Africa and Kalinga are different. In South Africa, it was the government versus the people while in Kalinga it is people versus people. We also have a vindictive culture. The groundworks should be thoroughly put in place so that people who confess their violent acts will not be the subject of vengeance or legal action,” Andaya said.
Andaya foresees that there will be resistance because for one thing, in order to settle a case of violence in the province, the payment of indemnity is a must while in the TRC of South Africa, those who confessed their acts were forgiven.
Andaya, however, implied that the proposal is worth considering and that if ever it will be set up, it should be sponsored by the government.
Andaya revealed that as part of its peace efforts, the PMM has organized the trauma and reconciliation seminar because of the recent realization that the healing of the trauma left by tribal and criminal violence in the province has been overlooked in the local peacemaking procedures.
“Many of the revenge killings in the province spring up due to unresolved tensions in the family. Even if settlement is made there are still a lot of cases of revenge killings because the victims are left unaided. We would like to focus our attention to the orphans and the widows. For one, the orphans are potential avengers. In trauma, there is what we call transgenerational effect which means that if the hurts of a generation remain unresolved, it could spring up in two or three generations just like revenging for a grandfather,” Andaya, founder of the PMM, said.
Started in 2003, the PMM whose members are the relatives of victims of violence who are sworn to non-violence is trying to help the orphans overcome their trauma through guidance and counseling programs and is also looking for help for the establishment of a scholarship program for them in the hope of “preventing killings later.”
Engr. Andres Ngao-i, PMM coordinator, states that it is not enough to solve cases whether through amicable settlement or through the courts.
“The payment of the indemnity is not enough to bring complete healing. There should be trauma healing in order to attain lasting reconciliation,” Ngao-i, an experienced peace negotiator, said.
Asked how the PMM can intervene in a current case which involves a fierce tribe, Andaya said that the PMM “should reach out to all victims regardless of status and tribal affiliation.”
“We should be tactful and strategize because they are still grieving. And perhaps, even those who have inflicted the wounds are in need of healing. I am sure they are restless even if we say they have no conscience,” Andaya said.
For his part, Ngao-i is positive that had the trauma-healing seminar been held earlier and the PMM stepped into the recent cases of killings, the revenge killings would have been prevented.
“Had the PMM gone to them, they may have said we think about it. Our thinking then was it is hard to enter the cases immediately because emotions were still running high. They might be insulted. We waited for things to cool down. Counselors should go to console and counsel the relatives of the victims as soon as possible,” Ngao-i said. **By Estanislao Albano Jr.-ZZW
