Dealing with the Past CAMECO

This special collection focuses on the role of the media and communication in Dealing with Violent Pasts. It is based on the collaboration between the Media Consultancy CAMECO in Aachen (Germany) and the Agiamondo Civil Peace programme on Dealing with the Past in the African Great Lakes region. Within a network of ten civil society organisations, including seven Catholic Justice and Peace Commissions in Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo, CAMECO contributes its expertise in media and communication for Peace. This collection is organised by Justine Cibembe and Christoph Dietz.

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Maintaining the Process? Aid to Transitional Justice in Rwanda and Guatemala, 1995-2005
Key Guides

Ingrid Samset, Stina Petersen, Vibeke Wang

Germany: The Working Group on Development and Peace (FriEnt) (2007), 44 pp.

"How does aid to transitional justice work? What are the patterns, types and causes of such aid? Research on transitional justice (TJ) has boomed in the last couple of decades. In recent years the policy world has also started assisting countries coming out of periods of massive violence. Yet even i ... f this donor engagement emerged more than a decade ago, we still know little about the dynamics of external economic assistance to national transitional justice efforts. This study fills some of this gap. it examines the aid that was given to assist two countries that were “post-conflict”, in the sense of being in a process of transition from a past period of massive armed violence. The two cases, Rwanda and Guatemala from 1995 to 2005, are selected since they received considerable foreign aid to deal with their violent pasts. The failure of the international community to prevent and stop the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the relative success of the efforts to negotiate a solution to Guatemala’s long civil war in the mid-1990s, were followed by considerable donor attention to these two countries’ post-conflict needs – including their need to deal with a past of violence. Yet although much aid was given to transitional justice, little research has been conducted on how this aid has worked, let alone on its scope and patterns. In this study authors take stock of this aid. They do not assess its impact; nor do they look at how it was perceived by the recipients. Yet on the basis of data from donors, in the context of Rwanda and Guatemala from 1995 to 2005 this study: • Maps the terrain – by giving an overview of which donors provided how much aid for what transitional justice mechanisms, when and where; and • Explores some of that terrain – by examining how the transitional justice aid was followed up, to what extent different interventions complemented each other, and what factors influenced donor priorities. Based strictly on the recommendations and concluding arguments in the study, 3 most relevant conclusions can be highlighted : 1 Sustainability requires both local ownership and commitment to the overall goals of transitional justice : The study concludes that donors should not maintain transitional justice processes “just for the sake of it.” Sustainability requires a balance between local ownership and achieving the broader goals of transitional justice: truth, restitution, accountability and reconciliation. 2 Transitional justice support needs greater complementarity between different mechanisms: The study finds that security sector reform dominated transitional justice assistance, while other mechanisms received much less support. It argues that SSR cannot replace mechanisms such as criminal courts, truth commissions and reparations, because it cannot provide truth, acknowledgment or restitution. Donors should therefore support a more balanced approach to transitional justice. 3 Donors should create space for local debate and different perspectives on dealing with the past: The study stresses that local ownership cannot mean allowing only one actor, such as the government, to set the transitional justice agenda. Donors should promote national debates and create space for the views and needs of different groups, including victims. Transitional justice should ultimately contribute to social peace and participatory democracy " (Introduction & Conclusion) more

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Trauma and Journalism: A Guide for Journalists, Editors & Managers

Mark Brayne

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma (2007), 28 pp.

"Trauma is at the heart of news — and of the human condition. How it’s reported gives those who weren’t there their first understanding of what a traumatic event means. Personally. For their families and loved-ones. For their community and their nation. Indeed, for the world as a whole. The jo ... more

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Reporting Transitional Justice: A Handbook for Journalists

Julia Crawford (ed.)

London: BBC World Service Trust; International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) (2007), 77 pp.

"This Handbook is part of a project called “Communicating Justice”. The project is led by the BBC World Service Trust, in partnership with the International Center for Transitional Justice. Its aim is to raise public awareness and debate around transitional justice (TJ) issues in five postconfli ... more

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Heeding the Voiceless: A Guide to Use Oral Testimonies for Radio Documentaries

Dakar: Panos Afrique de l'Ouest (2006), 87 pp.

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Remembering: Oral History Performance

Della Pollock Hall (ed.)

New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2006), xii, 205 pp.

"Drawing on the work of scholars and practitioners such as Augusto Boal, Gloria Anzaldua, and Trinh Minh-ha, these essays advocate oral history and oral history-based performance as means to challenge and expand upon traditional ways of transmitting historical knowledge. The contributors' central co ... more

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Covering Violence: A Guide to Ethical Reporting About Victims and Trauma
Key Guides

Roger Simpson, William Coté

New York: Columbia University Press, 2nd ed. (2006), xv, 295 pp.

"Now in its second edition, Covering Violence remains a crucial guide for becoming a sensitive and responsible reporter. Discussing such topics as rape and the ethics of interviewing children, the book gives students and journalists a detailed understanding of what is happening "on the scene" of a v ... more

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Covering Children & Trauma: A Guide for Journalism Professionals

Ruth Teichroeb

Washington, DC: Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma (2006), 13 pp.

"When children are victims of violence, journalists have a responsibility to report the truth with compassion and sensitivity. Kids aren’t mini-adults; they deserve special consideration when they end up in the news. Yet few journalists have experience interviewing children for routine stories, le ... more

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Story Guide: Building Bridges Using Narrative Techniques

Stephanie Colton, Victoria Ward, Jeannine Brutschin

Bern: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) (2006), 45 pp.

"The act of telling a story is a deceptively simple and familiar process, a way to evoke powerful emotions and insights. By contrast, working with stories in organisational settings – to aid reflection, build communities, transfer practical lear-ning or capitalize experiences – is more complicat ... more

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Dealing with the Past and Transitional Justice: Creating Conditions for Peace, Human Rights and the Rule of Law

Mô Bleeker (ed.)

Bern: Federal Departement of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) (2006), 193 pp.

"[...] 1. It is fair to say that we have come a long way in recent years in developing the concepts of dealing with the past and transitional justice. We now have a good understanding of what is needed for effective transitional justice, as well as the linkages and the dynamics between judicial and ... non-judicial elements. I believe we have created a fairly well-integrated approach to transitional justice, at least in theory. At the same time we are still far from mainstreaming these concepts into the different frameworks of conflict resolution, peacebuilding, long-term development or human rights promotion. So in reality there is a gap between theory and practice, which may be even widening, and between the holistic approach in our mindsets, the implementation and strategies actually applied in the field. 2. As the head of the division at our Ministry, which runs conflict transformation programs at the same time as it deals with human rights policy, I was particularly interested in the dilemmas and conflicts of interest that we are facing in transitional justice. David Bloomfield summarized yesterday’s group discussion by saying that there is no contradiction between justice and peacebuilding, but there is a tension that is greater in the short term than in the long term. I must say I was also impressed by the International Criminal Court’s sensitivity to these issues. It may be at the end of the day when the real dilemmas are fewer than I had thought. This is basically what Juan Méndez has been saying. There are of course some real dilemmas, he argues, but there are also many false ones, and there are good approaches to reduce the real dilemmas, by offering amnesty to rebellion, by separating perpetrators from communities they claim to represent. 3. My third point is linked to the previous one: many of you have been alluding to the emerging norm or the growing recognition of a de iure prohibition of amnesties, including de facto amnesties covering gross violations of human rights, be they crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes. This is a very interesting development. We should examine how we can reinforce this tendency, solidify these emerging norms and (this has also been said) communicate to current and potential perpetrators that this is an issue that is not up for negotiation. 4. My fourth point is on the participation of victims and how transitional justice can improve their situation. Are we really listening to the victims? Do we as external actors know enough about what type of process could satisfy them and support their needs? We have heard that truth, prosecution, reparation and institutional reforms are not sufficient if there is no political will at the level of government and if the latter does not share the healing human feelings of compassion and remorse and accompanying these feelings with concrete actions that dignify victims and make them believe in the non-repetition of violations. The lesson to be learned is that victims should be fully associated with the design and implementation of transitional justice strategies. 5. Let us recognize that transitional justice should be just that: transitional. Yesterday we were reminded that we should be careful about what we term “transitional” in order to avoid giving alibis to states that are not keen on human rights protection. So it is absolutely crucial to create national rule of law systems that work effectively, and nationally owned human rights institutions and policies. As it has been pointed out, the international community is still struggling with the need to effectively extend and support sustainable institution/capacity building." (Conclusions, pages 183-184) more

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Reporting Justice: A Handbook on Covering War Crimes Courts

Stacy Sullivan, Janet Anderson

Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) (2006), 64 pp.

"[This handbook] introduces you to the various kinds of courts in which war crimes are tried; gives an outline of the history of the courts; explains the body of international law under which the courts operate; details how war crimes trials work; and explores the actual process of reporting both in ... more

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The Theatre of Violence: Narratives of Protagonists in the South African Conflict

Don Foster, Paul Haupt, Marésa De Beer

Capetwon; Oxford: Institute of Justice and Reconciliation; HSRC Press; James Currey (2005), xii, 364 pp.

"If the dominant media stereotype portrays perpetrators as monsters, as ‘Prime Evil’, then the dominant academic image is the opposite. It paints them as ordinary people (gender ignored, but assumed as male) diligently under sway of modern bureaucratic compartmentalisation (the banality of evil ... thesis), or as obedient to authority and conforming to social pressures (the situationist thesis). No monsters here, just ordinary people under rather extraordinary circumstances. The moral message: we co uld all potentially become perpetrators, depending on the situation. There is a competing view: the perpetrator as a willing, even eager, executioner driven by strong negative emotions against the ‘other’. The scholarly world presents us with antagonistic perspectives. What picture do we get from narrative approaches, from stories told by those actually responsible for politically-related violence? First, there are only a few narrative studies. Second, they also paint competing pictures. On the one hand, is a picture of the perpetrator as a victim – of organisational routines, hierarchies, pressures and secrecy, and of dominant ideologies, as well as brutal initiation rites which instil the practice of obedience to authority. These narrative studies support the situationist and ordinary person line of explanation. They also correct the erstwhile neglect of gender issues by placing emphasis on masculinity as an important ingredient. On the other hand, the South African storytelling studies by Marks (2001), Straker (1992) and Campbell (1992) throw up a different picture. While victims in one sense – of Bantu education, poverty and violence at the hands of both state security agents and older vigilante groups – they are also action-oriented moral crusaders in defence of their communities and in politically-minded offensive against the apartheid state and its allies. Once again, we have contrasting and competing pictures of those responsible for political violence. In these particular storytelling perspectives, differences are partly due to the different positions of protagonists across the dividing line of power: state security personnel on the one hand and resistance activists on the other. Apart from the conflicting images from varying epistemological perspectives and different theoretical angles, the very label or category of a ‘perpetrator’ is more muddied, contested and problematic than a first glance would suggest. We described seven grey areas which challenge or disrupt the dominant binaries of victim-perpetrator and the triangular view of dramatis personae: perpetrator – ‘victim’ – bystander/observer. Moreover, in Chapter 4, we raise a number of moral quandaries or dilemmas in the study of those responsible for violence, which again dislodge the simple and tidy categories. Therefore a central component of the present study aims to problematise and disrupt the complacency of the very label and category of ‘perpetrator’. What should be done? In the face of these competing images and explanations we carve out a ‘third space’ beyond, or perhaps better, between the theoretical antagonisms of situationism versus agency (willing killers); among the grey areas between category labels of victim/perpetrator/bystander. Rather than this being seen as an alternative position, it should be read as an attempt at synthesis. Instead of the oppositional pairing of ‘either-or’, it should be seen in terms of the inclusive pairing ‘both-and’ (Foster, 1999).We argue that those responsible for violence should be regarded as potentially both victim and perpetrator, as well as both subject to circumstances/influences and active initiators." (Conclusion, page 321-322) more

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Best Practices in Trauma Reporting: Ideas and Insights from Award-Winning Newspaper Articles
Key Guides

Kevin Kawamoto

New York: Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma (2005), 26 pp.

"The goal of this best practices guide is not to provide a template for trauma reporting, although the specific examples should be useful for journalists working on similar stories or faced with similar ethical dilemmas related to trauma reporting. The goal is to help journalists produce professiona ... more

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Deutsche Kolonien: Traum und Trauma

Gisela Graichen, Horst Gründer

Holger Diedrich (Mitarb.)

Berlin: Ullstein, 4th ed. (2005), 479 pp.

"Es ist an der Zeit, die Geschichte des deutschen Kolonialismus mitsamt seinen Abenteurern, Schurken, Gewinnern und Verlierern neu zu erzählen. Die TV-Journalistin Gisela Graichen, nimmt sich zusammen mit dem führenden deutschen Historiker auf diesem Gebiet des lange vergessenen Themas an. So kurz ... more

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Trauma and Cinema: Cross-Cultural Explorations

E. Ann Kaplan, Ban Wang (eds.)

Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press (2004), 288 pp.

"The book discusses how trauma presented in the media spills over national boundaries and can be found in images across divergent cultures in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and America." (Publisher description)

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Medien des kollektiven Gedächtnisses: Konstruktivität - Historizität - Kulturspezifität

Astrid Erll, Ansgar Nünning (eds.)

Berlin; New York: De Gruyter (2004), viii, 310 pp.

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Breaking the Silence: Memory Books and Succession Planning. The Experience of NACWOLA and Save the Children UK in Uganda

Sophie Witter

London: Save the Children; National Community of Women Living with HIVAIDS in Uganda (NACWOLA) (2004), 36 pp.

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Les Blessures psychiques: La force de revivre

Gustave-Nicolas Fischer

Paris: Odile Jacob (2003), 271 pp.

"« Cet ouvrage traite des victimes de traumatismes psychologiques : les survivants des atrocités de guerre, de la torture et des agressions, ainsi que ces hommes et ces femmes qui souffrent quotidiennement de harcèlement émotionnel. L’auteur étudie les cas de plusieurs victimes, parmi lesquel ... more

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Beyond the Trauma Vortex: The Media's Role in Healing Fear, Terror, & Violence

Gina Ross

Peter A. Levine (foreword)

Berkeley: North Atlantic Books (2003), xviii, 210 pp.

"In Beyond the Trauma Vortex, Gina Ross proposes a collaboration between the media, trauma researchers, and helping officials in order to break the vicious cycle of trauma and violence. The media, Ross suggests, can use their tremendous influence to promote peace rather than violence and to heal wou ... more

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Die (koloniale) Begegnung: AfrikanerInnen in Deutschland 1880 - 1945, Deutsche in Afrika 1880 - 1918

Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst (ed.)

Frankfurt am Main et al.: Peter Lang (2003), 332 pp.

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Recreando el pasado: Guía metodológica para la memoria y la historia local

Mario Garcés Durán

Santiago de Chile: Educación y Comunicaciones (ECO) (2002), 33 pp.

Maintaining the Process? Aid to Transitional Justice in Rwanda and Guatemala, 1995-2005 Key Guides

Covering Violence: A Guide to Ethical Reporting About Victims and Trauma Key Guides

Best Practices in Trauma Reporting: Ideas and Insights from Award-Winning Newspaper Articles Key Guides

Maintaining the Process? Aid to Transitional Justice in Rwanda and Guatemala, 1995-2005
Key Guides

Covering Violence: A Guide to Ethical Reporting About Victims and Trauma
Key Guides

Best Practices in Trauma Reporting: Ideas and Insights from Award-Winning Newspaper Articles
Key Guides