U of R student: forgiveness essential for reconciliation
Lessons from Sierra Leone civil war can apply here, says survivor
Victor Kaicombey believes forgiveness is essential for a successful truth and reconciliation process. He speaks from experience.
Kaicombey survived the civil war in Sierra Leone, then worked with its truth and reconciliation commission before immigrating to Winnipeg in 2005.
“Reconciliation is a process and it starts from the individual, so the individual has to forgive,” said Kaicombey, who is pursuing his master’s degree in justice studies at the University of Regina.
“I was able to forgive my perpetrators, that is the people that came and killed my family, the people that took guns to run after me … the people that made me lose most of my education, my future, that set me back.”
After a bachelor’s degree in human rights and global studies from the University of Winnipeg in 2013, Kaicombey is now comparing Canada’s truth and reconciliation work to that of Sierra Leone’s.
He’ll discuss his research at a public event in Regina on Wednesday night.
“Some people can argue that in the Canadian context, it is not a war,” said Kaicombey, who grew up in Segbwema. “But … there is one common thing there, which is abuse. It is a human rights abuse.
“In the context I’m looking at is that sustainable reconciliation can only take place … if really we look at forgiveness. Forgiveness starts from the individual; it goes to the community and the nation.”
The Sierra Leone TRC was borne of the Lomé Peace Agreement in 1999 between the federal government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The Truth and Reconciliation Act was proclaimed in 2000. At least 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed during the war, which officially ran from 1991 to 2002.
The TRC heard from victims and perpetrators who had experienced, or inflicted, amputations, abductions, rape, sexual slavery, cannibalism and general destruction.
Canada’s TRC was established in June 2008 and its final report was issued in December 2015. It explored the history of Canada’s Indian residential schools and the impact of decades of systemic injustice toward Indigenous people.
Kaicombey took statements from victims and perpetrators in Sierra Leone for about a year. He moved to Canada believing his life was at stake; he spoke against dictatorship as a youth leader, and spent a year of the war in exile.
The TRC “looked at the community and the victims; we bring them together and the (perpetrator) asks for forgiveness and the community forgives themselves,” said Kaicombey.
Today, Sierra Leone is in a much better place, said Kaicombey, with most victims re-integrated into the community.
But, “What brought the war is still there. Just like when we look at the system here, the colonialism, what really happened is still happening in most contexts there.”
Those problems include poor governance and corruption, and people’s needs not being met, he added.
Like Canada, Sierra Leone was colonized by the British.
The Sierra Leone TRC issued financial reparations to victims following their testimonies.
In Canada, there was a settlement agreement in 2006, two years before the TRC launched.
While reparation and restitution are crucial to reconciliation, said Kaicombey, they should come after consultations with the people.
“The first thing the government did was to put a financial symbol at the reparation, giving money to them. In my own context, in most other countries, reparation comes as the result from the final report of the truth commission. You first have to come sit with the people, talk to the people,” said Kaicombey.
“I can’t say money is bad,” he added, “it’s good, but in terms of engaging the people themselves, involving them to be more participatory, in terms of developing or addressing their own needs, that will help to be more sustainable because they will be part of the process.”
Kaicombey will share his research Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Wesley United Church, 3913 Hillsdale St. The event is open to the public.