Seminar: Trauma-Informed Approach

The second seminar in the Dealing with the Past series was hosted online on 18 May 2020, with some 250 people joining online. I chaired this important online event.

The seminar was entitled "The need for a trauma-informed approach to address the conflict's legacy" and was delivered by Professor Siobhan O'Neill on 18 May 2020. In this seminar Professor O'Neill presents the evidence on the transgenerational impact of trauma, and highlights the importance of a "trauma-informed" approach to addressing the conflict's legacy to protect the population from further harm.

The seminar is part of the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) and INCORE, in partnership with Healing Through Remembering and the John Hume and Thomas P. O'Neill Chair in Peace, online seminar series. The seminar was chaired by Professor Brandon Hamber.

Breaking Binary History Online Seminar

The first of the "Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland" seminar series is now available online. The seminar was entitled "Breaking Binary History: Can the Stormont House Agreement facilitate a broader and more representative understanding of the past?"" by Dr Adrian Grant on 7 May 2020.

The seminar is part of the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) and INCORE, in partnership with Healing Through Remembering and the John Hume and Thomas P. O'Neill Chair in Peace, online seminar series.

Dealing with the Past Seminar Series

Despite the challenging current context debates about how to address Northern Ireland's past continue. I am delighted to be organising in my capacity as John Hume and Thomas P. O'Neill Chair in Peace - with the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) and INCORE and in partnership with Healing Through Remembering - and important seminar series on this issue.  This online seminar series will explore the Stormont House Agreement and dealing with the past in Northern Ireland and run for the remainder of the year.

Find out more and review the schedule of seminars.

Resilience to Conflict: Integrated, Granular Measure

It was a pleasure hosting the Seminar "Resilience to Conflict - A New, Integrated, Granular Measure" by Dr David Backer (University of Maryland) working with community partners Healing Through Remembering on 25 May 2017. The seminar explored the issue of resilience, an important topic in peacebuilding and international development.The seminar was part of a new formal partnership between Ulster University and the University of Maryland. Watch the seminar below.

Basque Social Forum to Promote the Peace Process

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Basque Social Forum to Promote the Peace Process, bakebidea.com. I was asked to speak about Dealing with the Past.

Below is my Tweet record of my talk. Obviously, a summary but core ideas contained.

Tweet record sent 16 March 2013:

• Yesterday had the pleasure of speaking at the Basque Social Forum to Promote the Peace Process www.bakebidea.com #bakeforo
• Bake Bidea seeks to promote reflection about the Basque peace process through dialogue with the public in public forums #bakeforo
• Speakers included myself, Colm Campbell, Kieran McEvoy (@kieranmcevoy2), Andy Carl, and Martin Snodden (pictured above in order) followed by public discussion
• We spoke in Bilbao to an audience of some 300, my topic was dealing with the past #bakeforo
• Dealing with the past is the process of addressing a legacy of violence #bakeforo
• Conflict is often about simplicity, we are divided, good and bad. Dealing with the past is about embracing complexity #bakeforo
• When I talk about dealing with the past I draw on Healing Through Remembering (@HTRinfo) who are concerned with structured, active and purposeful attempts #bakeforo
• Dealing with the past is a wide ranging subject, but largely focuses on what strategies and mechanisms #bakeforo
• Examples include, among others, storytelling, to memorialization, to truth commissions, apologies, community projects, reparations #bakeforo
• Drawing a line is a way of dealing with the past, but it generally does not work. Look at the case of Spanish Civil War now #bakeforo
• From my experience there are six key lessons we now know about dealing with the past in countries emerging from violence #bakeforo
• Lesson 1: Dealing with the past is wider than a truth commission, you need multiple strategies at different levels over long term #bakeforo
• You can do dealing with the past work in the absence of political agreements and it continues after formal processes like TRCs too #bakeforo
• Lesson 2: different political realities determine the types of approaches taken. No one approach. It always involves compromise #bakeforo
• Political realities mean for example complete amnesty is unlikely and incomplete retributive justice for victims is a reality #bakeforo
• Lesson 3: You need a wider aim and vision. Victims are central and those involved in violence, but the process is about society #bakeforo
• You need social and political buy in into processes with all players involved, it is top down and bottom up, and institutional #bakeforo
• Lesson 4: seek complexity and learn to live with different views of the past, while “narrowing permissible lies” (Ignatieff) #bakeforo
• Absolute truth is not possible. But we can narrow what societies see as acceptable and break myths about the past #bakeforo
• In South Africa it was helpful to know all sides committed violations, maybe for different reasons, but there was a dirty war #bakeforo
• We must highlight stories of complexity that challenge our simplistic notions of good and bad #bakeforo
• Getting information about causes, nature and extent of a conflict is important through truth recovery processes #bakeforo
• Lesson 5: we need to seek new ways of framing the conflict and create the spaces where we can do this #bakeforo
• We need to pay attention to language and symbols, not become fixated but work through processes to understand the latent meaning #bakeforo
• We must engage in public discussions about the past, and reframe issues like the changing of murals in Belfast #bakeforo
• ...or victims and combatants to be given space to speak of their experiences #bakeforo
• Lesson 6: trust must be built at all levels and honesty in engagement is vital to maintain trust (HTR) #bakeforo
• We should not lie to victims for example and promise them complete justice when the political reality is this won't happen #bakeforo
• But confidence building mechanisms are needed like apologies and acknowledgement, along with consultation and participation #bakeforo
• Thank you and all the best with the Forum, this type of public engagement is important in peace processes #bakeforo

Tweets sent by others referring to my input on 15 March 2013:

• @PaulRios Hamber: los conflictos son sencillos (buenos/malos) Los procesos de paz son complejos #bakeforo (at 6:35pm)
• @PaulRios Hamber: olvidar puede ser una estrategia pero no funciona #bakeforo (at 6:38pm)
• @PaulRios Hamber: las amnistías completas no tienen sitio en el contexto internacional #bakeforo (at 6:47pm)
• @PaulRios Hamber: las víctimas son centrales en estos proceso pero el proceso es acerca de la convivencia en la sociedad #bakeforo (at 6:48pm)
• @PaulRios Hamber: la honestidad es fundamental. Por ejemplo, hay quien crea falsas expectativas en las víctimas #bakeforo (at 6:57pm)
• @BarcenaPatricia Hamber: Aprender a vivir con visiones diferentes. Como la verdad absoluta no es posible hay limitar "las mentiras posibles" en #bakeforo (at 10:15pm)

Truth recovery: In principle where do you stand?

Just News: CAJ Newsletter, 3 January 2008

The question of how Northern Ireland deals with its past has become commonplace. This mainstreaming marks a major shift. A few years ago the question itself was off limits. That said, exactly how the society should deal with its past remains unclear. Some still favour “drawing a line” under it.

Last year the Consultative Panel on the Past was set up by the British government to provide a way forward on the dealing with the past. Questions remain whether it is the best vehicle to answer these questions, nonetheless work has begun with most adopting a "wait and see" attitude.

Recently the Panel burst into public view with controversies about whether amnesty should be granted and if the conflicts of the past should be labelled a ‘war’ or not. Although this is a strange place for the discussion to start, it belies wider questions. In terms of amnesty, what compromises will be needed to deal with the past? And for the "war" question, how should the extent of the conflict be acknowledged and whose actions were legitimate?

This is not to say that nothing has been happening on the dealing with the past front. There have been many inquiries; cases before the European Court of Human Rights; and there is the Historical Enquiries Team. At the civil society level, the Healing Through Remembering initiative has made a significant contribution. The project, which has members from all different political perspectives, has presented options for truth recovery, hosted a Day of Reflection, considered methods such as storytelling and provided ideas for a living memorial museum.

Photo by Clay Banks / Unsplash

So Northern Ireland is, at least to a degree, engaged in a process of dealing with the past. The bigger question is whether more is needed and how structured this should be. But this question in itself creates apprehension. Some fear any method of dealing with the past will be a republican Trojan Horse to put the British state in the dock. Others fear no one will “come clean” especially paramilitaries and the two governments. There are also those that fear truth is damaging and will destroy the peace process. The question of whether justice will be done for past violations also remains critical, especially for some victims. Many worry that any method for dealing with the past that is not judicial will extinguish hopes of justice.

Working with Healing Through Remembering over the years, and through my own research, I have heard all these arguments (and others) on countless occasions. What is interesting about them from the international perspective is that they are also the arguments used by other countries when arguing for a structured approach to dealing with the past, especially a truth commission.

I have heard people from Liberia to Peru argue for a truth commission because they fear that if nothing is done one version of the past will dominate history. If all accounts of the past are put on the table, all will come out tarnished, even those who think everything they did was correct. Similarly, if no one wants to “come clean” then an independent body with powers such as search, subpoena and seizure should be put in place to investigate the past. Those who do not cooperate, including the state, should be labelled as such. Some victims also voice the need for alternative mechanisms to courts because courts often fail to deliver justice, especially en masse. And finally, contrary to the view that the truth is damaging, many argue that if the truth about the past does not come out, it will pollute the future.

So where does this leave the larger questions about the past in Northern Ireland? 

For me it highlights how people are better at articulating why the past should be avoided rather that why it should be confronted. What is at the heart of this resistance?

All that can be surmised is that no one is clear whether their view of history and their actions will be vindicated. To this end, one critical question needs to be answered: is truth about past violations a right? Do we think knowing about the past from all sides, including paramilitaries, the two governments, as well as institutions that shaped the past from churches to the media, is important in principle? If so, then surely the next step is not to list all the reasons this will never be possible, but rather to ask how society can ensure truth can be delivered in a way that has political and social backing, independence and integrity.

Reference: Hamber, B. (2008). Truth recovery: In principle where do you stand? Just News: CAJ Newsletter, January, 3.

Day of Reflection

Healing Through Remembering is calling for a Private Day of Reflection on 21 June 2007 focused on the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. The Day of Reflection website - www.dayofreflection.com - is now live. The website contains all the latest information regarding the forthcoming initial Day of Private Reflection on Thursday, 21 June 2007.

Ideas for a Museum to the Conflict in and about Northern Ireland

WANTED: IDEAS ON A MUSEUM TO THE CONFLICT IN AND ABOUT NORTHERN IRELAND

Healing Through Remembering (HTR) has issued an Open Call for Ideas on what form a Living Memorial Museum to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland should take – and as part of the project there will be a 7 public art-based workshops across Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.

The LMM sub group are looking for a range of imaginative ideas and want to hear from adults and children alike.

There are plenty of options to think about. Should a museum be in a new building or an existing one? Should it be in one building or should it tour a number of places and sites? Maybe it shouldn’t be a building at all - maybe a virtual space on the internet or something organic like a forest.

Submissions to the Open Call for Ideas can be written, be a photograph, a drawing, a sketch or a painting. Photographs of models are also welcome, but at this stage not models themselves because of a limit on display space. Multi-media submissions such as DVDs or CD-ROMs are also welcome.

The public workshops will include information about HTR and its work, and artists will be there to help people create their vision of the museum – this can include various art forms, visual and written.

Workshop dates and venues as follows:

18 Jul, The Clinton Centre, Enniskillen 2-5pm
28 Jul, The Border Arts Centre, Dundalk 11am-2pm
8 Aug, Imperial War Museum, London 2-5pm
12 Aug, St. Patrick's Trian, Armagh 11am-2pm
24 Aug, Irish Film Institute,Dublin 2-5pm
7 Sept, Waterfront Hall, Belfast 2-5pm
16Sept, The Junction, Derry/LondonDerry 11am-2pm

As spaces at the workshops are limited early booking is advised. Places can be reserved by emailing callforideas@healingthroughremembering.org or calling +44 (0)28 9023 8844. Full information on the Open Call for Ideas may be obtained from the project organiser, Emma McClintock, at Healing Through Remembering, Alexander House, 17A Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, BT2 8HD. T: 028 9023 8844.

HTR has been supported in the project by The Border Arts Centre, the Imperial War Museum London, the University of Ulster and Interface, the university’s Centre for Research in Art, Technologies and Design.

The closing date for receipt of submissions is 30 September 2006.

A selection of the submissions received will be chosen to form an exhibition in late 2006/early 2007.

Getting to the Truth Through Talking

Conflict-transformation expert Dr Brandon Hamber asks what messages programmes like Facing the Truth convey and what else might need to be done to deal with the past

The recent BBC series Facing the Truth, which brought victims of political violence face to face with perpetrators, has got people talking.The dialogues, facilitated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, are a stark reminder of the suffering caused by the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. It is sobering to think that the cases featured are a fragment of the thousands of stories that need to be told.

The programmes were a bold move and may have helped individual victims. They provide some hope for the future, along with the work of organisations that have fostered similar dialogues over the years, albeit behind closed doors. But we also have to ask what other messages such programmes convey and what else might need to be done to reckon with the past.

Although the programmes are not a truth commission but a dialogue, the central idea leans heavily on the South African experience. It draws on the idea of publicly airing grievances as a way of addressing the past, as championed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There are profound differences, however. The South African commission’s primary focus was on outlining the causes, nature and extent of the conflict through victim and perpetrator testimony. This testimony took place in separate victim and amnesty or perpetrator hearings. Although most amnesty hearings took place publicly, only approximately 2,000 of the 21,000 victims who gave statements to the commission gave testimony in public.

When perpetrators applied for amnesty in exchange for speaking the truth, victims or their lawyers could question perpetrators as to the veracity of their statements but this was not billed as a meeting or as necessarily reconciliatory. The South African commission was not primarily about victims meeting perpetrators and nowhere in its legal mandate does it say it was.

The BBC programmes, presented by veteran Irish reporter Fergal Keane, have now created this myth. Victim-offender meetings did happen on occasion as a result but largely outside the remit of the commission. In addition, such meetings and the commission itself were part of a more extensive political process. This leaves one wondering: Is Northern Ireland trying to walk before it can crawl or are high-profile encounters needed to move the process forward?

Photo by Chris Zhang on Unsplash

Given the stalled peace process, the programmes might get people to re-engage with resolving the conflict. The courage shown by participants can demonstrate what is possible despite the dense fog of political dilly-dallying. However, focusing on the victims can also inadvertently suggest that it is the responsibility of victims, rather than wider society, to reconcile as the first step to change, thus burdening victims with another liability. Some victims could feel pressured to forgive, or perpetrators compelled into expressing remorse they don’t really feel, especially on television.

The programmes’ focus is the stories of those directly affected by or acting in the conflict. There is no context provided or debate about the causes. There was no questioning of the statements given by offenders, thus allowing them to define the truth. Truth commissions traditionally question and try to reach forensic truth. Emotive television of this type also invariably draws one to the plight of the victims. This is important but conflict resolution is not only about sympathising with victims, important as that is. It demands that everyone across society recognises their own capacity for wrongdoing at the same time.

In the project Healing Through Remembering, a five-year-old initiative that brings together over 80 people from different political perspectives each month to wrestle with questions about the past, the issue of considering one’s own role in the past is discussed under the rubric of “reflection”. Reflecting on the past, not merely remembering it, necessitates that we consider not only victims’ suffering but also how we all supported or fuelled the conflict through direct action, our attitudes or our failure to act.

Resolving conflict requires reflection and public debate on levels of complicity and guilt, not only recognition of the hurt caused or confessions from direct actors. This process should be supported by public acknowledgment of hurts inflicted. This leaves no one untouched, and all institutions need to examine their role in the past — among others, paramilitaries, the governments, churches, the judiciary, political parties, the education system and the media.

The view of Healing Through Remembering is that there are no quick fixes and no one is neutral in protracted political conflict. A range of interrelated options for dealing with the past are required, such as a living memorial museum, a day of reflection, a network of commemoration projects, and collective storytelling. For truth recovery, an informed debate is necessary, evidenced by the misperceptions created by the recent programmes. To this end, Healing Through Remembering will shortly be launching five detailed options for truth recovery for public discussion. There is no doubt that the BBC programmes have stimulated debate on dealing with the past. Questions, however, remain as to whether the focus on victims and offenders, as in the first major media intervention on this issue, has not confounded the reconciliation discussion. It certainly has confused many as to what really happened in South Africa. A more complicated, nuanced and reflexive debate about the past is needed, with a healthy and functional political context and, of course, the media have a role in this. But in the long run, this will demand something more subtle than eerie music and darkly lit forums where victims and perpetrators meet in the glare of the camera, no matter how moving or personally transformative such meetings might be. 

Originally published by Brandon Hamber in the Daily Ireland, 14 March 2006

Dr Brandon Hamber is a conflict-transformation expert from South Africa living in Belfast and a consultant to the cross-community project Healing Through Remembering. His views do not necessarily reflect those of all the members of the project. Contact mail@brandonhamber.com. Visit the www.brandonhamber.com for more information

Northern Ireland talks must address the past

MEDIA RELEASE - TALKS MUST ADDRESS THE PAST

Embargoed until 00.01 September 16th 2004

How we deal with the past must form part of the talks at Leeds Castle if we are serious about achieving long-term settlement.

This call comes from Healing Through Remembering (HTR), a diverse group of individuals who have spent three years developing a series of recommendations for how to come to terms with a conflictual past.

Speaking as the talks are set to begin, HTR’s Chairman Professor Roy McClelland said: “Achieving a political settlement is important and we welcome the start of today’s talks, but for any settlement to succeed we need to remember the past in a way that enables us to heal the wounds in our society. Without this, any long-term political settlement could be easily undermined.”

“There will be no ultimate peace until we have a clearer understanding of our shared past. Dealing with the past is a long-term process and there is certainly no quick solution that can be debated and agreed over four days of talks. This is a long, difficult and complex journey and there is a need for everyone sitting around the table to acknowledge the past in order to go forward”, added Professor McClelland.

By posing the question ‘How should we remember the events connected with the conflict in and about Northern Ireland’ the Healing Through Remembering project received a wide range of submissions from the general public, organisations and individuals. It has used these to develop a series of recommendations on how to move the process forward, which include

* Acknowledgement
* A Storytelling Process
* A Day of Reflection
* Permanent Living Memorial Museum
* A Network of Commemoration and Remembering Projects

A number of working groups are currently developing these recommendations into practical proposals.

“As a first step, we would call on those people representing our society within the talks at Leeds Castle to engage in a spirit of tolerance and respect and to be mindful that a failure to acknowledge the past will undermine any shared future. Everyone has a part to play in dealing with the memories of the past and there needs to be a willingness to take risks if we are to avoid further damage and move into a new future built on a shared acknowledgement of the past”, said Professor McClelland.

“Some will argue that drawing attention to the past will simply slow up the prospect of a political settlement”, added Professor McClelland, “however, we believe that coming to terms with the past is vital for moving forward and for any lasting peace”.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Nicky Petrie, Pagoda PR: 07960 586654/ 028 9092 3468
or
Kate Turner, Healing Through Remembering: 028 9023 8844/07786 263083
E: info@healingthroughremembering.org
W: www.healingthroughremembering.org

Notes to editors:

1. The key task of the Healing Through Remembering Project, formally launched in October 2001, was “to identify and document possible mechanisms and realisable options for healing through remembering for those affected by the conflict in and about Northern Ireland”.

2. Since the publication of Healing Through Remembering’s report the organisation has been engaged in discussions with groups and individuals about the report and the detailed recommendations. Encouraged by the feedback from these meetings Healing Through Remembering is now taking the recommendations further.

3. Copies of the Report are available on line at www.healingthroughremembering.org or by contacting the office, tel 02890238844; fax 02890239944, e-mail: info@healingthroughremembering.org

No single solution for dealing with the past in Northern Ireland

Healing Through Remembering Northern Ireland

MEDIA RELEASE - Sunday 4 July 2004

The first step in any truth recovery process must be acknowledgement. Everyone who has engaged in the conflict – including Governments – should acknowledge responsibility for their actions. Only when all organisations and institutions acknowledge responsibility can Northern Ireland move towards a sustainable peace. This call is made by Professor Roy McClelland, Chairman of Healing Through Remembering, a diverse group of individuals who for three years have been investigating ways of dealing with the past.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence this morning Professor McClelland said: “We are heartened by the growing debate in this area but feel that a lot of work needs to be done and we are adamant that Acknowledgment — particularly by the governments — should be the starting point for any process of Truth recovery”. “Given the current Government initiatives to find a solution for dealing with the past it is important that the opinions of those affected by the conflict are taken into consideration”, continued Professor McClelland.

And as the current debate becomes focussed on story-telling and truth commissions, Healing Though Remembering points to the need for a number of parallel but separate methods for dealing with the past – as outlined in their report of 2002.Healing Through Remembering today said that there is no single treatment for the healing process in Northern Ireland – processes of remembering, reflecting, informing and educating must be sustained for another generation at least. Practical recommendations from Healing Through Remembering include:

* Acknowledgement
* A storytelling process
* Establishing a day of reflection
* Permanent Living Memorial Museum
* A network of commemoration and remembering projects

Professor McClelland explained the current work of the organisation: “Healing Through Remembering is now expanding its membership in order to arrange a number of events in the autumn which will address the recommendations in more detail. These will include conferences and seminars drawing on local and international experiences. The aim of these events will be to draw together the people working on each issue in order to define the most appropriate methods of implementation – including timescale, scope, and who should – or should not – be managing each process.”

Healing Through Remembering feel that these events are the best way to progress the issue of dealing with the past – through considered and informed discussion open to all. Speaking from his experience in South Africa, Brandon Hamber, consultant to the project explained: “Each country needs to create a solution that is appropriate in that place and at that time. What I find so exciting about Healing Through Remembering is that it gives the opportunity to find the resolution to all of the people involved and affected by the conflict, rather than one being imposed from above. In particular the unique aspects in this report are the holistic nature of the package of recommendations and the request for acknowledgement as a first step in the truth recovery process. In my view this approach would be breaking new international ground.”

For more information on the Healing Through Remembering project and to download the full report click here, or phone: +44 (0)28 9073 9601.

A truth commission for Northern Ireland continued...

Back to the serious stuff. Today, once again calls were made for a truth commission in Northern Ireland. Desmond Rea from Policing Board noted,"Therefore a commission is the proper way to take into account that hurt, but also to seek to find a way forward that is a more productive way forward than the road that we appear to be embarking".More.... I have been doing several interviews on the matter, and remain convinced that the starting point is acknowledgment from across the board, then a discussion about models as proposed by the Healing Through Remembering Project following their consultation.

Project to help North come to terms with past

RITE AND REASON:  Time is running out for submissions to the Healing Through Remembering Project in Belfast, writes Brandon Hamber.

Although the conflict in and about Northern Ireland has its own particular manifestations, the challenge facing the society about how it deals with its past is not wholly distinct.

Most countries in conflict have had to, at some point in time, face up to and deal with the hurts that have taken place. Questions about truth, justice, compensation and reconciliation are inevitable.

After the second World War, the Nuremberg Trials were a mainstay of attempts to address what had happened. Truth-commission processes have been attempted in over 20 countries including Chile, Guatemala and South Africa.

These have attempted to paint as complete a picture as possible of the causes and extent of the conflict, and in so doing learn from the past so that mistakes will not be repeated. International tribunals, like the current Hague tribunal, have also become more commonplace in an attempt to entrench the rule of law globally.

Other societies, however, feel the burden of the past is too difficult to remember and choose to leave it alone in the interests of reconstruction. Mozambique, for instance. Some have chosen to write past atrocities completely out of their histories. For example, the Matabeleland massacres in 1985 in which over 10,000 people were killed by the Mugabe government is largely forgotten by the world.

On a different tack, some argue that the lack of reliable public information on the deaths caused by Western bombing in the Gulf War impede an honest reckoning with what took place there. And many African countries still feel that the legacy of colonisation has never been properly acknowledged.

The problem for societies coming out of conflict, especially where a negotiation has taken place, is that the solution to dealing with these issues is not as clear-cut as it was at Nuremberg and no perfect model exists. Remembering the past can be painful and contentious, especially in deeply divided societies. Each situation is unique.

The Healing Through Remembering Project launched in Belfast last year was set up with the intention of exploring various models for dealing with the past in Northern Ireland. The project seeks to identify and document possible mechanisms and options for how remembering should occur so that healing can be fostered.

The mission of the project is simple: it is to go out there and ask people for their opinions on whether remembering the events of the past - on an individual, community or collective level - can contribute to healing. Options identified will be published in a public report by mid-2002 and presented to the various governments.

In Northern Ireland so far there have been few willing to call for an all-encompassing truth-recovery process in which all parties to the conflict would have to come forward and acknowledge their role in violence. At the same time, endeavours aimed at uncovering the truth of some events are happening, with the most notable of these being the Bloody Sunday inquiry.

But there is growing controversy about how many more inquiries are needed in Northern Ireland, what they should look like and what cases should be selected. There is also a range of local story-telling, documentation and commemorative initiatives underway.

However, most commemorative projects focus on one community and an all-encompassing, cross-community reconciliation and remembering initiative has yet to be proposed.

Accordingly, the Healing Through Remembering Project is taking submissions and practical suggestions on the type of initiatives that people think may be useful. Such initiatives could include, among others, the need for more localised storytelling initiatives; more (or less) need for public commissions of inquiry; or a process like a truth commission that could try and develop an official history of the causes and magnitude of the conflict.

Of course, simply attempting to forget the past and move on because any more delving into it might destabilise the peace process is also an option. But this needs to be compared to the view, albeit optimistic, that a common truth about the past is a prerequisite to a solid future.

From this perspective, there needs be an acknowledgement of wrongdoing from a range of players, including paramilitaries, the state and those who turned a blind eye allowing atrocities to continue, before genuine societal progress can be made.

There are no straightforward answers, or one single option that easily stands out at this point. But there does seem to be a growing recognition - coupled with a high level of anxiety about what the revisiting of what the past might mean - that something in addition to the peace process may be needed if there is to be a sincere reckoning with the past.

To this end, the Healing Through Remembering Project feels it is useful to begin to ask the difficult question and seek answers through eliciting all opinions. Asking questions about the past is, in itself, a way of beginning to address the past, just as finding the public space to debate in a way that no longer involves violence is a prerequisite to lasting peace.

Originally published by Brandon Hamber in the The Irish Times, 26 March 2002

The closing date for submissions to the project is Tuesday 2nd April 2002. For more information on the project and for a submission form:

Got to www.healingthroughremembering.org, or e-mail: info@healingthroughremembering.org.

Brandon Hamber is an Associate of Democratic Dialogue and a fellow in the school of psychology at Queen's University Belfast. He works as an independent consultant to the Healing Through Remembering Project. Contact email: mail@brandonhamber.com