Forgiving a Genocide: Reconciliation Processes between Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-448
Author(s):  
Ángela Ordóñez-Carabaño ◽  
María Prieto-Ursúa

The purpose of this research was to study the interviewees’ experience of their reconciliation process and the influence of the Amataba Workshops on their healing process. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with five pairs ( N = 10) of Tutsi survivors of the Rwandan genocide and their perpetrators, members of the Hutu majority; they had all participated in an intervention to promote reconciliation. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method was chosen to study the transcripts. Analysis resulted in nine main relevant categories that should be taken into account while designing a reconciliation-oriented intervention, including truth, listening to each other, justice, repairing the damage, and collaboration on joint projects. The results of this research show how these processes can occur when reconciliation-oriented interventions are facilitated. For some interviewees, these workshops have become a crucial turning point and helped them set aside the hatred and pain.

BJPsych Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Runsen Chen ◽  
Yuanyuan Wang ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Li Lu ◽  
Amanda Wilson ◽  
...  

Background It is essential to investigate the experiences behind why adolescents start and continue to self-harm in order to develop targeted treatment and prevent future self-harming behaviours. Aims The aims of this study are to understand the motivations for initiating and repeating nonfatal self-harm, the different methods used between first-time and repeated self-harm and the reasons that adolescents do not seek help from health services. Methods Adolescents with repeated nonfatal self-harm experiences were recruited to participate in individual, semi-structured qualitative interviews. The interviews were analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results We found that nonfatal self-harm among adolescents occurred comparatively early and was often triggered by specific reasons. However, the subsequent nonfatal self-harm could be causeless, with repeated self-harm becoming a maladaptive coping strategy to handle daily pressure and negative emotions. The choice of tools used was related to the ease of accessibility, the life-threatening risk and the size of the scars. Adolescents often concealed their scars on purpose, which made early identification insufficient. Peer influence, such as online chat groups encouraging self-harm by discussing and sharing self-harm pictures, could also lead to increased self-harm. The results also included participants’ opinions on how to stop nonfatal self-harm and their dissatisfaction with the current healthcare services. Conclusions The current study provides important implications both for early identification and interventions for adolescents who engage in repeated nonfatal self-harm, and for individualising treatment planning that benefits them. It is also worthwhile to further investigate how peer influence and social media may affect self-harm in adolescents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imogen N. Clark ◽  
Felicity A. Baker ◽  
Jeanette Tamplin ◽  
Young-Eun C. Lee ◽  
Alice Cotton ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe wellbeing of people living with dementia and their family caregivers may be impacted by stigma, changing roles, and limited access to meaningful opportunities as a dyad. Group therapeutic songwriting (TSW) and qualitative interviews have been utilized in music therapy research to promote the voices of people with dementia and family caregivers participating in separate songwriting groups but not together as dyads.ProceduresThis study aimed to explore how ten people with dementia/family caregiver dyads experienced a 6-week group TSW program. Dyads participated in homogenous TSW groups involving 2–4 dyads who were either living together in the community (2 spousal groups) or living separately because the person with dementia resided in a care home (1 family group, 1 spousal group). The TSW program, informed by personhood, couplehood, family centered and group process frameworks, involved creating original lyrics through song parody and song collage. Qualified Music Therapists facilitated sessions and interviewed each dyad separately. Interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.FindingsFive recurrent group themes were developed, indicating group TSW: (1) was a positive shared experience, benefiting both members of the dyad and motivating further engagement with music; (2) stimulated mental processes and reignited participants’ interests and skills; (3) provided meaningful opportunities for reflection and connection with memories and life experiences; and (4) prompted interaction and collaboration, leading to social connections, empathic relationships and experiences of inclusion. Participants also highlighted how: (5) the facilitated process supported engagement, highlighting abilities and challenging doubts.ConclusionDyads identified group TSW as an opportunity to recognize strengths, voice ideas and opinions, share meaningful experiences, and do “more with music.” Participants valued TSW as a new, creative and stimulating experience that enabled connection with self and others and led to feelings of pride and achievement. Our findings further recognize how therapeutic intention and approach were reflected in participants’ engagement and responses regardless of dementia stage and type, dyad relationship, or musical background. This research may broaden perspectives and expand understanding about how people with dementia and their family caregivers access and engage in music therapy.


Humaniora ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Yudho Bawono ◽  
Dewi Retno Suminar ◽  
Wiwin Hendriani

The research aimed at examining ways by which Madurese women could achieve satisfaction in early marriage. Its used a qualitative research method with an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). To understand the meaning of one’s experience by looking for themes from available data, IPA rested on three pillars, namely phenomenology, hermeneutics, and idiography. The researchers used semi-structured interviews to collect data and purposive homogeneous sampling. The participants involved were three married women under 18 years old who were living in Madura. The results of the research show that the three women are satisfied with their marriage. The satisfaction of their marriage can be seen from taking care of each other when sick, giving her enough money, and always happy with her husband, not far apart. Furthermore, Madurese women dissatisfaction in her marriage can be seen from anger if she is not given money and is not helped in doing household.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jemma Hogwood ◽  
Christine Mushashi ◽  
Stuart Jones ◽  
Carl Auerbach

Sexual violence was systematically used to terrorize thousands of Tutsi women and girls during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, infecting many with HIV and resulting in thousands of children born as a result of rape. Now these children are young adults; they are asking questions about their parentage and are often faced with challenging parent–child relationships, discrimination, stigmatization, and identity issues. As a result, there is a need for them to understand more about their birth histories. Through community counseling groups, mothers of these young people have been supported to disclose to their child about their birth histories. This study aims to understand how the young people experienced the disclosure and how this affected their sense of identity. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 young people and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three subordinate themes and eight subthemes begin to describe the complex and difficult process of learning about a new identity, the process of reconstructing a positive identity, and reworking family relationships as a result of the knowledge acquired. The young people appreciated knowing about their birth histories despite the painful emotions. Recommendations are made as to how these young people and their families can be better supported.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
József Rácz ◽  
Zsuzsa Kaló ◽  
Szilvia Kassai ◽  
Márta Kiss ◽  
Judit Nóra Pintér

Background: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) played an important role in the psychiatric diagnostics, but in the last few decades the diagnostic-free complex phenomenological understanding of the phenomena of voice hearing became the focus of studies. Materials: Six semi-structured interviews with recovering voice hearers were conducted and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Discussion: The self-help group gives significant help in identification and dealing with the voices; therefore, it serves as turning point in the life story of voice hearers. Conclusion: Applying self-help group in clinical context contributes to better outcomes in treatment of voice hearers.


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