Storytelling and Day of Reflection

CHAPTER 5 | Remembering

Overview

Whether and how the past should be publicly remembered featured heavily in the consultation. Many groups and individuals shared their view that public remembrance is a crucial element of healing in a post-conflict era. It allows them to relect openly on the past and come to terms with its impact upon their life. It is an important way of celebrating and honouring the lives of those who were lost in the conflict. It provides comfort for those who have experienced trauma or loss. Public remembering is also a way of rebuilding, pointing to the shortcomings of the past, and shaping resolve for a different future.

Many people expressed the view that remembering must not become a political issue. Whilst remembering does inevitably carry political associations, in the development of shared initiatives the perspectives of one sector of society should not be given precedence over another. All remembering should be conducted from the perspective of our common humanity and of the best and the worst that is in all of us.

In Northern Ireland remembering has had an important role in life and culture. Many organisations have been actively involved in remembrance initiatives in relation to the most recent period of conlict. Some of these initiatives are accessible to anyone who wishes to participate and involve members of all sides of the community. Others are specific projects for a particular group or community.

How public remembering should take place is a particularly contentious issue in Northern Ireland. Some favour a physical structure; others prefer the sharing of stories in a public place; yet others support private reflection on a specicially recognised day of a day of significance to them.

As the past only exists now in memory, in order for us and future generations to truly understand the past and move towards a shared and reconciled future, all of society, not just victims and survivors, should be encouraged to remember.

While remembering is a positive process for many people, for others it holds a number of potential problems, including the potential to re-traumatise people, to stir up triumphalist posturing, or simply engender feelings of bitterness and hatred.

It is important that people are free to participate in the form of remembrance that they feel is most appropriate to them. From that perspective no particular approach may seem better than another.

Northern Ireland is not alone in its desire to remember its past conflict. Many countries around the world have chosen a variety of methods of public remembrance, some of which have been extremely controversial. However, this Report focuses on three broad processes that aid public and private remembering: Storytelling, a Day of Reflection and Memorials. These are highlighted because of the signiicance placed on them by those who took part in the consultation.

Storytelling

A vast amount of work is being done in and around Northern Ireland, and indeed in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, to give people the opportunity to share stories of their experiences of the conflict with others.

The methods by which such stories are being shared vary and may not even be specifically labelled as ‘storytelling projects’. In many cases, it is simply people within victim and survivor groups verbally sharing their perspectives and background with other members. In other instances, dedicated residential projects have been organised to devote time purely to oral storytelling.

Many advocate the cathartic nature of sharing their story and placed great value on having others, especially their former enemies, listen and appreciate their situation. The involvement of qualified support services was also considered to be key to ensuring participants are not left re-traumatised. Storytelling, as it is already taking place locally, has led to some degree of healing and should continue.

For many, storytelling is a means of confronting their past and articulating their stories, involving elements of both narrative and moral reassessment. Through storytelling, people realise that, although they feel their cause was just, not all that they did in pursuit of it was either the right thing to do, or altogether necessary. Whatever the starting point, many agreed that efective storytelling must be a two way process: listening to the stories of those on the ‘other side’ as well as telling their own.

The opportunity to place their testimony on record in a permanent archive was important for many. he process of telling the story was a signiicant aspect of healing but the stories themselves were also significant as a tangible, end product.

There were various opinions on how and where an archive of stories could be held. Many felt that archives of stories from all sides could provide a resource, accessible to the general public, from which all might learn to acknowledge the perspectives of the other side. Others preferred that archives should be private, or that story tellers should have control over who can hear their story. This was of particular concern in relation to
the disclosure of sensitive information.

As for location, some people suggested a physical structure such as a museum. Others favoured an online archive as a more economical and modern alternative. The issue of memorials and museums is explored later in this Chapter.

Many people considered that the gathering of stories from all sections of society should be encouraged. Many within wider society could provide perspectives that have not as yet been publicly represented, particularly those working within healthcare, media, education, business, politics and other areas of civic society during the conlict.

In Northern Ireland archiving has become increasingly popular over recent years, particularly with the advance of technology. There are numerous video and audio archives available online or on DVD or CD. Some of these contain stories of a specific group within society. Others deliberately encompass all those involved in the conlict. Written testimonies have also been recorded in autobiographical or biographical form.

Storytelling initiatives often involve the use of language as the primary means of sharing stories. There are, however, a number of projects ongoing in Northern Ireland that have adopted an artistic approach. These groups have chosen to use painting, sculpture, ceramics and other abstract forms of art to convey their story visually.

Many individuals and groups suggested that stories should continue to be collected locally but that a central archiving project should be established to collate them after this stage.

Storytelling is an important feature of any conlict transformation process. Groups should be encouraged to take a positive attitude to all those who wish to participate. There are many excellent examples of local storytelling initiatives but those who facilitate such initiatives need to feel comfortable with the purpose of the storytelling and comfortable with their facilitation role.

Future initiatives should have a number of goals in mind. Firstly, any storytelling project should involve listening to the stories of others as
well as the telling of our own story. Only by listening to the perspectives of others who were involved in the conlict can we move towards understanding their moral truth and towards some form of reconciliation.
This is not to say that people should necessarily undertake the process of telling and listening to stories in the presence of those whom they believe are responsible for their hurt. Rather, those involved in storytelling should accept the importance of all sectors of society telling their stories. How and when this acceptance develops into active listening and understanding is an issue for each individual to address. While it is this listening which could ultimately help contribute to reconciliation in our society, such a process will not be easy for those who have experienced great suffering during
the conlict. Some of those consulted expressed the need for their stories to be heard by an ‘authoritative’ listener. An opportunity should therefore be provided for storytelling to take place in a context where the experience of those involved can be validated. Individuals participating in storytelling projects must be able to tell their story freely in a private context, but should be able to omit information which may put them at risk - either from prosecution or retaliation - before their story is put in the public domain.
There must be oversight of stories made available to the public to ensure that the risk of prosecution or retaliation is not increased. The inclusion of any information which could provoke violent reactions or lead to legal consequences would not be conducive to reconciliation, nor be in line with other objectives of the storytelling process. It would make people reluctant to share their stories in future.

In line with the views of many, storytelling must not be used to fit a political agenda. Rather it should be seen as a process designed to facilitate individual and societal healing and to break the cycle of conflict.

Day of Reflection

Healing through Remembering (HTR) launched a Day of Private Reflection on 21st June 2007. Its purpose was to remember those who live with the consequences of the conflict; to reflect on our own attitudes and on what we can do to enhance the quality of life of others; to acknowledge the hurt and loss caused by the conflict; and to make a commitment that these two communities would not engage in armed conlict again. Whilst the private nature of the event means it has been difficult for HTR to evaluate
its success, they have received some feedback. Many people were positive about the day. The most common method of reflection involved being in a ‘private space’ or having ‘quiet time’. Others were involved in reflective discussion or the creation of books of reflection. Some welcomed the opportunity of a speciic day on which to reflect on the past, and in particular to remember loved ones. They viewed this as a positive contribution
to healing within society. Others felt that reflecting on the past did not necessarily bring about healing but rather constituted dwelling on negative events. Some considered that days of reflection or remembrance already existed, whether as a personal date or as a date for the whole community, for example 11th November or Easter Sunday. For others commemorative
events, such as parades and marches, which already took place in local communities on days of remembrance, were sufficient. For many people these were events they felt most comfortable participating in rather than local events, centrally coordinated, and open to everyone. Some felt it was inappropriate for them to be involved in a day of reflection if they
had not been bereaved or affected by the conflict in a direct way. However, others thought that, in moving towards a shared future, a shared day
was a productive step. Some suggested that the HTR day of reflection should become a national holiday. Others proposed that a day of reflection could involve an event or ceremony in which the main protagonists of the conflict could reaffirm their commitment to peace.

The Group fully supports the idea of a shared day of reflection, open to all, and accepts 21st June as an appropriate day. This would naturally operate on a purely voluntary basis, so that those who felt uncomfortable participating were under no pressure to do so. HTR should be credited
with having made significant progress in establishing a day of private reflection. The Group broadly agrees that initially this could remain as a private day, organically evolving to include more public events when the demand for this within society exists.

An event involving public commitments to peace by key organisations and statutory bodies would be a positive addition to the day. It could pave the way for others within society to take responsibility for our shared future. he Commission detailed in Chapter 7 should take the lead in pursuing this goal.
The Group recommends that full support is given by government, the private and voluntary sector, including the churches, to the continuation of the annual Day of Reflection initiated by HTR, on 21st June each year.

The Group also recommends that, on or around this day each year, the First Minister and deputy First Minister should together make a keynote address to the Northern Ireland Assembly and invited guests. This address would provide an opportunity for the elected leaders to lead by example by directing society to relect upon the past in a positive way and to confirm their commitment to lead us towards a shared and reconciled future.

An inclusive day of reflection should not replace the established or more localised events and days of remembrance, nor should people be criticised for participating in these. Rather, individuals should be able to reflect on the past at a time appropriate to them and in a forward looking manner.

In keeping with the vision of this Report consideration should be given to renaming the event, a Day of Reflection and Reconciliation.

The Legacy Commission should, through the proposed Reconciliation Forum, work with other relevant organisations to ensure days of reflection are meaningful and appropriate. This could include support for the distribution of guidance to groups who organise remembrance initiatives. This would suggest how events could be shaped to help contribute to a shared and reconciled future, without taking away from the sense of community and symbolism that many quite rightly consider an important part of these events.

In reflecting on the past it is important that an element of responsible self-
acknowledgement is included. Put simply, this means that, as well as reflecting on wrongs done to us, we should consider wrongs we have done to others, or perhaps things we could have done differently, with an ultimate focus on taking responsibility for the future. As suggested in Chapter 2, responsibility for the future lies not only with those who were directly involved in the conflict, but with every sector of society.

A shared and reconciled future can only be achieved by active cooperation and participation by society as a whole, of which reflection is a necessary prerequisite.