The role of forgiveness after the Rwandan genocide

How can it be possible? Psychological processes of reconciliation after the genocide in Rwanda

Almost 25 years after the extreme cruelty and violence that occurred in Rwanda during the genocide of 1994, the perpetrators and victims live together as neighbors. Psychology is of extraordinary value in explaining both the horror and its overcoming. We cannot explain the processes of interpersonal or national reconciliation without first understanding the dynamics of conflict in general, and of the Rwandan conflict in particular. Before, during and after any violent conflict, emotional, cognitive and behavioral processes take place, affecting those involved and making them capable of the best and the worst. This is the objective of this article: to understand the psychological processes that lead to violent conflict and to analyze the conditions for reconstruction, and personal and social reconciliation, focused on the case of Rwanda, one of the most relevant scenarios for studying violence and the overcoming of it.