Rwanda memorial volunteer clarifies ideas of reconciliation, forgiveness

A recent article in Nunatsiaq News conveyed comments from a discussion I had with journalist Lisa Gregoire about my recent experience working at the Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda.

Part of our discussion focused on lessons I had learned about ideas of reconciliation and forgiveness.

In reading the last part of the article, some readers might assume that I was prescribing actions that should be taken here in Canada to help individuals reconcile with the painful past of the residential schools. This is not the case.

For anyone anywhere who has suffered at the hands of another, the road towards reconciliation and possible forgiveness is a very long, difficult and personal journey.

I learned that some are never able to make that journey and that some don’t wish to. But I also witnessed remarkable examples that showed that under certain conditions some are able to.

In discussing these with friends and colleagues here in Canada they recognized ideas that helped them to understand the current situation of many Aboriginal Canadians who are struggling to deal with their tragic past.

Any comments I made about actions that might be taken here in Canada were in response to hypothetical questions raised by Ms. Gregoire. They were in no way meant to suggest that this is what people should now be doing.

Morley Hanson
Chelsea, Que.

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