Reconnection

Helping individual trauma victims reconnect to others can start as simply as listening to them empathetically or lending them a helping hand. On the other hand, where traumatized communities were scarred to begin with by intolerance, injustice, conflict or violence, sustained efforts at conflict transformation and restorative justice may be needed before permanent healing can take place. Effective tools for reconnection include:

• Working together to restore the community in concrete and visible ways (by repairing and reopening schools or building roads, for example)
• Risking contact with others, including "enemies," to build understanding, increase trust and reduce prejudice
• Forming partnerships to increase economic opportunities
• Organizing sports teams and community recreation events
• Working to ensure equitable distribution and access to goods and services
• Learning nonviolent conflict management skills
• Seeking as much justice as possible through:
• Traditional justice processes (courts, tribunals, truth and reconciliation hearings)
• Putting the victim at the center of the process by pursuing reconciliation and restoration, rather than punishment and vengeance
• Channeling anger into creative processes such as preventing similar wrongs from happening to others
• Addressing the social, economic and political structures that lie at the root of the conflict
• Engaging in joint projects, such as writing a history of traumatic events that includes all perspectives.

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