Ara Pacis Initiative - Consiglio per la Dignità, il Perdono, la Giustizia e la Riconciliazione

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Hannah Arendt
"Forgiving… is the only reaction which does not merely re-act but acts anew and unexpectedly, unconditioned by the act which provoked it and therefore freeing from its consequences both the one who forgives and the one who is forgiven."
Donald W. Shriver Jr.
"Forgiveness in a political context is action that joins moral truth, forbearance, empathy and commitment to repair a fractured human relation. Such a combination calls for collective turning from the past that neither ignores past evil nor excuses it, that neither overlooks justice nor reduces justice to revenge that insists on the humanity of enemies even in their commission of dehumanizing deeds and that values the justice that restores political community above a justice that destroys it."
Geraldine Smyth
"Hope is the horizon of forgiveness and reconciliation, for it is grounded in making the impossible possible real – that the human person is capable of change and of being changed in the very place where the hurt or sin imprisons all concerned – in the relationship of enmity. Under the horizon of hope memories of enmity can find econciliation. The hope within forgiveness does not presume prior repentance, but in its gratuitousness, it makes healing and new beginnings possible even though the pain and the wounds remain."
Rasha El-Fangry
"The extent and frequency with which forgiveness is called for has depleted its value and has made it a mere slogan repeated here and there. This is manifest in incidents of conflict restarting even after calls for forgiveness has been accepted. However experiences elsewhere in the continent show how effective forgiveness actually is."
Izzeldin Abuelaish
"Most people assume that forgiveness is difficult, but in the long run it is easier to forgive than to live with hatred or be consumed with revenge, with all the medical consequences. Forgiveness will help you move forward, away from the pain of the past and to be focused on the future, with all its brightness. Indeed, forgiveness opens the door to a future that will not repeat the old tragedies. Sometimes the beauty in forgiveness is to forgive when you do not know whom to forgive, when no one asks you for forgiveness. But whatever the situation, to err is human but to forgive is truly divine"
Riccardo Di Segni
“Forgiveness is a moral repairing of identity, it’s the water erasing the stain of guilt and dousing the fire of resentment.”
Enzo Bianchi
“Forgiveness is not a failure, it is not a defeat, but rather a great victory over oneself, it is a journey of humanization of oneself and the enemy. Forgiveness is not “just letting it go” by someone who is unconscious of the wrong done, nor is it the wise calculation of a just philanthropist: it is a conscious and responsible choice which states that love is stronger than hate so as to break the chain of animosity and vengeance.”
Edith Bruck
“I am a writer-witness who sings about life and peace, who searches and believes in the good of every human being, perhaps buried by layers of sick ideologies of stratified hatred. Good that is unveiled to man himself who transforms it into evil in order to become one of the club, as is done by today’s youth. The only possible instrument is dialogue, removed from politics. Love from human to human which has real and profound civil and spiritual meaning, which is capable of capturing and fertilizing pacifism between individuals, groups, ethnicities and religions.”
Letlapa Mphahlele
“Forgiveness is both conditional and unconditional, depending on the circumstances. If a person slaps you in the face, you may forgive them unconditionally. However, if a person occupies your house, and he pleads with you to forgive him, while making no effort to vacate the house, then forgiveness becomes conditional on him leaving the house. Forgiveness should never be used as a synonym of surrender.”
Fabiola Perdomo
“In my opinion reconciliation does not mean trying to make friends out of victims and perpetrators. Reconciliation means repairing, healing, and freeing the victims from their burden. But it needs to be done from the heart, it cannot be something only for the spotlight, it must be something felt deeply, that comes from the heart otherwise no reconciliation process can work, and incomplete reconciliation can be very dangerous as painful wounds are reopened.”

What is the Ara Pacis Initiative?

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The Ara Pacis Initiative is a global non-profit organization dedicated to the human dimension of peace. Cornerstone of the Ara Pacis Initiative is the Council for Dignity, Forgiveness, Justice and Reconciliation, a universal body working in pre-, ongoing and post-conflict realities.

Members of the Council for Dignity, Forgiveness, Justice and Reconciliation

 

See all the Members

 

What The World Needs to Know About Libya

12 May 2013 - Dr. Donna Hicks, Associate at Harvard's Weatherhead Center and Member of the Ara Pacis Council, writes: "What the world needs to know about these remarkable men is that when they were set free, they re-entered the world armed not with hatred or the desire for revenge, but with the wisdom of prophets. Libya has dozens of Nelson Mandela's...Read more

The Launch of The Libya Initiative

4 May 2013 - Tripoli - The Libya Initiative was officially launched today with a one-of-a-kind international event that brought together the nation's policy-makers, youth and civil society as well as Members of our Council for Dignity, Forgiveness, Justice and Reconciliation: Leymah Gbowee, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish and Dr. Donna Hicks...Read More

Historic Meeting at Libya's Abu Salim Prison

3 May 2013 - Tripoli - Donna Hicks - Associate at Harvard University, creator of the "Dignity Model" and Member of the Ara Pacis Council for Dignity, Forgiveness, Justice and Reconciliation - yesterday facilitated a breathtaking meeting between former Abu Salim political prisoners and young policemen from all over Libya at the Police Academy in Tripoli. In the afternoon, Ms. Hicks joined Bahiya Kanoun, president of Al Mubadara Libya, and Maria Nicoletta Gaida, president of Ara Pacis Initiative, founders of the action plan for human dignity, social justice, forgiveness and reconciliation "The Libya Initiative," to visit the Abu Salim prison. Abu Salim prison is notorious for torture, inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted to prisoners during the Gaddafi regime. Today's activities were part of the lead-up to the official launch of The Libya Initiative...Read More


Exploring Transitional Justice in Libya

15 April 2013 - Tripoli - Jaime Malamud-Goti, former Soliciter General of Argentina and Member of the Ara Pacis Council for Dignity, Forgiveness, Justice and Reconciliation, was in Libya this week, hosted by President Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf. The visit was organized as part of The Libya Initiative, an action plan promoting social-healing and a political culture of social justice, forgiveness and reconciliation in Libya through a nation-wide effort of listening, remembering and weaving personal and collective narratives; the Initiative is promoted by Al Mubadara Libya Assalaam and the Ara Pacis Initiative. During the trip, Goti shared his expertise and advice in the field of transitional justice with President el-Magariaf and various policy-makers, as well as led a workshop on transitional justice for youth from throughout the country...Read More


Media Training Kicks Off in Libya

3 April 2013 - Tripoli - Al Mubadara Libya Assalaam, in partnership with the Ara Pacis Initiative, launched today the first training course in multimedia journalism and storytelling by the “LIBYA INITIATIVE”. The training – which was inaugurated by Fatih Nuah, Adviser to the President, Mohammed Habib Al-Amin, the Minister of Culture, and Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi, the Italian Ambassador in Tripoli – aims at the professionalization of media activists, who are already active in the collection of stories and who want to bring their existing skills up a notch, learning how to develop undefined story concepts into professional news. Italian media experts – filmmaker Antonio Martino and journalist Nancy Porsia – are providing the training, which is sponsored by the Libyan Ministry of Culture and by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs...Read More

 

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