Sorry for the clumsy format of my previous mail. I hope this one comes out
better.
ON FORGIVENESS
“ I am ready to forgive, but I need to know who I have to forgive. If they
would just speak up and acknowledge what they have done, they would be
giving us opportunity to forgive. It would be more noble if they were to do
that. There will be reconciliation only if there is justice.”
Such are the words of a victim of brutality and oppression addressing the
Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation. In the above
statement, the speaker makes it clear that, for many like her, forgiveness
cannot be unilateral; rather, it depends upon a quality of interaction
between at least two parties and that forgiveness and justice are not
mutually exclusive, but are rather very closely aligned. Forgiveness will
transpire where there is actual dialogue between the wrongdoer and the
victim. Where the former is willing to identify him or herself with the
harmful actions and seeks forgiveness for it. To identify oneself with
harmful actions one has done, one must be ready to confess and admit that
he or she has committed the offending actions. The wrongdoer must also take
responsibility by owning up to the actions with all consequences, without
giving any excuses. Most importantly, the offending party must express
remorse for what they have done. Many who have suffered wrongs might be
willing to forgive those who wronged them, if those responsible would admit
their wrongdoing, take responsibility for and show contrition. In the
absence of these, the wronged has every right to refuse to forgive,
believing that the essential preconditions for such an act have not been
met. It is very fair to ask a crucial question in Jammehs’ quest for
forgiveness and “moving on” from Gambians he has wronged, whether he is
willing and ready to confess, own up and repent the wrong he has done.
Forgiveness in any form, to be effective, will have to be built upon the
foundations of dialogue. Dialogue will provide opportunity for both the
offender and the offended to feel themselves and the other as equal beings.
It provides an opportunity or a forum for accountability, without which
justice is at risk. It is quite difficult to forgive a wrong without
understanding the wrongdoer. Understanding come about when both reach out
to others and look deep in themselves. If there is no contact, then the
prospects for genuine understanding are reduced. Forgiveness does not
always follow understanding, but a forgiveness that is not based on
understanding will be incomplete. Nonetheless, unilateral forgiveness can
occur in a process that is contained entirely within one individual; it
neither engages with nor is any way dependent upon the position of the
wrongdoer. Very common in every day life in Gambia – “baye naako yallah….
di na ko giss.” We do so because it places us in a position, which we feel
is somehow superior to that of the person who wronged us. One may argue
that such is not actually an act of forgiveness but rather subjugation to a
higher authority for deserving action upon the wrongdoer. That it is a
function of our cultural conditioning. Dialogue will allow for recognition
of real differences between real people. It will help to unite the
principle of ideal reciprocity with that of pragmatism, as it functions as
a means through which estranged parties can learn to co-exist peacefully.
Forgiveness negotiated through dialogue extends the principle of ideal
reciprocity into the realm of action, and concerns for justice remains as
its core. Thus standing on the principle of understanding. What actions or
any indication there is today to show that Jammeh is willing to initiate
the dialogue that will bring about the negotiated forgiveness he is longing
for. Time will tell.
If the act of forgiveness is to be the bridge between the hurt of the past
and the hope of the future, then there must be some indication that the
offending action will not reoccur. In the absence of such, the future can
hold little more promise than our kids and their kids living with and
striving to endure a perpetual re-enactment of former wounds. Generally,
Gambians do not forgive a wrongdoer because it is thought that in so doing
their behavior will change. While it is possible, that such forgiveness
will produce a transformation – instigating a moral redemption of sorts –
it could be a motivation in offering such. Whether or not our unilateral
forgiveness is likely to encourage Jammeh and his command to repent, and
thus produce positive future outcomes, should be relevant to our
consideration. Recent records of Jammehs attempts at displaying remorse in
search of forgiveness are all but impressive – following the death of
Ousman Korro Ceesay and the massacre of innocent students -- simply
deficient in all intended outcomes. If forgiveness is to be possible,
Jammeh and his command must confess the acts they have committed, take
responsibility for the suffering they have caused, and repent. While it may
be most desirable for them to show repentance for their actions, to require
that they do so might be to encourage a display of disingenuous feeling. Is
the one who displays their repentance on demand the most contrite? Saying
sorry involves more than sentimentality. It involves more than tears. It is
never cheap. This inclines me to balk at Jammehs emotions during his speech
for forgiveness. It is important to say Mea culpa. It cannot, however, be
enacted into our constitution. Nor should it be assumed that it would be
accepted.
ON INDEMNITY
It is important that we remember governments and constitutions can offer
amnesty to perpetrators of criminal deeds, but they cannot offer
forgiveness. The words of the Chilean woman quoted in the opening of this
piece say it all “No government can forgive – they don’t know my pain –
only I can forgive, and I must know before I can forgive.” For all victims
of any form of atrocity committed by the A(F)PRC, knowledge and
acknowledgement are prerequisites of forgiveness. However, is
acknowledgement of wrongdoing, in the absence of remorse, sufficient
grounds for its forgiveness? Ntsiki Biko, widow of the murdered South
African activist Steve Biko, questions “ how can you forgive without proper
justice having been done?…justice must be done first” for many victims like
her, without justice there can be no forgiveness; it is justice which makes
it possible. There can be no justice if those who cause and are still
causing suffering are not made accountable for their actions. No one should
be forced to forgive another. In fact, no one can be forced to forgive
another. Forgiveness, if it is to come at all, can take as long as the
suffering lasts. Some actions may be deemed unforgivable under any
condition. Those who have been wronged and made to suffer are entitled to
withhold their forgiveness, and this should not be seen as a sign of their
lack of reasoning or conscience. The words of the poet Zbigniew Herbert
echo: “do not forgive, because it is not within your power to forgive in
the name of those who were betrayed at dawn.” Justice presupposes that
there is an existing body of facts. Before justice can be enacted, these
facts must first be established. This in turn creates the conditions under
which understanding becomes possible. Only then, and sometimes not even
then, can forgiveness proceed.
When Desmond Tutu was asked what the purpose of the South African
Reconciliation Commission is he said: “ to assist in the healing of a
traumatized, divided, wounded, polarized people.’ To explain why
forgiveness was not promoted in the commission’s agenda, he said: “…there
are some people who have tried to be very facile and say let bygones be
bygones: they want us to have a national amnesia. And you have to keep
saying to those people that to pretend that nothing happened, to not
acknowledge that something horrendous did happen to them, is to victimize
the victims yet again. But even more important, experience worldwide shows
that if you do not deal with a dark past such as ours, effectively look the
beast in the eye, that beast is not going to lie down quietly…forgiveness
and reconciliation are not cheap.”
Is Dr. Alhagi, Baron, Yahya A. J. J Jammeh worthy of my forgiveness? It’s
your call!
Abdoulie A. Jallow
(BambaLaye)
==============================================
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
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