Healing According to Bloomfield et al. (2003, p. 77), ‘healing’ is: any strategy, process or activity that improves the psychological health of individuals following extensive violent conflict. Strategies, processes or activities aimed at rehabilitating and reconstructing local and national communities more broadly are also integrally linked to this process. As such, healing is not only about assisting individuals to address their psychological health needs in an isolated way, but is dependent upon and integrally linked to repairing and rebuilding communities and the social context. This implies restoring a normalised everyday life that can recreate and confirm people’s sense of being and belonging. ‘Community healing’, therefore, is a broad term encompassing the concepts of community and healing, as well as perspectives on peace and conflict. According to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, ‘healing’ can be defined as ‘to make (someone or something) healthy or well again’. On the basis of this definition, ‘community healing’ can therefore simply be defined as ‘to make a community well again following a traumatic experience’. According to Merhoff (1999), community healing requires a complex system involving various individuals, groups and organisations working together. In order for healing to occur, survivors need to talk about their experiences. The voice of the perpetrators must not be forgotten in the healing process, as they also need healing just as much as the victims. Healing processes that are merely victim-centred risk make the victim the complainant, executor and judge. Healing involves acknowledging past atrocities and recognising the survivors’ suffering. According to Haynes (2002), cited in Brouneus (2003), it encompasses building, or rebuilding, relationships today that are haunted by the conflicts and hatreds of yesterday. What needs to be healed are the ‘individual, political, social and cultural responses to a traumatic situation and its context’ (International IDEA, 2003, p. 11). In other words, healing should be sought at the individual level, but be interrelated with the social context. Community healing, therefore, should be holistic to ensure that no area is overlooked. Healing is spiritual, physical and psychological. For the purposes of legitimacy and sustainability, community healing should be locally driven and owned, as opposed to being imported from other areas. As such, it is important to employ a bottom-up approach in respect of community healing initiatives. By strengthening and empowering the local actors for peace, the foundations are laid for national reconciliation and healing. Community-level reconciliation can contribute to reduced tensions nationwide. For instance, Maynard (1995) argues that widespread community healing can have a calming effect on the national temperament. It is important to note that there is often no clear starting point in the healing process, but there are usually markers along the way (International IDEA, 2003). The foundations of reconciliation, forgiveness and healing lie in truth-telling, prosecution, justice, institutional reforms, and reparations. Community healing is thus a holistic process that addresses individuals’ and society’s psychological, economic, spiritual, social and other needs so as to restore a normalised everyday life in which people regain a sense of belonging and being. 4 Community Healing: A training manual for Zimbabwe