APCJ_1528_Win2010_00i_122_4 12/30/10 3:22 PM Page 69 Rediscovering Indigenous Peacebuilding Techniques 69 and support. These particular traditions do not involve the perpetrator as well as the victim in their rituals. The cleansing and healing were performed on returning refugees and soldiers who were either kidnapped by the community specifically to be reintegrated and cleansed of the war or those who returned voluntarily wishing to again become part of the community.43 The bottom-up cultural resistance to the conflict was unique in Mozambique in that it was not the perpetrators or victims who were targeted and treated, but the violence itself. In Mozambique, people believe that violence is made and learned, and so it can be unmade and unlearned.44 Revenge is not encouraged or discussed because of the violence it so obviously could perpetrate. The grass-root movement during the war prepared the society for a life of peace and helped heal the wounds of the conflict in ways that government-level courts or other systemic methods could not. The government itself would later choose a route that echoed the forgiveness of the cleansing rituals by calling for a general amnesty after elections in 1994.45 REPLACING A CULTURE OF WAR The violence noted above, particularly in Rwanda and Mozambique, created nationwide cultures of conflict because of their extreme nature and wide reach. People lived in fear and lost their dignity, often hiding in forests and jungles away from their homes and scavenging for food; they were at the mercy of nature and other displaced people. The loss of humanity further played into the culture of war by creating a situation in which human life became irrelevant, and refugees became less like people and more like hunted animals. This image reinforces the often-used, dehumanizing messages and language of oppressors. The culture of war is an important aspect of any conflict and often allows for the manipulation and rallying of people against each other. This is particularly true when leaders employ deeply held beliefs and historical grievances as propaganda. Peacebuilding efforts are meant to counter the culture of violence and help establish a future-oriented life. Such efforts will only be accepted and considered legitimate, however, if they respond to the historical and cultural contexts in which the conflict is being fought. For example, there is much discussion about the lack of acknowledgment of the past and the wrongs that were committed in Mozambique.46 The concern is that if these issues are not dealt with accordingly, the resentment and hurt will remain buried and eventually manifest itself through renewed violence. This could be the case or those expressing this opinion may be superimposing their own cultural understanding of dealing with conflict and violence onto a culture that has dealt with it in its own way successfully. From a western perspective, violence, particularly murder, should be severely punished. (Some states in the United States still impose the death penalty for murder.) There is hope of reintegrating some offenders into society, but they must first endure a prescribed punishment before such an attempt is made. Yet, western sys43. 44. 45. 46. Nordstrom, ‘Terror warfare’. Ibid. Graybill, ‘Pardon, punishment, and amnesia’. Ibid.