Storytelling by War Victims as A Mechanism of Reconciliation in Bosnia: The Inititative Choosing Peace Together
Abstract
The contribution will present the conclusions of a two-year mixed methods research of an NGO initiative. It represents a unique and functioning model of using storytelling for promoting reconciliation.
Three war victims, one from each group, share their war and life stories in public conferences. Many mechanisms of reconciliation are at work, the key are sadness and sorrow which produce all types of empathy.
Hearing about the sufferance of other nations can counteract competitive victimhood and motivates people to learn more and question their nation's guilt, which can change attitudes later in time. Individualization can reduce prejudice.
Other mechanisms are common and superordinate identity, sense of collective guilt, positive information about the out-group, self-disclosure, the NBM and others. The attitude change takes a few weeks or months.
The information is taken seriously as the interaction is emotional and face to face. The speakers are interviewed about the speakings and their stories are analyzed for mechanisms of reconciliation.