Educating for Reconciliation

Abstract

In this work the author exposes the need to elaborate the story of the events that occurred in the Basque Country from the memory of the victims. It is necessary to recover the memory and dignity of the victims in order to give them justice and to ensure that their unjust suffering has not been in vain. The past is still present as long as there are witnesses to tell the tale. The memory of the past is a disturbing factor for those who want to justify their violent actions as the necessary price for their political ends. The author considers the possibility of reconciliation in a society divided in two: victims and perpetrators. Reconciliation only occurs when the perpetrators assume their responsibility for the violent acts committed, show their repentance with deeds and ask for forgiveness for the damage caused. In the current circumstances, the conditions for reconciliation do not exist. The violent ones do not show any sign of repentance; on the contrary, by their public statements and actions they reaffirm the political ideas that drove them to take up arms. The author proposes an educational strategy based on E. Levinas, which assumes the historical character of the human being and an ethic that translates into a compassionate response to others in their situation of need; and proposes an educational strategy centered on the story of the victims’ experience of suffering.