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Article: Reconciliation as a dirty word: conflict, community relations and education in Northern Ireland.(THE DIFFICULT ROAD TO RECONCILIATION)
- Article from:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Article date:
- September 22, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Columbia University School of International Public Affairs. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"I am not really interested in reconciliation. It is a term that has been so used and abused; it's a dirty word as Far as I am concerned." (1)
The comment above emerged in fieldwork undertaken by one of the authors on the role of ex-combatants in the peace process in Northern Ireland. At first glance, it appeared somewhat paradoxical. The individual concerned, a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) activist, has been involved in reconciliation work for almost ten years: finding alternatives to violent punishments against anti-social offenders and reconciling these individuals with their victims and communities as well as cross community work with Loyalist ...