Messages of Hope: Using Positive Stories of Survival to Assist Recovery in Rwanda
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Lala, Girish
McGarty, Craig
Thomas, Emma F.
Ebert, Angela
Broderick, Mick
Mhando, Martin
Kamuronsi, Yves
Abstract / Description
For the past twenty years, the overriding story of Rwanda has been centred around the events and consequences of the genocide. In Rwanda, public expressions of that story have occurred in the gacaca courts, where survivors and perpetrators testified about their experiences and actions, during ongoing annual remembrance and mourning commemorations, and in memorial sites across the country that act as physical reminders of the genocide. While important as mechanisms for justice, testimony, and commemoration, on their own such events and installations also have the potential to re-traumatise. Accordingly, Rwandan agencies have encouraged a focus on the future as the overarching theme of recent national commemorations. Yet, opportunities for Rwandans to recount and disseminate positive, future-oriented stories of survival and healing remain sparse. Creation and awareness of positive stories have the potential to assist in recovery by increasing feelings of hope and efficacy; and recent research has demonstrated the value of hopefulness, well-being, and social support for vulnerable people. The Messages of Hope program seeks to leverage those ideas into a framework for generating positive messages by Rwandan survivors, providing an opportunity for everyday Rwandans to record and transmit their own positive stories of survival to demonstrate recovery and growth after the genocide, and to reinforce connectedness by sharing their challenges and aspirations. We describe the development and early implementation of this initiative and its potential longer-term application in other contexts of vulnerability.
Keyword(s)
genocide hope support well-being positive stories cooperative communities recovery resiliencePersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2014-08-20
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
2
Issue
1
Page numbers
450–468
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Lala, G., McGarty, C., Thomas, E. F., Ebert, A., Broderick, M., Mhando, M., & Kamuronsi, Y. (2014). Messages of Hope: Using Positive Stories of Survival to Assist Recovery in Rwanda. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 450–468. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.290
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Lala, Girish
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Author(s) / Creator(s)McGarty, Craig
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Thomas, Emma F.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Ebert, Angela
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Broderick, Mick
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Mhando, Martin
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Kamuronsi, Yves
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:45:32Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:45:32Z
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Date of first publication2014-08-20
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Abstract / DescriptionFor the past twenty years, the overriding story of Rwanda has been centred around the events and consequences of the genocide. In Rwanda, public expressions of that story have occurred in the gacaca courts, where survivors and perpetrators testified about their experiences and actions, during ongoing annual remembrance and mourning commemorations, and in memorial sites across the country that act as physical reminders of the genocide. While important as mechanisms for justice, testimony, and commemoration, on their own such events and installations also have the potential to re-traumatise. Accordingly, Rwandan agencies have encouraged a focus on the future as the overarching theme of recent national commemorations. Yet, opportunities for Rwandans to recount and disseminate positive, future-oriented stories of survival and healing remain sparse. Creation and awareness of positive stories have the potential to assist in recovery by increasing feelings of hope and efficacy; and recent research has demonstrated the value of hopefulness, well-being, and social support for vulnerable people. The Messages of Hope program seeks to leverage those ideas into a framework for generating positive messages by Rwandan survivors, providing an opportunity for everyday Rwandans to record and transmit their own positive stories of survival to demonstrate recovery and growth after the genocide, and to reinforce connectedness by sharing their challenges and aspirations. We describe the development and early implementation of this initiative and its potential longer-term application in other contexts of vulnerability.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationLala, G., McGarty, C., Thomas, E. F., Ebert, A., Broderick, M., Mhando, M., & Kamuronsi, Y. (2014). Messages of Hope: Using Positive Stories of Survival to Assist Recovery in Rwanda. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 450–468. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.290en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1338
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1803
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.290
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Keyword(s)genocideen_US
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Keyword(s)hopeen_US
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Keyword(s)supporten_US
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Keyword(s)well-beingen_US
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Keyword(s)positive storiesen_US
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Keyword(s)cooperative communitiesen_US
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Keyword(s)recoveryen_US
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Keyword(s)resilienceen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleMessages of Hope: Using Positive Stories of Survival to Assist Recovery in Rwandaen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers450–468
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Volume2
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record