| There is a need for healing between governments and their people in almost every
country around the world. The reconciliation model, consisting of confession,
repentance, reconciliation, and restoration, has proven to effectively promote healing in a
variety of cases worldwide. Two organizations, the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR),
and the International Reconciliation Coalition (ZRC), use the model and its principles to
improve the relationship between governments and their people. The reconciliation
model's structure has also been used by the approximately twenty Truth and
Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) created in nations worldwide as an alternative, or supplement, to the criminal justice system. The most famous TRC was created in 1995 in South Africa to address the crimes of apartheid. Reconciliation experiences the greatest
success when those employing it adhere to each step of the model. The drawback to
skipping steps is the risk that victims will doubt the sincerity of the apology being made.
Despite there being room for improvement, the model is a viable method for healing
because it offers an end to the cycle of revenge and the feelings of corporate1 individual
guilt; it eases the pain of the hurting, the wounded, and the bitter; it reveals the truth; and
it asks us to look beyond manmade classifications, like race and nationality, to instead see
ourselves as world citizens.
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