ABSTRACT
Forgiveness is typically described and understood by philosophers in the interpersonal context, apart from questions of broader social justice. In our study, we examined the connections between interpersonal forgiveness and social justice, focusing on the context of post-genocide Rwanda. We interviewed genocide survivors identified as exemplary community members and explored how the broader context of transitional justice in the aftermath of genocide affected how they thought about the nature of, and the need for, forgiveness. In this chapter, we bring the voices of genocide survivors to bear on thinking about forgiveness and justice through a restorative framework. Given that these exemplars’ orientation was one of “rebuilding society,” we probe whether and how that transitional justice context led them to think about the value and role of forgiveness in restoring relationships and communities. We thematize the transitional justice context as providing a useful angle through which we interpret the meaning of forgiveness as restorative and we describe how community-based restorative practices yield a fresh understanding of forgiveness as a public act of testimony and healing in relation to justice.
