In this section, you will find a selection of stories and updates from the field, as well as photographs and video clips from the researchers’ scoping and field visits to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Uganda.
Stories:
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- Dr Eunice Otuko Apio reports on the role that language has played in CSRS fieldwork, discussing the importance of adapting the project ideas for varying cultures; use of idioms and metaphors; and issues surrounding translation.
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- Following the CSRS field trip to Uganda, Dr Janine Natalya Clark explores how reference to the 'heart' has resonated throughout conversations with victims and survivors, and applies the theme to a wider context of transitional justice and reconciliation in Uganda.
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- Dr Yoana Fernanda Nieto Valdivieso considers the use of trees as a metaphor for endurance, exploring how their ecosystems can represent the way in which communities are affected by conflict and how transitional justice processes might address this.
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- A reflection on faith, justice and resilience from the viewpoint of a mother – Dr Janine Natalya Clark tells the story of Angelina, the mother of a girl who was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda, whose faith and belief in forgiveness has helped her in moving forward.
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- Dr Janine Natalya Clark considers the process of healing, reflecting upon survivors' journeys towards recovery within the community of Barlonyo in Uganda.
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- Using Uganda's busy roads as a metaphor, Dr Janine Natalya Clark looks at the journey of the country's transitional justice process. She reports on how victims face stigmatisation when reintegrated into their communities, and suggests that a holistic approach to the transitional justice process is needed to contextualise rehabilitation.
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- Dr Eunice Otuko Apio discusses the prominence of food and drink in their project meetings, and the role it plays in building relationships between researchers and research participants, and its possible connection with memories.
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- Dr Eunice Otuko Apio recounts a performance by Paez people from the team's field trip to Colombia, describing their relationship with the environment and land, and reflecting on their resilience to the environmental degradation resulting from the conflict.
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- Dr Janine Natalya Clark explores the theme of layers, reflecting upon the importance of using multiple research methods to holistically represent victims' experiences, and considers how the imminent truth commission in Colombia will approach the multi-layered stories of victims.
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- Dr Yoana Fernanda Nieto Valdivieso describes her return to Medellin, where she lived for 14 years as a teenager and young adult, reflecting on how it has changed and exploring the link between the socio-political violence and environmental vulnerability within the region.
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- Dr Janine Natalya Clark reports on some of the ways in which various organizations in Colombia are seeking to give survivors of sexual violence a new perspective - and thus new resources for dealing with adversity.
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- Dr Janine Natalya Clark tells the story of an Afro-Colombian woman, raped by FARC guerrillas, who has learned to love her body.
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- Dr. Janine Natalya Clark discusses resilience in a Colombian context, drawing comparisons with BiH and presenting some experiences of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the country.
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- Dr Janine Natalya Clark covers the opening days of the CSRS team's visit to Colombia and their meeting with journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima. She discusses resilience in the country and its relationship with the transitional justice process.
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- Dr Eunice Otuko Apio reflects on the CSRS research trip to BiH, commending the country's beauty but also drawing inspiration from the war-damaged infrastructure as a metaphor for survivor's resilience and reconciliation, and questioning the progress of transition.
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- Dr Janine Natalya Clark reflects on the research trip in BiH, explaining the process of the project questionnaire and exploring the complex relationship between reconciliation and time, and the importance of acknowledging the contemporary issues survivors face as a result of their experiences.
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- Dr Yoana Fernanda Nieto Valdivieso reflects on the transitional period towards peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina following the CSRS Research Team's visit to BiH.
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- A survivor of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Emina recently set up her own NGO bringing together local women to talk, to socialize and to use their various skills to make items such as soaps, liqueurs and clothing which they can subsequently sell.