Abstract:

In all corners of the world, civil wars have been a fact of modern history. But what happens when the fighting stops, if for years neighbor has been killing neighbor? How do people on both sides deal with the legacy of loss, anger, pain, distrust and a desire for revenge? On the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea thousands of people were killed in a war of secession that grew from a local uprising against an Australian copper company. When the ten-year-old civil war ended in 1998, the islanders had to deal with the challenging emotional terrain of personal reconciliation. Breaking Bows and Arrows documents the islanders' road to forgiveness and healing, a process governed by their own cultural tradition. Perpetrators and victims came together in ceremonies to heal the wounds of division. In one of the largest gatherings, ex-fighters join with the families of those they have killed to participate in traditional peacemaking rituals. One man retrieves the bones of a chief he had shot, ceremonially returning then to the bereaved wife. He seeks a release from this heavy burden of guilt and remorse; she a release from the hatred she feels.