Lebanon: Using Community Dialogue to Foster Reconciliation.

Source: (2002) Restorative Justice Online March 2002 Edition.

Twenty years of civil war, often along religious and ethnic lines, left Lebanon with a legacy of displaced communities where fear, anger, and mistrust hinder refugee return and community reconciliation. While the National Reconciliation agreement signed in 1989 paved the way for the return of refugees to their homes, the political agreement did not address the rebuilding of broken relationships at the community level. National and international non-governmental organizations have addressed this problem through dialogue programs that allow community members to talk through important issues as well as training programs to encourage non-violent conflict resolution.