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Journey to Belonging

Zehr, Howard
June 4, 2015

Source: (2000) Paper presented at the Just Peace? Peace Making and Peace Building for the New Millennium conference, held in Auckland, New Zealand, 24-28 April. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University, School of Social and Cultural Studies, Centre for Justice and Peace Development.

Howard Zehr examines issues of alienation, belonging, and identity in relation to victims of crime and offenders. While there is tension in linking these issues to victims and offenders, he maintains that alienation, belonging, and identity are central issues for those who have been offended against and those who have offended. Zehr employs the metaphor of a journey to indicate that the goals- belonging and identity – should be construed in terms of process and continuum rather than a simple alternative of having or not having. Furthermore, he seeks to view the journeys toward belonging and identity through the lenses of tragedy and trauma rather than the lens of crime.

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