28th May 2014
I attended an inspiring event last evening – the screening of the award winning film Beyond Forgiveness at the Royal Geographic Society. The film, directed by Imad Karam, won the Golden Award for Inspiration at the International Film Festival for Peace, Inspiration and Equality (IFFPIE) in 2013. The evening was chaired by Terry Waite who shared experiences and learning from his 50 year involvement in brokering peace across a multitude of international situations of conflict. The film charts formative and tragic events in the lives of two South Africans, Ginn Fourie and Letlapa Mphahlele, events which precipitated a collision of their worlds and led to a subsequent inspiring collaboration which now addresses the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. Following the film screening, both Ginn and Letlapa then sat with Terry and the three, in dialogue with the audience, discussed the impact their varied messages of hope and inspiration may play in changing the personal and political worlds we inhabit.
Some memorable quotes from the evening:
Letlapa:
“Being forgiven was like being struck by lightning from a cloudless sky.”
“To accept forgiveness from the ‘other’, you first have to forgive yourself.”
“Storytelling is part of a healing process.”
Gini:
“I took a principled decision to give up my right to revenge…. and I began to see the woundedness of the ‘other’.”
“The world could be a different place if we understood the needs of the dispossessed.”
“Imagine if, in our woundedness, we acknowledge our complicity in the injustices of the past, reach across the divide, and then hold ourselves and our leaders accountable.”
Terry:
“Every experience affords one learning.”
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