Rethinking Journalism Practice Through Innovative Approaches to Post Conflict Reporting

ABSTRACT

Since peace negotiations between the Colombian government and Farc guerrillas began in 2012, it is generally accepted in the country that journalism has a responsibility to nurture peace and that the media can positively influence reconciliation. But a recent analysis of domestic news concluded the voices of victims were distinctly absent and that the majority of coverage involved official sources. This paper argues that a journalism intended to promote reconciliation must speak to those who have direct experience of conflict and suffering. We argue that a deeper understanding of trauma may strengthen resilience and contribute to peacebuilding. Drawing on the authors’ research working with young people embroiled in Colombia’s conflict, the paper explores an alternative, innovative approach to the retelling of the stories of others and to post-conflictreporting. At a societal level, the project aimed to contribute to the process of reconciliation, using an autobiographical approach to capture and re-construct participants’ experiences of the conflict and to highlight challenges of re-integration. It presented their hopes for reconciliation through creation of an animated documentary. At a journalistic level, the project explored the efficacy of combining traditional methods of storytelling with animation to offer anonymity to vulnerable contributors of testimony.

KEYWORDS:

• Colombia
• conflict
• peace building
• trauma
• voice
• vulnerable people

Acknowledgements

The research team would like to acknowledge the help and support of the elders in the indigenous Nasa community in Jambaló, Cauca. Without this, the project would not have been possible. We would also like to thank the charities who worked so closely with us and, of course, the children and young people who were confident enough to share their stories and who dedicated so much time to making this project a success.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) was formed in 1964.

2 The commission was created as part of the 2016 peace agreement.

3 The ELN, Ejército de Liberación Nacional, was also formed in 1964.

4 One of the authors of this paper, Jukes, is a trustee and chair of the Dart Center’s European operations.

5 Working at that time at Bournemouth University.

6 The name has been withheld to protect the identity of the participants.

7 Journalist Janine Di Giovanni has written about the guilt she felt when she left Syria to join UNHCR, only to return as a reporter few years later, guilt that she had survived and had not succeeded in ending the war. See: Di Giovanni (2016).

8 Extract from Field report:

Initial divisions among the participants were overcome – we ensured the pairs were equally divided between the two groups of participants, and that everyone was able to comment and share their thoughts. At the end of the day, we had a discussion about the value of listening to others’ experiences.

9 After viewing the film and hearing the testimonies of some of the participants from Jambalo in September 2019, the Truth Commission published this blog post: https://comisiondelaverdad.co/actualidad/noticias/ninos-y-jovenes-relatan-sus-vivencias-en-el-conflicto This is the first audio-visual testimony they have accepted. Previously they had said that they would only accept oral or written accounts.

10 See: https://rising.globalvoices.org/blog/2019/11/01/the-story-behind-el-arbol-del-amor-an-animated-documentary-from-colombias-indigenous-nasa-community/.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by Bournemouth University's block grant from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).