Dealing with the past

The WRI Statement of Principles reminds us that “War is an avoidable form of organized violence. However, its roots go deep. WRI seeks to address these roots, including by changing processes of socialisation, and by transforming the patterns of domination that affect every aspect of life, both within society and between societies.”

There are many ways to address the roots of war, and in the War Resisters' International we work on a number of them. WRI's Dealing with the Past programme recognizes that the “past shapes the present and the future. This is even more true after war or dictatorships. How we deal with the past determines our future.” Violence begets violence, war begets war. To move past this, we must deal with the past. While this programme was originally inspired by the work done in Chile, this work needs to be done everywhere.

Joanne Sheehan

WRI Chair