Victims’ perception in the transitional justice process. Tunisia

Abstract

I raised many question before the beginning of my field work and my field observation. After that I have read several books, articles, researches on the subject of “transitional justice” and the concept of “victim”. Then I noticed that although the concept of “victim”is well defined by the lawmakers, researchers in the transitional justice field, human rights reports and publications, human rights association leaders and civil society activists, it is undefined and obscured for the people who suffered of human rights abuse. This paper is an attempt to address the concept of “victim” in the transitional justice context, mechanisms and dynamics. In this regard I tried through the field of anthropology of religion and politics to highlight the perceptions of Givers and how they interact and act with the concept of “victim” in their daily life beginning with the most important step in the transitional justice process which is the public hearing sessions. As a result based on all the facts presented in the research, I suggested to permute the concept of “victim” by the concept of giver. This giver plays the role of the donor in the study of Marcel Mausse “archaic forms of exchange” with the three duties “giving, receiving and repaying” which is a characteristic of nearly all societies. The giver in the system of transitional justice is the one who were arrested, suffered from abuse and violations as a result of defending his freedom as opposed to the existing political system dictatorial or democratic, or as a defense of the right to freedom of thought and action, as a choice for the appearance (wearing the veil because it may lead to her arrest) and the right to communicate with people, (since everyone who communicates in any way with the family or a former political prisoner is subject to imprisonment, torture, and even if someone talked with political prisoners, he will be pressured to cut off his relationship with them). Therefore my purpose was to debate the issue of “victim” because it’s important to explain and understand who the human sees himself in his system of traditions, customs and laws. This system of perception is the responsible for the reproduction of the society, and a whole class in the society (family, friends and colleagues of the political prisoner) see itself as a "victim".