Peace of Mind and Peace –Exploring Psychosocial Peacebuilding for the Issue of the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon
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Abstract
The unresolved fate of several thousand people who went missing during the conflict is at
the heart of the legacy of the Lebanese civil war. Due to shortcomings in the peace process
and top-down approaches, there has not been room for meaningful reconciliation and
strategies to deal with the violent past of the country. Individual sufferings, which result
from past violations, such as enforced disappearance, continue to affect the lives of those
affected, their families and wider societal relations. Within this context, it is this study’s aim
to explore the connection between healing and reconciliation as a core concept of
Psychosocial Peacebuilding. In the absence of state-led initiatives, civil society organisations
mobilised in order to address the fate of the missing and their relatives. Their efforts were
explored and analysed through a case study angle, which incorporated primary and
secondary data. The secondary data was identified and retrieved through a mapping of
stakeholders and the application of sampling criteria. Primary data was collected through a
limited amount of semi-structured qualitative interviews with stakeholders. The combined
data then informed an analysis, which concluded that there is a close connection between
reconciliation and healing, thus, both must be addressed simultaneously. The activities of
the civil society, which promote the needs and demands of the families of the disappeared,
contribute to Psychosocial Peacebuilding. The results of the case study indicate that the
efforts of civil society to integrate peacebuilding, mental health and psychosocial support
mechanisms with foster the prospect of sustainable peace in Lebanon