Peace of Mind and Peace –Exploring Psychosocial Peacebuilding for the Issue of the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon

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