Reconciliation and Social Healing in Afghanistan: A Transrational and Elicitive Analysis Towards Transformation

228 Pages·2017·3.17 MB·English

by  Heela Najibullah (auth.)

Masters of Peace
Heela Najibullah
Reconciliation
and Social Healing
in Afghanistan
A Transrational and Elicitive
Analysis Towards Transformation
Masters of Peace
Masters of Peace is a book series edited by the University of Innsbruck’s U NESCO
Chair for Peace Studies. It has been founded to honour outstanding works of young
academics in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. It is reserved for selected Mas-
ter theses of the Innsbruck School and published twice a year. The Innsbruck School
follows the principles of Transrational Peace Philosophy. It defines peace as a p lural
and regards all aspects of human nature relevant for the understanding of peace
and conflict. Its applied method is Elicitive Conflict Transformation, a pragmatic
approach to conflict rooted in Humanistic Psychology that entrusts the responsi-
bi lity for finding alternative options of behaviour, communication and encounter
to the conflict parties. Facilitators provide a safe frame, tools and methods for this
quest without imposing their own solutions on the parties.
Edited by:
Wolfgang Dietrich
UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies
University of Innsbruck/Austria
Editorial Board:
Josefina Echavarría
Daniela Ingruber
Franz Jenewein
Norbert Koppensteiner
Fabian Mayr
Andreas Oberprantacher
Johney Xavier
Austria
Heela Najibullah
Reconciliation and Social
Healing in Afghanistan
A Transrational and Elicitive Analysis
Towards Transformation
Heela Najibullah
Geneva, Switzerland
ISSN 2364-463X ISSN 2364-4648 (electronic)
Masters of Peace
ISBN 978-3-658-16930-5 ISBN 978-3-658-16931-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-16931-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016963226
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Preface

This book is based on my MA thesis completed in November 2015. My research
focuses on Afghan reconciliation processes, especially the Afghan National
Reconciliation Policy - a process that was initiated during my father’s regime -
when he was the President of Afghanistan.
The desire to pen down this book began as a journey to steer through the
difficult experiences life had offered me. The exercise of writing about
reconciliation has been a calling since the assassinations of my father and uncle,
who were brutally killed on 27thSeptember 1996 and their bodies hanged for
almost two days on display.
Twenty years ago, I was the second one in my family after my sister Onai
to have watched the graphic images of my father and uncle hanging. Besides not
being able to breath while I watched their hanging bodies, what stunned me is the
large number of people assembled around their hanging bodies, watching silently
what was on display, while some Taliban soldiers were embracing and saluting
each other. I wondered how could people witness such a gruesome act of violence
or for that matter, embrace, laugh and share greetings? I asked myself whether I,
as a human being, would be able to witness beaten up, wounded and bloody
corpses? I could not answer that question to myself at age 18 and that violent
inhuman act numbed me.
The numbness helped me survive and perhaps take the first steps towards
the journey of writing this book. I wanted to understand why my father and uncle
were killed and what had they done to deserve such an ending? I clearly remember
meeting people who were with my father or visited him in the UN compound.
Amidst those encounters I remember meeting the UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan with my mother, no one was able to give satisfactory answers as to what
happened the night my father and uncle were killed or who killed them? I
remember my mother asking Mr. Annan that since my father was in the UN
premises, his family would like to ask the UN for an investigation. However, the
answer to her request was that our allocated meeting time was up.
It was at that juncture that I decided to find the truth myself so I started
investigating on my own. In understanding Afghanistan, its politics and history, I
read my father’s letters constantly and took note of his sincere efforts to bring
peace in Afghanistan. In years to follow, I found literature in Dari and Pashto
covering the National Reconciliation Policy that had been initiated under my
father’s regime. However, only a small portion of these publications was available
in the mainstream English books that I came across in the bookstores and libraries
in India or Europe. Books that spoke of the Najibullah regime would often
highlight the politics of Afghanistan within the Cold War or regional context but
the notion of reconciliation remained secondary.
With time passing, I realized that I was lucky to have access to first-hand
accounts of the Afghans leaders who worked in his government on issues of the
National Reconciliation Policy. My interaction with many of his colleagues
highlighted the discrepancies and the misconceptions that existed on the genuine
attempts of the Afghan government to pursue a national reconciliation.
In 2012, when I started studying at the Swisspeace Academy and the
Innsbruck University, my understanding of reconciliation, based on my own
experiences and those shared by my father’s colleagues, matured further. I came
across literature by Wolfgang Dietrich, John Paul Lederach, Johan Galtung,
Virginia Satir, Elise Boulding, Carl Rogers, Marshall Rosenberg and others that
helped me understand that my search for truth is an opportunity to reconcile with
my own past. Yet again, the National Reconciliation Policy pursued by my
father’s government introduced me to a new aspect of reconciliation i.e. social
healing. My attempt to find the truth had eventually led me to heal my own
wounds.
My relationship with my father and uncle had taken me deeper to the study
of reconciliation. Studying the reconciliation processes in Afghanistan has been a
fascinating research subject in international relations, history and geopolitics but
in the relatively new field of peace studies as well. The Afghan reconciliations in
1986 and 2010 allowed me to decipher that the crucial component of the process
are the common Afghans themselves, in other words the peace process in
Afghanistan is yet to become people centric.
Since four decades of war in Afghanistan, the people of my country have
witnessed peace deals, agreements and until now two reconciliation processes. I
am often touched when Afghans recall my father’s speeches and hold him and his
vi
government in high esteem for their peace efforts. While pursuing my research, I
have tried to understand what made the National Reconciliation Policy different
from the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program or the peace deals that were
signed during the civil war of 1992-1996. In addition, I highlighted the loopholes
that the National Reconciliation Policy comprised.
As I was commemorating my father and uncle’s 20th anniversary with my
family last September, what made the news in Afghanistan was the peace
agreement signed with the Hizb-e-Islami of Gulbuddin Hikamatyar. The peace
agreement was signed with the leadership of the government, emissaries of the
High Peace Council and the representatives of the Hizb-e-Islami with its leader
delivering a broadcast message from Pakistan. Meanwhile, the media covered the
civilian demonstrations on the streets, which had gathered to express their
disagreement. The peace agreement was yet another reminder as to how the
reconciliation processes lack people centric practices. The civil society
organisations in Afghanistan as well as UNAMA have pointed out, through their
research and papers, that Afghanistan more than ever needs a people driven peace
process. In my book, I strive to get the message across to the reader that
reconciliation in Afghanistan can be sustainable when its people are also given the
opportunity to own the process and heal.

vii
Acknowledgments

I knew that writing this book with a focus on Afghan reconciliation would be
challenging. The subject still evokes the inner turmoil and memories of the past
linked to my father, someone I have loved and looked up to. In the process of
writing, there have been times that I have doubted my capacity to stay open in
presenting myriad of views in telling a personal and at the same time a political
story of an era in the Afghan history. My fears of opening up and having my
version of the story penned or rather typed down has been a constant struggle
emotionally. I personally found the process taxing but took it as an opportunity to
face my shadow aspects while fulfilling my academic requirement.
I could not have succeeded in dissolving my fear or emotions of mistrust
and judgment without support and love of family and friends. As I am approaching
the end of this milestone, I want to thank Domenico Papa, whose unconditional
love and belief in me has given me courage to find the strength within in
completing my book. Thank you for being in my life and for nurturing me.
I also want to thank Fatana Najibullah, Moska Najibullah and Onai
Najibullah for sharing the most difficult moments of our lives, I would not be the
person I am, if I did not have you three in my life. I extend my gratitude to
Josefina Echavarria, whose assistance, guidance and encouragement has been key
in completing this research. You have taught me to value myself, my time and
own my words, thank you Josefina for accepting to be my supervisor. I appreciate
all the hard work and time that my dear friend Lisa Siedel invested in editing parts
of this book. Lisa, your sensitivity and compassion make you unique, I am grateful
that our paths crossed and I have you as a friend.
I also take the opportunity to thank Mr. Yuresh, Mr. Tukhi, Mr. Wadan,
Mr. Saleh, Mr. Zaman, Mr. Sarwar, Mr. Hatif, Mr. Ziarmal and other friends for
their trust in engaging with me and sharing their perspectives on Afghan
reconciliation processes. Their views have served as food for thought to complete
my research on this crucial subject. In addition, I would like to thank the
participants who took part in the survey.
I extend my gratitude to Mr. Hans Von Sponeck and Mr. N Haraj who
helped me navigate the UN library in Geneva throughout my research. I am
grateful to Daniela and Giovanni Lippi for introducing me to Johanna Reichen,
who assisted me in formatting the book and Sean Essue for his time and efforts in
helping me finalize the formatting. I am grateful for Maria Carrion kindness in
lending her computer for me to finalize my manuscript.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the consequential impact the summer
year at Innsbruck has had in the process of finding my voice and reconciling with
my past experiences. My own journey of healing is where it is today because of
the very exceptional experiences I had at Innsbruck. I just hope that my efforts in
understanding reconciliation and writing about it can ignite process of healing for
those Afghans who seek it.

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