Understanding Trauma for Reconciliation and Peace-building Journalism in Colombia

Abstract

This study argues that a better understanding of trauma can support a journalism that seeks to build peace in Colombia. Based on a participant observation, it presents the experiences of four local journalists living and working in a context of protracted violence in one of the country's most dangerous regions. Through an application of Newman and Nelson's (2012) conceptual framework of the three tensions or "dances" of trauma, it is argued that an ethical and trauma-aware practice can underpin a more inclusive narrative of peace and conflict. An emotionally literate journalism, which seeks out the voices and experiences of the marginalised, has the potential to promote social cohesion in the aftermath of suffering and pave the foundations for reconciliation within a community. This people-focused approach strengthens resilience in both the reporter and the reported by equipping local journalists with the skills and knowledge they need to live up to the contemporary expectations of peacebuilding that have been placed upon them.

Re-thinking trauma: Local journalism, peace-building and continuous traumatic stress (CTS) on the violent margins of Colombia

“…(R4) Personal and socio-political factors are therefore largely indistinguishable in contexts of prolonged and perennial violence, which indicates that CTS is a significant predictor of mental health for the reporters who participated in this study. In Colombia, where local journalists have become agents for peace (Charles, 2020), this has an added layer of significance because CTS conjoins the mental wellbeing of individual reporters with their capacity for peace-building.…”

“…It is argued that an ethical and trauma-aware practice can underpin a more inclusive narrative of peace and conflict. An emotionally literate journalism, which seeks out the voices and experiences of the marginalized, has the potential to promote social cohesion in the aftermath of suffering and pave the foundations for reconciliation within a community (Charles, 2020). But within the specific context of local journalism in the country, CTS can sabotage journalism's peace-building responsibilities.…”

“…And so I continue. (R1) Such journalism can positively contribute to peace-building on the violent margins of Colombia because it is able to understand suffering and promote social cohesion, defined above as important characteristics of post-conflict reporting (see also Charles, 2020). R1 exposes local corruption in an attempt to uncover the structural causes of violence in his town, while R4 'promotes community' through covering stories of reconciliation and forgiveness.…”

“…A debate about peace journalism is beyond the scope of this article, but it is important to highlight that since the peace process between the Colombian government and the country’s leftist FARC guerrillas began in 2012, it is generally accepted in the country that journalism has a responsibility to nurture peace (see Charles, 2020). It is also widely accepted that trauma affects the output of journalists, which can have a negative impact on peacebuilding (Betz and Beighley, 2019).…”