Abstaining from Retaliation: A Story of Restoration Ministry-OEIL in Eastern Congo

Abstract

Reports of violence flow from everywhere. They make humankind look powerless in front of conflicts and seem inclined to a retaliation culture. Many people prefer to justify retaliation by euphemistic concepts like self-defense, counterattack, letting justice prevail, counteroffensive, etc. This is a mere application of the natural human principle of the lex talionis. In tumultuous zones like the African Great Lakes Region in general and Eastern Congo in particular, one might expect escalation of conflicts if retaliation is the only option. However, the advent of Christianity in our societies has strengthened a new culture of reconciliation among opponent groups as a way out of violent conflicts. In a world immersed in retaliation culture, a message about raising a culture of reconciliation by abstaining from retaliation sounds like naïveté or treason. This paper sets out to respond to this question: How does reconciliation become an antidote to retaliation in the Eastern Congo context? Using Case Study method, the objective of this study is to present biblical, ethical, and practical ways of breaking the circle of violence and building a culture of peace. In Eastern Congo, Restoration Ministry-OEIL is one of the Christian organizations that strive to promote reconciliation among ethnic communities. It raises awareness of the root causes of Eastern Congo crisis from their local, national, regional, and international dimensions. Therefore, its story constitutes historical evidence of the possibility of abstaining from retaliation despite the horrors of violence endured. Its peacemaking method is a good example of a contextual theology of reconciliation from indigenous practices.