Babatunde Abosede
Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Ilorin Nigeria. Correspondence to:
Torture. 2018;28(3):46-62. doi: 10.7146/torture.v28i3.111184.
Traditional methods of purification and healing carried out by healers and priests are of utmost importance for the mental and spiritual rehabilitation of victims of torture and perpetrators. The efficacy of traditional practices in the rehabilitation of victims of torture in Nigeria is examined.
Data is derived from 60 interviews with key informants and eight Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) conducted with victims of torture, youth militias, priests, secret cults, community leaders, women leaders, youth leaders, security agencies, and others, in local communities in the Niger Delta states of Bayelsa and Ilaje, Ondo.
By means of reconciliation rituals, both the perpetrators and the victims are re-integrated into the community. The mental healing of victims, who were deeply traumatized by the experiences of torture during violent conflict, is an aspect of community peacebuilding that is at least as important as material reconstruction. Traditional forms of justice and reconciliation that can address the psychosocial trauma of victims of torture may be helpful in the rehabilitation process.
This paper suggests that healing and reconciliation rituals have been an essential component of rehabilitation processes in many local communities in the Niger Delta region. International, regional and national actors and institutions must recognize the cultural importance of such rituals and their potential relevance and significance for victims of torture, but their complex dynamics need to be better understood in order to safely and effectively apply them programmatically to achieve reconciliation and rehabilitation outcomes.
治疗师和牧师所采用的传统净化与治愈方法对于酷刑受害者和施害者的心理及精神康复至关重要。本文考察了尼日利亚传统疗法在酷刑受害者康复过程中的功效。
数据来源于对60名关键信息提供者的访谈，以及在巴耶尔萨州和翁多州伊拉杰的尼日尔三角洲地区当地社区与酷刑受害者、青年民兵、牧师、秘密教派、社区领袖、女性领袖、青年领袖、安全机构及其他人员进行的八次焦点小组讨论。
通过和解仪式，施害者和受害者都重新融入了社区。在暴力冲突中遭受酷刑经历而深受创伤的受害者的心理治愈，是社区建设和平的一个方面，其重要性至少与物质重建相当。能够解决酷刑受害者心理社会创伤的传统司法与和解形式可能有助于康复进程。
本文表明，治愈与和解仪式一直是尼日尔三角洲地区许多当地社区康复进程的重要组成部分。国际、区域和国家行为体及机构必须认识到此类仪式的文化重要性及其对酷刑受害者的潜在相关性和意义，但需要更好地理解其复杂动态，以便以安全有效的方式将其有计划地应用于实现和解与康复成果。
