Calling for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission

As someone who grew up in a dictatorship, dedicated my life to human rights and hold a masters in Holocaust & Genocide studies, I am brokenhearted by what is happening in our nation today.

Our democracy is under assault and at stake.

This is not happening in some far away land where our service members risk (or lose) their lives defending democracy and the rule of law. It is happening here at home, in our backyard.

To you reading these words still processing shocking, scary, and difficult images, I see you, I feel you, and I am with you. I have been here before and its effects were life-altering for me as well as a catalyst for all the work I have carried out to this day. I also believe we can get through it.

If you know me, you know that my faith gives me hope. I am praying for our nation; for light to guide our way forward.

One way to move forward is by creating a Truth & Reconciliation Commission. If there were any voting discrepancies, let’s create an independent mechanism to review them. Violent sieges are not the way, an answer, or a solution.

We also need to create a space for dialogue and reconcile with one another. Hateful, bite-size speeches do just that: bite and wound; they do not heal.

In the words of Rumi, “Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder”.

This is a sad day in our nation.

With a heavy heart,

Cecilia

Dr. Cecilia M. Cardesa, Founder of TraumaVenture and MappingOnward