Reparations: Repairing relationships and honouring ancestry— Makungu Akinyela

When damage has been done to a people, when there has been exploitation and one group has benefited from this, then a key aspect of repairing the relationship between these groups are processes of reparation. Processes of reparation enable the damage that has been done to be mended and relationships to be healed. Where abuse has occurred, it is of great importance in order for healing to take place, that the effects of the abuse be fully acknowledged, and that the perpetrator of the abuse engage in acts of redress and reparation. In my experience, where this occurs there is a much greater likelihood of relationships being restored. This is true in therapeutic contexts as well as larger cultural and social contexts.