A Day in the Life of Peacebuilder Antti Pentikäinen
It’s not every day we talk to people who can share what life is like on the ground in a war zone. It takes a particular kind of person to leave the comforts of home and help others living in challenging, sometimes dangerous, situations. I recently interviewed Antti Pentikäinen, who spent 25 years as a peace mediator, and asked him what his life was like working in conflict zones, when conditions were sparse and he was living out of a backpack. How did he keep his sanity living in such difficult situations?
In Antti’s backpack there was a bulletproof vest, which included an additional plate to block larger bullets. The largest spaces had to be reserved for essential security and first aid items, including a pump to clean the water, mosquito net, fire alarm, and solar panels to charge devices such as a satellite phone or GPS locator. Antti made regular use of the combat medic first-aid kit, with tourniquets carried in pockets for quick access. This was Antti’s life as a peace mediator while working in some of the world’s worst conflicts and civil wars for a quarter-century. It is exhausting and challenging work.
All of this left a tiny space for clothing, sanitary items, and other essentials, which, in Antti’s case, included The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. This book accompanied him on numerous trips to war zones. Although it took a third of his personal space, the book became essential. In the evenings, after Antti washed and hung his clothes to dry using only a bucket of water so he would have something to wear in the morning, he crawled under the mosquito net, turned on his headlamp, and opened his book.
Healing from Spiritual Injury
Reading Martin Luther King’s autobiography can be inspirational for many people, and what he stands for brings us closer to our own spiritual nature and to the feeling of the interconnectedness of humanity. This led Antti to question the source of healing and the the concept of spiritual injury. When something harms how we see ourselves or how we speak to ourselves, it is a spiritual injury. It is a deep, internal wound caused by an event or a series of events that creates an irreconcilable conflict between a person’s deeply held spiritual beliefs and their lived reality. It is the way we see our place in the world, the way we relate to other people, and the way we relate to the visible and the invisible realms.
In our conversation, Antti shared the insight that, when there is harm, everyone is harmed, and when there is healing, everything starts to heal. Forgiveness plays a vital role in healing a spiritual injury. Forgiveness helps us peel back the layers of the onion to reach the essence of who we truly are—our spiritual essence—and heals the guilt, fear, anger, and grievances that contribute to the violence and harm people experience. Healing from spiritual injury requires patience and a conscious, deliberate effort to process the trauma and rebuild a sense of safety and trust. Recognizing that the hurt is a legitimate trauma is the first step toward recovery. Engaging in a forgiveness process helps heal wounds resulting from spiritual injury and can be a decisive step forward.
Truth and Reconciliation in the United States
The healing of nations is a very fragile process. We can look to truth and reconciliation commissions and the lessons they have taught to support healing in the United States. There was an effort made by Dr. Gail Christopher, who at the time was vice president of the Kellogg Foundation, where she was the driving force behind the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation effort, which was an adaptation of the truth and reconciliation model. Truth and reconciliation commissions usually emerged after civil wars ended, and a mechanism was needed to help nations heal. Dr. Christopher shared that, although the situation in the United States is different given our functioning democratic institutions, we, too, need a healing mechanism that addresses the past in a restorative way, enabling social healing. Social healing cannot be enforced. People need to voluntarily unite around a common purpose to help rebuild relationships and, by doing so, address past issues in restorative ways. It is in this choosing that the healing process begins. It is in the reformation of relationships that societies begin to rebuild—and which, hopefully, lead to a new nation.
An important lesson learned from Dr. Christopher’s work is that before a nation can come together—or before there is any form of a truth and reconciliation commission—individuals impacted by painful situations need to heal. This requires a willingness and an investment from people who dare to imagine what it would take to do the hard work and get things going. To do this work, there needs to be a container—a social space, the broader community —to support them. Otherwise, the trauma will continue to be handed down from one generation to the next. This internal healing and working within a safe social space is what forgiveness in a political context looks like. And it’s the beauty of choosing to come together that will be the defining moment in our country.
To learn more about Antti’s work, enjoy the Political Forgiveness episode, “Secrets of Peace Negotiator Antti Pentikäinen” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
