"Justice often enters people's lives after something fragile has already fallen apart. When I first sat with young men in Medellín and other cities in Colombia, trust was already worn down. Fear shaped daily choices, and relationships carried tensions few knew how to name. In communities marked by long histories of violence, justice rarely felt welcoming. It arrived late, after too much had already been lost, when young people had learned to move carefully just to get through the day."
"I came to understand restorative justice through these relationships. I noticed it in how people chose where to sit, in how silence was allowed to remain, and in how conversations slowed enough for trust to grow. Meaning took shape through listening and careful attention, especially when people were allowed to keep speaking without interruption. Over time, the same patterns surfaced in how people treated one another and how they stayed present."
Restorative justice responds to harm by focusing on how people are affected and on repairing relationships rather than primarily on punishment. In contexts of long-term violence and worn-down trust, fear shapes daily choices and relationships carry unnamed tensions. Restorative processes bring together those who caused harm, those who were hurt, and community members to speak about impacts, take responsibility, and rebuild connection. Active listening, sustained presence, careful attention, and unhurried conversation allow trust to grow. Such practices can transform lives previously labeled as dangerous by creating spaces where meaning, accountability, and reconnection become lived realities.
Read at Psychology Today
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