Breaking Bows and Arrows (A Study Guide)

'Breaking Bows and Arrows tells the story of how the people on the island of Bougainville have worked to reach a reconciliation after long years of bitter conflict and the death of twenty to thirty thousand villagers in the late 1980s. The film shows how fighters who had killed fellow Bougainvilleans (sometimes even members of their own villages) have used traditional methods of reconciliation to ask for forgiveness from families who have lost loved ones and help release themselves from feelings of guilt and shame. Traditionally based reconciliation is being used to help the healing process, and bring an end to a period of pain.'