Northern Ireland Affairs Committee — hearing of 9 September 2026: transcript & video

00:02 - 00:36

Speaker 10

Welcome to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee session on reconciliation. With panel one, we have Kenny Donaldson, the director of SEFF, joining us online, Sandra Peake, Chief Executive Officer of the Wave Trauma Centre, welcome Sandra, and Mark Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Relatives for Justice. I'll ask Sandra first because you're in the room. What does reconciliation look like from the perspective of victims and survivors?

00:36 - 01:37

Sandra Peake

Chief Executive Officer, Wave Trauma Centre

I think reconciliation, you know, varies considerably in relation to to what, how people would define it. And if I can share one feedback this morning from a lady who was bereaved, she said reconciliation means to me healing, moving forward and growth, being able to face the past openly and honestly, like Operation Kenova, which she came through, and understanding that to heal does not mean forgetting. But I think fundamentally to all people in relation to how they would define reconciliation is the understanding that their loved one's life mattered, and what happened to them mattered, and we need to acknowledge that, and we need to ensure that it's not around forgetting the past, it's acknowledging the past and ensuring that we do not repeat the past. And I mean, I think that's really the drive of many people who give very freely, who work very freely, and who are courageous in the name of trying to create a better society.

01:37 - 01:40

Speaker 1

Thank you, Kenny.

01:40 - 02:28

Kenny Donaldson

Director, SEFF

Yes, I suppose similar, similar views to what Sandra's expressed there. I suppose with reconciliation, in many ways we feel this language almost has become part of the stumbling block. It's a quarter of a century old at this stage, and in many ways reconciliation, peace and reconciliation when it comes together is often attributable to resourcing and grant aid, and that's unfortunate. We would always say that it's about good neighborliness. If you're a good neighbor to someone, you will have their back, you'll watch out for them, you'll ensure that their rights are protected and enshrined, and what you demand for yourself, you will also demand for others.

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