Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Robin Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Marina Cantacuzino is a news writer. In 2003, she started a project that changed her life. For many months, Marina worked with an artist named Brian Moody. Together, they met with individuals that had been affected by crime. Some of the people were victims of crimes. Other people were criminals. Brian took pictures of each person. Marina asked each person to tell their story. These stories were about terrible pain, loss, and regret. But they were also about forgiveness.
Voice 2
Marina and Brian gathered these stories and pictures together. With them, they created an exhibit or public art show. They called the exhibit “The F Word.” It used the words and images of the people to show that forgiveness is complex. This exhibit led Marina to start an organization called “The Forgiveness Project.” Today’s Spotlight is on The Forgiveness Project and the power of spreading forgiveness around the world.
Voice 1
In 2004, The F Word exhibit opened in London, England. Many people came and saw it. Soon, other cities wanted to show the exhibit too. So, the exhibit started travelling around the world. People in over 350 places saw The F Word show. Marina wrote about two main ways people reacted to the exhibit.
Voice 3
“There are people who see forgiveness as a very honorable and humble way to react to terrible events. And then there are those who simply laugh at it. For the first group, forgiveness is a strong value. It is strong enough to end generations of trouble caused by revenge – when people choose to hurt those who hurt them. But for the second group, forgiveness is just a weak answer. This group feels that forgiveness lets the violator go free and only encourages more violence.”
Voice 2
Marina learned a lot about forgiveness through her work on the exhibit. She discovered that forgiving is not easy for anyone. Talking about forgiveness causes strong emotions – both in people who choose to forgive and in people who do not forgive. Marina saw that forgiveness was a process that only worked if people freely chose it. She also recognized that it had the power to transform or completely change difficult situations. This power and the popularity of the exhibit caused Marina to start The Forgiveness Project.
Voice 1
The goal of The Forgiveness Project is “to build a better future by healing the wounds of the past”. They do this by encouraging discussion and education about forgiveness. They also work to spread positive stories of forgiveness.
Voice 2
One part of the project is its prison program. This program is designed to teach prisoners about forgiveness and help keep them from doing more crimes in the future. The Forgiveness Project also works in schools. It provides materials that help students explore ideas about forgiveness. It also teaches students about conflict resolution.
Voice 1
The Forgiveness Project also has a special place on its website where it collects stories from men and women all over the world. This collection of stories shows how complex forgiveness is. For example, consider the stories of Tracey Ford and Mariane Pearl.
Voice 2
Tracey Ford believes in forgiveness – even in the worst situations. And in 2007 her belief was tested. Her son Andre was 17. He went to a friend’s birthday party. When he was there, criminals shot guns at the party crowd. They shot Andre two times and murdered him. The police did not find the people who killed Andre. And yet, Tracey says she forgives the people who killed her son. She told The Forgiveness Project:
Voice 4
“Forgiveness is not saying that what happened was okay. It is being able to say in your heart that you accept what has happened. And you will not let it stop you living a life or seeing humanity in the person who has hurt you.”
Voice 1
But Mariane Pearl feels differently about forgiveness. Mariane lived in Pakistan with her husband. In 2002, her husband was murdered by a terrorist group. She told The Forgiveness Project that she could not forgive her husband’s killer. But she also did not want revenge. She did not want to hurt him in return. Instead, she wanted the court system to provide justice. She describes her feelings on The Forgiveness Project website.
Voice 5
“Revenge is a basic human desire. It is the animal part of man. It gets us nowhere… But forgiveness lacks substance as an answer to extreme situations…You have to win some sort of victory over the people who have hurt you. You can only do that by denying the terrorists their goal. They try to kill everything in you… The only way to oppose them is by demonstrating the strength they think they have taken from you. That strength is to keep on living, to keep on valuing life.”
Voice 2
As Mariane’s story demonstrates, it is difficult to talk about forgiveness without talking about justice. So, The Forgiveness Project encourages people to seek restorative justice. This kind of justice works to build relationships between victims and the criminals who hurt them. Restorative justice also identifies ways to repair harm when possible. Matthew James’ story is a good example of restorative justice.
Voice 1
Matthew is from England. One day, while Matthew was at work, someone entered his house. This person stole his things and left. Matthew was angry. A few weeks later, the same robber can back to Matthew’s home. Now Matthew felt unsafe. He felt like he could not protect himself or his girlfriend. After a month, the police arrested the man who entered Matthew’s house. His name was Billy.
Voice 2
Soon after, a police officer invited Matthew to meet Billy. Matthew decided to go to the prison and talk with Billy. But he was not the only person there. Other victims Billy hurt were there too. Billy told Matthew and the others about his past. Then, the victims talked about how they were hurt by Billy’s actions. Matthew saw a change in Billy. Billy could now see how his actions had hurt real people like Matthew. Matthew told The Forgiveness Project,
Voice 6
“When I left the prison I recognized that things had changed for me. I changed from being a victim of crime to being able to see things from Billy’s side. Some kind of balance had returned.”
Voice 1
Forgiveness looks different in every situation. For some people, it requires justice. For others, it is a process of grace. Some people can only forgive if the criminal shows regret for his actions. Others can forgive without even knowing the criminal. For some it means every day deciding to forgive again. Even though people may experience and describe forgiveness differently, Marina Cantacuzino believes it always has power. She writes,
Voice 3
“Forgiveness is difficult, costly and painful. But it has the possible ability to completely change a person.”
Voice 2
The writer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called “The Forgiveness Project”.
Question:
Have you ever had to forgive someone? Was it easy or difficult? Write your answer in the comments below.
I think that it is important forgive others because we are seeking to free ourselves. It’s not about forget, but it’s about keep our mind peaceful.
The forgiveness is the beautiful. Instead it is hard because the wounds by criminals
I can forgive everything except the betray
Really forgiveness is highest value in life but the problem when you want to forgive some one about his mistake he makes same mistake again
Forgiving is so difficult, I know. But I am particing to forgive everyone, because I have hurt the others, I know how terrible it is if I haven’t been forgiven. And, because Jesus Christ forgave me, I also want to forgive everyone
Is very, very difficult, but there is not better way. Forgiveness clean mine mind and soul and in this hand everything is better.
No , maybe because I always escaped from my past memories .
Forgiveness works for the benefit of you ,it helps you to live a better life ,to move on for the sake of you, .. and belive me life is fair enough ,someone actions will return to them ,same you
No l cant forgive person that make me feel bad it is so diffecult to see somone who break my haert and hurt me i couldnot forgot times when i was cry and can not sleep for days
I think Forgiveness is an correct understanding of human life that some people understand it sooner
Forgiveness become more difficult when you can revenge the person who hurt you.
Yes…when i was robbed by two robbers in street during night time…they snatched my cell phone…but tommarrow morning when i wake up i thought i should forgive them…so i forgave and i did not report to police….yes it was difficult and costly for me to forgive..
When I was a baby, about 5 years old, I had a period of about 6 years to live with my aunt and uncle, they had a daughter the same age as me, she always bullied and made her mother She beats me often. I used to really hate her and her mother. The pain of the past cannot be lost, but the past cannot be changed, I need to look forward to live for the present and the future. So I chose to forgive them to help myself feel better.
I think forgiveness is so easy to us if we have a condor. We try on forgive someone and don’t worry about them. Maybe the life become happier.
Actully, I was robbed by some robbers when I went out with my famliy I was walking and I catch bag by my hand and some robbers came to me very fast and pushed me and they have taken my bag and they ran away quickly I couldn’t do anything for this crime I lost a lot of things that were in the bag but I didn’t care and I forgave them because my religion said to us we should to be forgiving
I think forgiveness is easy instead forgive anyone as a confortable feel ,
We try on forgive someone and don’t worry about them. Maybe the life become happier ✅
One time , i forgive my girl friend about some thing she did , it was very difficult for me , but we should forgive people spicialy who we love , and we have to teach him a lesson about their fault
I used to study forgiveness and tolerance. So I know this is important in our life. It not only helps those who make mistakes have happiness’s life but also helps yourself to be more peaceful. It’s not difficult to know this thing but it’s not easy to do.
yes i forgive people who hurts me
Forgiveness is very difficult in this time 🙂
Yes I have forgiven one person
It was difficult situation
I think forgiveness is good, for me I forgive with a strong heart if a person confesses his guilt and apologizes to me
forgiveness is so difficult in sometimes, and i cant forgive in i some cases.
i love the people who forgive
Forgiveness is a good part of humanuity, but in this time i am with group two that thinks the forgiveness encourages the violator to do more crimes and only the system can stop him.
The person who forgive every person hurt him He is the person most in trouble.
No i cant forgive person who make me feel injustice. I believe my god will bring the justice and Fairness to our life
Yes , for most of my life. Sometimes it was kind of normal but often was difficult. But I think it is up to you and to the person who hurted you. For me I always inner peace but for someone hurted me so much was so difficult and impossible tı forgive and i still untill this moment can not forgive him because he broke my heart alot.
I will forgave always..
Yes and a few times,
It was a bit difficult.
I often forgive anybody makes mistake.
I feel better when I forgive. I think it is no resons to not forgive !
Maybe it is difficult but it is possible !
At first the forgiveness for our selfs and for forget the problem