Gold in Press/Feature Story / 2025 / Press / Feature Story

• Prize
  Gold in Press/Feature Story
• Photographer
  Jan Banning, Netherlands
• Studio
  Jan Banning Fotografie / Panos

Thirty years after the Rwandan genocide, reconciliation between survivors and perpetrators remains unlikely and extraordinary. The genocide, which killed 800,000 people in 100 days, left deep scars. Survivors and perpetrators struggle with guilt, trauma, and isolation. Sociotherapy, developed by Dutch sociotherapist Cora Dekker, developed community-based sociotherapy (CBS) to rebuild trust and social cohesion. Jan Banning photographed former enemies who reconciled: survivors, together with the murderers of their relatives, showing the transformative power of forgiveness in healing deep wounds.