Breaking Spears and Mending Hearts : Peacemakers and Restorative Justice in Bougainville

The civil war in Bougainville in the Pacific lasted from 1990-2001.

This is the story of its aftermath. During the war, when the western court system could not operate, the people returned to custom law to resolve their problems.

After the crisis they continued to draw on their ancient traditions of peace making, reconciliation and forgiveness to which they added aspects of mediation and restorative justice.

The book examines the war's threatened loss of culture and identity and the trauma of violence and human rights atrocities.

It reveals the full horror of the civil war and the process used by the Bougainvilleans to make peace and deal with crime.