Método de línea de balance

tionally propagated motto of unity and reconciliation. ‘That we may all in our hearts conceive of things in the same way again,’ the trainees said, after I had prompted them several times to be more concrete. Hopes for greater solidar- ity were expressed and for an end to the ethnic conflict. Someone added in an agitating and contentious tone that the root of ethnic conflict had to be tackled. The decisiveness with which the ethnic problem was openly put for- ward was in stark contrast to the cautious tone other trainees adopted. Both the atmosphere and the content made me extra alert. Could they talk about the ethnic problem in this way here because of the overwhelming amount of loss? I proposed that the trainees first work on safety and trust before discussing the sensitive issue in the group. I stressed the high risk of failure when the root cause of the ethnic problem is discussed at too early a stage but I found little space for this suggestion. It was objected that the ethnic prob- lems involved a great deal of difficulties and I was asked if I was going to warn trainees not to talk about the issue. I was impatiently told about children from mixed ethnic families who asked about absent fathers or mothers. I was asked peremptorily what answers these children should be given. The other trainees did not endorse this input but did not contest it either. I said that I had a method – I was thinking of Hofstede’s onion diagram here (more on this later) – with which the issue could be brought up again during the next days of training. Tensions abated somewhat, but did not disappear.

Discussing expectations showed up the difference between trainees from villages and those living in towns. The former tended to ‘live together with others who have become familiar’, while the latter ‘lived among known and anonymous others’.

Reflections on the process

Finding a format in which the trainees can express their expectations proper- ly also lays bare how a personal working relationship (a mutual bond of trust) is created. And it shows how at the same time attention begins to be directed to a shared sense of responsibility for what is going on in the training group now (and, in a couple of months, in the sociotherapy group).

Several situations carry the risk that simple and obvious possibilities are overlooked. For instance, I did not ask the first group about their expecta-

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tions straightaway, at the start. I solved this by giving the group the home- work assignment that accommodated both elation and disappointment. As trainees expressed their concerns and expectations, they also conveyed how they had grown accustomed, since the genocide, to providing and re- ceiving material aid. But it was also clear that the aid that had come flooding in all these years had failed both to lift them from poverty and to bring them together. Even so, they thought to be helping the destitute population by ask- ing for material aid, almost as if negotiating a deal. This issue provided me with material that I wanted to ask questions about at a later, more appropri- ate time.

In one group I had to repeatedly invite and prompt reserved trainees to par- ticipate, in another group it was necessary that I firmly structure trainees’ exuberant participation. Using the flip-over I visualised for the trainees how a discussion is structured and how all group members can equally have their say once responsibility is shared. This improvisation ‘obviously’ led to a dis- cussion of the importance of shared responsibility.

Every activity was reviewed, starting with an opening question from myself and then continued by the trainees. I asked: ‘What was this activity about? What happened in this activity? What have you learnt from this activity?’ The answers and the way in which they were given never failed to surprise me and so pointed the way to follow-up questions. This got a dialogue going that offered me a chance to stress the trainees’ knowledge and accomplishments and to explain theoretical concepts (ever too briefly). Trainees’ greatest hope for unity and reconciliation was long expressed in general and abstract terms. This made me realise that a great deal of initiative would have to be taken be- fore this hope became a concrete reality in the core of the community. I sometimes assumed that the trainees (who worked in education or held managerial positions in social organisations) understood that they them- selves can play an active role in reducing disruption. It gradually occurred to me that this assumption did not correspond with reality. In retrospect, I could have asked other questions: ‘How do you want the people in your com- munity to be living together in two years’ time? Could you yourself play a role in making the expectation you express here come true? What skills would you need for that?

Putting the topic of expectations on the agenda brought home to me what a politically charged and hierarchically organised (social) order feels like. And I realised that against this background, my interventions and the trainees’ reactions could easily be seen as judgements or entrenched positions, some

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