Hatred is corrosive. Forgiveness can lighten heavy, weary hearts – Karyn McCluskey

Asking to be forgiven and receiving forgiveness are two different things. Some might hold the hurt caused by others tightly, unable to move past wrongdoing. And no wonder.

Two emaciated soldiers on a US ship after being liberated from a Japanese prisoner of war camp in 1945 (Picture: Keystone/Getty Images)

Humanitarian Drummond Hunter, who died in 2002, was a leading light in human rights and penal reform in Scotland and suffered dreadfully while being held as a prisoner of war. He wrote of his experience: “You have to forgive, because hatred corrodes you.”

We all recognise the resentment and intrusive thoughts that being on the receiving end of pain causes, and the emotions that come unbidden in the quiet of the night.

Forgiveness will be something we’ll all crave, but it might not be granted. Nobody is owed forgiveness, but the asking is everything.

On a personal level and where crime is involved, I never speak about forgiveness but believe in the role of restorative justice – if the victim/survivor wishes it to happen. The empowerment which comes from the ability to safely express the impact of harm done to them and to seek out a meaningful justice outcome in response to that can be truly life-changing for all involved.

At a government level, seeking forgiveness can be uniquely important and create a foundation for change.

Whether that’s the role of a country in slavery, the criminalising of gay men and women, or the treatment of children who ended up in our care system and whose lives were further destroyed by our institutions.

Forgiveness can be transformative for both parties. It can turn the volume down on anger, introduce reflection and has the ability to lighten heavy, weary hearts.

Karyn McCluskey is Community Justice Scotland’s chief executive

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