Brutal war has engulfed villages and cities in Mali. Violence in Colombia has forced people out of their homes and left anger, fear and poverty in its wake. Does post-apartheid South Africa offer a vision and a model for war-torn societies? Many countries that have been torn apart by civil war ask: how do we rebuild, how can we make amends, or does accountability trump reconciliation?

• Joaquin Chavez, historian at UIC, research and direct work on reconciliation and reconstruction in El Salvador
• Ali Issa, anti-militarist activist, writer and field organizer for War Resisters League
• Prexy Nesbitt, educator, activist and speaker on Africa, foreign policy and racism
• Astrid Suarez, founder of Columbia vive Chicago
• Barbara Ransby, historian, author, and Director of the Social Justice Initiative and Gender and Women’s Studies at UIC (moderator)