That day, Lola went swimming with her dad before the gig at the Bataclan theatre. Two days later, her parents identified her body. "It was a terrible experience," says Georges.¹

Today is the anniversary of the 2015 Paris massacreA brutal and indiscriminate slaughter.. Islamist terrorists opened fire in cafes, blew themselves up at a stadium, and took hostages in the Bataclan. They killed 130 people.

Seven attackers also died. One was Samy Amimour. His father, Azdyne, had tried to steer him away from extremismHolding extreme political or religious ideas.. In 2017, he contacted Georges to show him they were not a "family of terrorists."

They talked and became friends. "If there are words left," Georges says, "there is also hope." They visit schools and prisons to teach about forgiveness.

Restorative justice brings victims and perpetratorsPeople who carried out harmful, illegal, or immoral acts. together. Over 40 countries have held "truth commissions" to move beyond a painful past, such as genocideThe annihilation of a people, either through killing of its members, or through the suppression of its culture. in RwandaA country in the centre of Africa. At least 500,000 people were killed in the appalling genocide of 1994. or apartheidA system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights. in South Africa.²

Forgiveness can be radical. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ told his followers to "love your enemies" rather than seek revenge.³ This idea was key to peace movements in the 20th Century. "Hate cannot drive out hate," preached Martin Luther King, "only love can do that."⁴

For over 30 years in Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness stood on opposing sides of a conflict. In 2007, they agreed to share power and became good friends. In government, they were known as the "chuckle brothers."⁵

Israeli Rami Elhanan and Palestinian Bassam Aramin became friends through a shared grief.⁶ They both lost daughters in the conflict but now call each other "brother" and urge peace.

Talking about the war in GazaThe smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt. , Rami says: "We have the moral authority to tell people this is not the way." Bassam, who once threw a grenade at Israeli soldiers, wants to "create more bridges instead of more graves."

On 16 January 2004, four Israelis and four Palestinians climbed a peak in Antarctica. They named it the Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian Friendship. "This moment is so beautiful," said Ziad Darwish. His brother had been killed by the Israeli army.⁷

Georges Salines admits the friendship between two men will not change the world: "Sometimes it feels like trying to empty the sea with a spoon." But maybe it is the small differences that count.

Yes: Nothing else will. All over the world, peace talks have ended cycles of violence. Only by sitting down with our enemies do we start to see them as people like us, who deserve love and forgiveness.

No: This is wishful thinking. There are so many conflicts today because people do not want to talk. It will not bring the dead back. And the desire for revenge is more powerful than for forgiveness.

Or... Talking can solve many problems, but you have to create the right conditions for it. Enemies must agree they have more to lose by fighting and more to gain by talking. This process can take decades.