Sinkford Holds Truth and Reconciliation Meetings in South Africa
November 17, 2008
On Monday, November 10, Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) President William G. Sinkford and his companions held extended meetings with leaders in the South Africa truth and reconciliation movement. Sinkford met with Fanie du Toit, Executive Director of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (which monitors the government’s implementation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) mandates) and Mary Burton, (a member of the TRC) who travels widely lecturing about the process and her experiences on the Commission.
Mr. du Toit helped set the context of the TRC for the UUA group by explaining that its success can’t be measured entirely by the effectiveness of its two most well-known outcomes: amnesty and reparations. By these measures, du Toit said, the TRC was genuinely a failure. But, the appropriate measure—and the one at which it succeeded—was truth-telling, and opening up a future for South Africa that “is not based on either a cover-up or a lie.” While the victims of gross human rights violations could never have been either entirely healed, or justice entirely served by having perpetrators come forward and admit their crimes, du Toit believes that most victims did benefit, some in surprisingly powerful ways. And, though the nearly 25,000 victims of these abuses were not promised any financial remuneration by the TRC, the South African government ultimately decided that reparations were in order.
Reparations, du Toit said, can be divided into three categories: individual, community, and symbolic. Individual reparations for the victims of gross human rights abuses were originally scheduled to include a payment of $3000/year for six years. However, this amount was scaled back and limited to one lump-sum reparation payment of approximately $6000. By any measure, du Toit explained, this outcome is nothing more than a token.
Community reparations are meant to provide infrastructure to cities, towns and rural areas that suffered under apartheid and will include creating housing, schools and hospitals among other institutions. To date, these reparations have not been undertaken, but announcements last week indicated they were imminent.
Symbolic reparations include creating public witnesses to the anti-apartheid struggle and the evils of the apartheid system. The “Apartheid Museum” in Johannesburg provides one example; memorials to martyrs and heroes, and practical matters like changing the names of streets and their street signs to reflect the new direction of South Africa, provide other examples of symbolic reparations. Mr. du Toit thought that, of the three types of reparations, these symbolic measures had been those most effectively implemented and, in his judgment, were equally important—though they are hardly an excuse for failing so dramatically at fulfilling the first two types.
The UUA delegation’s far-ranging discussion included the role of religious communities in both the Apartheid and the Anti-apartheid struggle, with particular emphasis on the role of the Dutch Reform Church in which du Toit was raised and underwent ministerial training. Responding to a question about the changing views of South Africans who benefited from Apartheid, du Toit candidly offered the opinion that racism continues to exert a powerful influence in the Afrikaaner community—a reality which he struggles to face when he gathers with childhood friends or members of his extended family.
As we discussed the context for Truth, Reconciliation and Repair in the United States, and the very different historical time-frames between our two countries, Fanie du Toit suggested we try to learn from the best of the TRC and continue to struggle with solutions that could address TRC failures. He seemed confident that community and symbolic reparations can have important roles, and that statements of apology, forgiveness and processes of atonement are worthy of pursuit, while remaining skeptical about the effectiveness of individual reparations.
Mary Burton, in discussing her experiences with the TRC, placed great emphasis on the truth-telling aspect of the process—often referring to the TRC as the Truth Commission. She described how the TRC had been established by a new, democratically-elected government with a broad mandate, how commissioners were selected through an open and public process, and, especially, the uniquely important role that Archbishop Desmond Tutu played in the process. The value he brought was not only as a front-line leader during the struggle, who lent the process tremendous credibility in all areas of South Africa, but Tutu also bestowed a “sacred” quality to the secular TRC process, Burton said.
Mary Burton recognized that while the TRC process could serve an important role—and did—something more was needed. Burton participated in a “Home for All” campaign, which offered South African citizens an opportunity to sign a statement about the horrors of apartheid and volunteer to make a contribution towards restitution. She described how the media misconstrued the goals of the campaign and ultimately led to its failure. It was intended, she said, to offer people an opportunity to “acknowledge privilege,” but was interpreted as an “apology” effort.
Burton also observed that “forgiveness is not something that happens in a discreet moment, but is an ongoing process.” She believes that whenever the surface that has grown over apartheid is scratched, a great deal of pain and anger emerge. That, she said, is where civil society, government, and religious organizations need to continue to focus attention if true reconciliation and repair remain goals for South Africa.
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Last updated on Thursday, June 3, 2010.
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