In the final days of Cape Town, I was flooded with gratitude from the lessons I have learned through the history of South Africa. A huge piece of experiencing the crisis in South Africa has been to explore the depths of apartheid. It’s hard to believe that 20 years ago this nation was in the throws of severe segregation and a legal system that oppressed the majority of their citizens.
You may be wondering how the nation shifted gears and adopted democracy without causing more turmoil. After the ban of apartheid, South Africans adopted a form of restorative justice to return the nation to peace. This system was called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with the violence and human rights abuses under apartheid. It was used as a way to shift the nation from apartheid to a free democracy and was seen by many as having crucial significance in the healing of the nation.
But first let me recap on Apartheid so you will understand the impact of the TRC…
Apartheid took place from 1948-1993 and was enforced by the National Party of South Africa. This system created legal racial segregation where minority rule by white individuals was upheld and the non-whites were stripped of all rights and privileges. In 1958 all black people were deprived of their citizenship. Education, medical care and all public services were segregated by the government, which provided black people with services much inferior to whites.
Violence and internal resistance was the natural result as well as the prohibition of resistance and imprisoning of anti-apartheid leaders, such as Nelson Mandela. The end of Apartheid began in 1990 and concluded in multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress, under Nelson Mandela. Although Apartheid is over it continues to impact this nation through society and politics.
At the helm of the TRC was Archbishop Desmond Tutu. As the chairman, his goal was to help South Africans come to terms with the extreme troubled past. The TRC was established to investigate the violations that took place between 1960 and 1994, to provide support and reparation to victims and their families, and to compile a full and objective record of the effects of apartheid on South African society. Based on the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No. 34 of 1995, the TRC was empowered to grant amnesty to those charged with committing abuses during Apartheid.
There were two requirements: the crimes had to have been politically motivated and the entire and whole truth was to be told by the person seeking amnesty. In total 7112 people applied for amnesty; 5392 people were refused amnesty and 849 were granted amnesty, and some fit in the category “withdrawn.”
But really, what did the TRC stand for?
You may remember the story of Amy Biehl’s tragic death. She was a white American Fulbright scholar living in Cape Town as an anti-apartheid activist. She was killed by a black mob while driving through a black township, Gugulethu (just steps away from where myself and the OTM team slept during our homestay). Amy’s parents used the TRC as an instrument of peacemaking and a way to heal after their daughter’s death. Her father stated, “The most important vehicle of reconciliation is open and honest dialogue...we are here to reconcile a human life which was taken without an opportunity for dialogue. When we are finished with this process we must move forward with linked arms.” This is just one example of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of tragedy. The TRC created a bridge for people of any color to unite, to reconcile the past and to progress with hope for a brighter future.
On so many levels the story of apartheid and the TRC can act as our teacher. Desmond Tutu told South Africans during the TRC that, “To forgive is not just to be altruistic. It is the best form of self-interest. It is also a process that does not exclude hatred and anger. These emotions are all part of being human. You should never hate yourself for hating others who do terrible things: the depth of your love is shown by the extent of your anger.”
I then ask myself, where in my life have I not forgiven? If Mandela forgave the people who imprisoned him for 27 years, leaving prison with more grace and virtue than when he entered, then surely I can forgive those in my life. But often the forgiveness seems so challenging because it’s not others we must forgive, but ourselves. The TRC required the candidates for amnesty told 100% of the truth. We see in this example how truth and forgiveness walk hand in hand. Truth is the crucial starting point, but to reconcile in hopes for peace, there must be forgiveness. In forgiving we surrender, we make a choice to not carry the burden and we choose self-transformation instead of motionlessness.
I begin by embracing forgiveness of self. Allowing my authentic diversity to shine and feeling “free to be"…just like the South Africans continue to celebrate the rich diversity of their land, their people, and their past. I can also remember what Mandela told his nation, “We are all masters of our destiny. A better future depends on all of us lending a hand - your hand, my hand." Service is about you and me; it’s about giving back as much as I can and knowing it will be returned in ways unimaginable. While in the townships I kept reflecting on a parallel crisis in my town of Newport, Rhode Island. As I stared at the corrugated tin shacks and the children playing in the dirt, I was reminded of the massive homeless population in the states and in Newport. Why did I need to leave my hometown to become aware of the crisis in my backyard? I notice the shift in perspective that occurred in me while in SA – a land that also required their locals to open their minds, hearts and begin to awaken.
In sum, what I can tell you about the OTM experience abroad was that it is priceless. There was no limit to the space created for me to transform. There was no boundary of LOVE. Yet there was interminable freedom to go deep and to love BIG. And for me, Africa is where I woke up.
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