Home
Desire for Reconciliation Remains Strong
CHICAGO, IL (March 9, 2006) - The desire for racial reconciliation continues
to be strong in South Africa even as the nation seeks to balance
justice, mercy and economic challenges a decade removed from the fall of
apartheid.
That was what the nation's Consul General in Chicago, Yusuf Omar, told a
gathering of North Park Theological Seminary students recently.
Reconciliation doesn't mean "let bygones be bygones," said Omar.
Contrition, confession and forgiveness are necessary for the healing
process. "One needs to know whom one is forgiving and why," said Omar.
"That is the reason truth is important." He added, "Reconciliation
cannot be based on lies."
Omar was part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
established in 1995 in the wake of apartheid's downfall. The
commission's goal was to obtain testimony from as many people as
possible about the years of injustice. Its final report was issued in 2003.
"We all stand in need of healing," said Omar, who was five years old
when he witnessed his father being beaten. "We wanted to find a way to
forgive our fellow countrymen."
The commission heard from victims and "perpetrators telling the truth in
front of the nation." As many as 5,000 victims or victims' survivors
appeared before the commission, and more than 7,000 perpetrators also
testified, Omar said.
Testifying did not automatically lead to absolution. "The TRC did not
merely dole out amnesty," Omar said. Much depended on the person's
responsibility in the era's violence. The TRC has been key to the
nation's current stability, Omar told the students. "It took the sting
of people's anger and resentment."
Reparations and rehabilitation have been essential to the amnesty
process, Omar said. "It won't reverse the damage done, but it can lead
to restoration of dignity of the violated."
The process has included financial reparations and symbolic gestures
such as building memorials, providing death certificates for those
killed and the removal of criminal records, Omar said. He added that the
country also has promoted institutional reform and the healing of
communities through providing health and mental health care, education
and housing, as well as "demilitarizing" the youth.
Although South Africa now boasts a budget surplus, much work still
remains, Omar said. The country continues to work on improving its
social programs and improving housing for much of the population. The
country also is working to stem the tide of HIV an AIDS as well as
globalization.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
