TRC Final Report

Volume 4

Chapter 9

Subsection 10

■ CONSEQUENCES OF APARTHEID AND GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The impact of apartheid on children and youth

84 South African children were exposed to countless horrors and suffered considerable trauma because of apartheid. Their role and involvement in the resistance struggle placed them on the firing line. The Commission’s documentation shows that children and youth were the dominant victims in all categories of gross human rights violations described in the Act. For almost every adult that was violated, probably two or more children or young people suffered. Children and young people were killed, tortured, maimed, detained, interrogated, abducted, harassed, displaced as well as being witnesses to these abuses.

85 Children growing up in extremely violent situations are frequently deprived of the structural support that allows for their meaningful experience of social and cultural life; the fabric of their societies and institutions is affected. For many South African children, family and friendship support networks were shattered by the policies of apartheid. Family life was often damaged, making it difficult for parents to take care of their children and to be emotionally available to listen to them.¹⁷ Many children became alienated from their parents and the trust, faith and communication that should have existed between the generations was sorely tried.

86 When considering the experiences of children under apartheid, it is important to remember that the Act provided for victims of defined gross human rights violations to testify and make statements to the Commission. This chapter therefore concerns the statements and testimonies of deponents who were defined as victims in terms of the legislation. This focus on victims is not, however, intended to diminish the active role of children and youth. Children were agents of social change and harnessed vast amounts of energy, courage and resilience during the apartheid era. For many young people, active engagement in political activity resulted in the acquisition of skills such as analysis, mobilisation and strategising, as well as the ability to draw strength from friends and comrades in times of hardship. Many of today’s leaders come from a politically active history and have displayed a remarkable capacity for forgiveness and reconciliation.

87 The majority of people who came to the hearings spoke of experiences of extreme hardship, pain and suffering, whilst also providing testimony of the bravery and enthusiasm of young people. The Commission provided a process through which some of the hurt that many people had been carrying silently for years could be released. Thus, while recognising the largely positive role that children and youth played in the liberation of South Africa, many of the testimonies and statements refer only to the generally negative consequences of repression in the period under review.