TRC Final Report

Volume 5

Chapter 9

Subsection 42

■ CONCLUSION

143 The work of the Commission dispels the “myth that things can be done with magic dust, to bring people together and then they just start working together. There are stages, actually, in reconciliation.”¹⁷ The following stages or signposts on the reconciliation road have been highlighted by this chapter:

144 Reconciliation does not come easily. It requires persistence. It takes time.

145 Reconciliation is based on respect for our common humanity.

146 Reconciliation involves a form of restorative justice which does not seek revenge, nor does it seek impunity. In restoring the perpetrator to society, a milieu needs to emerge within which he or she may contribute to the building of democracy, a culture of human rights and political stability.

147 The full disclosure of truth and an understanding of why violations took place encourage forgiveness.

148 Equally important is the readiness to accept responsibility for past human rights violations.

149 Reconciliation does not wipe away the memories of the past. Indeed, it is motivated by a form of memory that stresses the need to remember without debilitating pain, bitterness, revenge, fear or guilt. It understands the vital importance of learning from and redressing past violations for the sake of our shared present and our children’s future.

150 Reconciliation does not necessarily involve forgiveness. It does involve a minimum willingness to co-exist and work for the peaceful handling of continuing differences.

151 Reconciliation requires that all South Africans accept moral and political responsibility for nurturing a culture of human rights and democracy within which political and socio-economic conflicts are addressed both seriously and in a non-violent manner.

152 Reconciliation requires a commitment, especially by those who have benefited and continue to benefit from past discrimination, to the transformation of unjust inequalities and dehumanising poverty.