The country needs rehabilitation, the return of land and the profits that have been made.
This was a sentiment that peppered some of the discussions during a dialogue called by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities.
In a moment that was symbolic of the emotive nature of the process of reconciliation, a dialogue among leading figures in religion, culture and the law degenerated into near chaos this week.
“We need rehabilitation, our people have been hurt. Let us get back the land and the profit that has been made off that land, particularly in mining areas, so that black people can benefit from the land,” said one of the delegates.
The conversations looked at the role of religion, the law and culture in reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa.
It was held at the Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg, on Tuesday.
At the heart of the dialogue was what can be done to achieve reconciliation. A view was held that there could be no reconciliation as long as the conversation is among the people who were “wronged”.
“Where are the people that wronged us,” said another delegate.
“Look around the room,” he said, noting that there were less than a handful of white South Africans in attendance.
In a response that was symbolic of the complexity of issues that reconciliation conjures up in different people, the “white delegate” jokingly quipped that he represents “all white people”.
After the speakers of the day spoke, delegates were divided into smaller groups.
The commission’s chairperson Prof Luka Mosoma spoke on the purpose of the dialogue; Catholic Bishop VictorPhalana, on the role of religion in reconciliation; head of department of sociology at Monash University Dr Alex Asakitikpi on the role of culture and Prof Charles Maimela of the University of Pretoria, on the law.
In one of the three breakaway sessions, all hell broke loose.
At the core of the tension that had been building up as the discussion progressed were the varied views and suggestions, some of which offended other cultural and linguistic groupings, and some in contradiction with others’ cultural beliefs, while others required a change in the law.
Another delegate noted that reconciliation could not take place unless the cost of what had been lost could be quantified and a discussion and agreement reached on how that would be repaid. Other delegates argued that reconciliation could not happen unless there was rehabilitation.
Another delegate also noted that in terms of the law, reconciliation could be defined in terms of how accessible the law was and whether all were equal before the law.
The financial status of individuals, especially poor black people and how that affects their access to the law and equality before the law was also interrogated.
The role of basic education also came under the spotlight. A religious leader said: “The philosophy of black consciousness must be promoted and carried out in the school curriculum.”
Town planning was also discussed. “New townships that are developed in the country are not designed to create peace in the community but are designed to create violence in society. Religious leaders must be included in town planning.”
But peace was restored with a lunch break and an apology in the true spirit of reconciliation.
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