We arrived bright and early in Johannesburg this morning. After dropping our stuff off at the Ginnegaap Guesthouse and getting some food we headed off to Constitution Hill. Here we saw some of the old prison buildings in which they kept many political prisoners including the famous Mahatma Gandhi. Bob Gosani was also imprisoned for publishing the following pictures in Drum Magazine, which he took secretly from a building adjacent to the prison. They are pictures of Tausa, an embarrassing strip search they conducted on all of the prisoners which involved everything from making the prisoners jump to having them bend over in order to search their anus. These procedures were the same for women except for the additional search between their legs.
There was also an exhibit called “Xenophobia: Never Again.” This exhibit consisted of photographs by Alan Skuy of an incident that occurred about one year ago, on May 11 2008, when there was acts of violence committed against non-South African blacks such as refugees from Zimbabwe, Somalia, or Malawi. There were pictures of mobs lead by a man holding an axe, homes on fire, a man beaten bloody, and more. This “xenophobia” was part of the black on black violence, which although erupted May a year ago, had been simmering since the early 1990’s. Part of the goal of the exhibit was the intention to remember so that, in the words of Skuy, we can “create a society that NEVER, NEVER, AND NEVER AGAIN… will experience these attacks and discrimination.”
On Constitution Hill is also the current Constitutional Courthouse, which is written in the 11 official languages. It is designed, both with the legal structure of the many justices of diverse backgrounds, and the architecture built to resemble a tree, to include more indigenous approaches to justice where people sat under a tree and discussed a situation until reaching a decision. This is where cases are seen that are relevant to the new constitution.
After this we attended a lecture by Ayesha Kajee, the program director of the International Human Rights Exchange program through the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She gave us an introduction to the reconciliation/transitional justice process that South Africa has been going through since the ending of Apartheid. She spoke about the institutional framework that had been created by the constitution. There are restrictions around hate speech, protections of both individuals and communities, including based on sexual orientation, more progressive than many places even in the United States. There is a separation of powers that has allowed for AIDS activists to take the former president Thabo Mbeki to court over providing retroviral drugs to pregnant women. Also there has been the creation of Chapter 9 institutions such as the Human Rights Commission, the Gender Commission, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). South Africa modeled some of its reconciliation process after what was seen in Chile and Argentina, thinking about both what worked and what didn’t work. It involved condemnation of the atrocities that had been committed, and an inclusion of the public in this process. This allowed for the victim’s truths to be told, and with the aid of mass media many others, specifically including White South Africans, to witness these truths.
Kajee also spoke to the limitations of the TRC’s huge undertakings in the reconciliation process. Though there are certain indications of reconciliation, such invaluable fact that there is no civil war right now, people feel still that the government has cheated them. For example, amnesty was offered to those who fully disclosed their activities in initiating/participating in/implementing many of the atrocities of apartheid. However, often there was amnesty granted when there wasn’t full disclosure, or prosecutions weren’t pursued even when there wasn’t any disclosure whatsoever. Reparations, part of the justice component of reconciliation, were recommended by the TRC to the government, but Mbeki’s administration often didn’t follow through with these recommendations. Particularly, the business sector that profited largely from the cheap labor of apartheid has not been involved in compensating the victims of apartheid, largely because their economic power translates into political influence. Many of the most marginalized communities feel that the process has been a lot of discourse and not much action because they have not seen the fruits of the reconciliation process. Social services like education, housing, and healthcare have not been delivered. In a country where it is estimated that 1 in 5 people is HIV positive, there are many communities that still have no access to basic primary health care.
This is an image of the condom dispenser in the university bathroom that I thought was cool.
To me this brings up the importance of transitional justice in the reconciliation process. Our reading of Bar-Tal and Bennink’s article “The Nature of Reconciliation as an Outcome and as a Process,” discusses some of the important features of reconciliation. These involve apologies and reparations, and later on creating a common history and joint projects. However, if these acknowledgements of past injustices are not occurring, or even if they do but then no reparations are made, what motivates those who have been and continue to be victims of an unequal system, to humanize those oppressing them? Kajee also mentioned a survey done in 2005 in which 30% of previous benefactors of apartheid (meaning they legally benefited from apartheid by policies such as having certain jobs reserved from them), did not actually think they benefited from apartheid. So if these injustices are not only not compensated, but also denied legitimacy, how can there be forgiveness and progress?
Tomorrow we are visiting the Apartheid Museum, which I hear is quite intense. I am excited and nervous to learn about the horrific realities that existed and yet think about progress beyond those ideas to ones of peace, healing and, of course, reconciliation.
There was also an exhibit called “Xenophobia: Never Again.” This exhibit consisted of photographs by Alan Skuy of an incident that occurred about one year ago, on May 11 2008, when there was acts of violence committed against non-South African blacks such as refugees from Zimbabwe, Somalia, or Malawi. There were pictures of mobs lead by a man holding an axe, homes on fire, a man beaten bloody, and more. This “xenophobia” was part of the black on black violence, which although erupted May a year ago, had been simmering since the early 1990’s. Part of the goal of the exhibit was the intention to remember so that, in the words of Skuy, we can “create a society that NEVER, NEVER, AND NEVER AGAIN… will experience these attacks and discrimination.”
On Constitution Hill is also the current Constitutional Courthouse, which is written in the 11 official languages. It is designed, both with the legal structure of the many justices of diverse backgrounds, and the architecture built to resemble a tree, to include more indigenous approaches to justice where people sat under a tree and discussed a situation until reaching a decision. This is where cases are seen that are relevant to the new constitution.
After this we attended a lecture by Ayesha Kajee, the program director of the International Human Rights Exchange program through the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She gave us an introduction to the reconciliation/transitional justice process that South Africa has been going through since the ending of Apartheid. She spoke about the institutional framework that had been created by the constitution. There are restrictions around hate speech, protections of both individuals and communities, including based on sexual orientation, more progressive than many places even in the United States. There is a separation of powers that has allowed for AIDS activists to take the former president Thabo Mbeki to court over providing retroviral drugs to pregnant women. Also there has been the creation of Chapter 9 institutions such as the Human Rights Commission, the Gender Commission, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). South Africa modeled some of its reconciliation process after what was seen in Chile and Argentina, thinking about both what worked and what didn’t work. It involved condemnation of the atrocities that had been committed, and an inclusion of the public in this process. This allowed for the victim’s truths to be told, and with the aid of mass media many others, specifically including White South Africans, to witness these truths.
Kajee also spoke to the limitations of the TRC’s huge undertakings in the reconciliation process. Though there are certain indications of reconciliation, such invaluable fact that there is no civil war right now, people feel still that the government has cheated them. For example, amnesty was offered to those who fully disclosed their activities in initiating/participating in/implementing many of the atrocities of apartheid. However, often there was amnesty granted when there wasn’t full disclosure, or prosecutions weren’t pursued even when there wasn’t any disclosure whatsoever. Reparations, part of the justice component of reconciliation, were recommended by the TRC to the government, but Mbeki’s administration often didn’t follow through with these recommendations. Particularly, the business sector that profited largely from the cheap labor of apartheid has not been involved in compensating the victims of apartheid, largely because their economic power translates into political influence. Many of the most marginalized communities feel that the process has been a lot of discourse and not much action because they have not seen the fruits of the reconciliation process. Social services like education, housing, and healthcare have not been delivered. In a country where it is estimated that 1 in 5 people is HIV positive, there are many communities that still have no access to basic primary health care.
This is an image of the condom dispenser in the university bathroom that I thought was cool.
To me this brings up the importance of transitional justice in the reconciliation process. Our reading of Bar-Tal and Bennink’s article “The Nature of Reconciliation as an Outcome and as a Process,” discusses some of the important features of reconciliation. These involve apologies and reparations, and later on creating a common history and joint projects. However, if these acknowledgements of past injustices are not occurring, or even if they do but then no reparations are made, what motivates those who have been and continue to be victims of an unequal system, to humanize those oppressing them? Kajee also mentioned a survey done in 2005 in which 30% of previous benefactors of apartheid (meaning they legally benefited from apartheid by policies such as having certain jobs reserved from them), did not actually think they benefited from apartheid. So if these injustices are not only not compensated, but also denied legitimacy, how can there be forgiveness and progress?
Tomorrow we are visiting the Apartheid Museum, which I hear is quite intense. I am excited and nervous to learn about the horrific realities that existed and yet think about progress beyond those ideas to ones of peace, healing and, of course, reconciliation.
Looks like you're already learning a lot. When we become doctors lets do doctors with out borders together. Have fun! Can't wait to hear more stories.
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