Truth and Reconsilliation Committee (TRC)

I had the pleasure of dining with one of the men, Prof. Piet Meiring who will be on sabbatical at Princeton University this Fall 2007.

The TRC was a committee set up post-apartheid to literally “hear the truth” and attempt “reconciliation” among the sides. The TRC was lead by Bishop Desmond Tutu. Two members of the committee Prof. Piet Meiring (white african) and Prof. Maake Masango (black africa) were on the committee. They spoke about their distain for each other in the beginning and how in time they grew to love and support each other through this trying and emotional process. The process lasted about two years and they saw approximately 200,000 victims of apartheid. According to the men, many families expressed their thankfulness to the committee for the opportunity to speak to the truth of what was done to them to TRC while others who did not get a chance to speak didn’t see the value in this process. Understandable. The men retold many stories of truth and forgiveness, where victims and offenders came together in reconciliation. I think the most impactful fact that was made crystal clear to me was how many global business’, instilled systemic discrimination within the workplace, from wages to benefits. I must admit it makes me hesitant about continuing to use products from those companies knowing about there dark past.

Our South African tour guide was the brother-in-law of Prof. Piet Meiring. He shared his own personal experience with apartheid and as a retried minister himself he also felt he had some amends to make. He had tears in his eye when he explained to me that the church used religion to support and justify apartheid in South Africa. He explain how the theory of “due unto others as you would have done to you” was used to keep segregation. Would YOU want to be with a black african? Then they probably don’t want to be with you so it is best to keep separate. He also teared up when he retold of the day he personally took his black african domestic staff to vote. He said it took days of convicting as there was a lot of fear that the black africans would be reprimanded somehow for voting. He explain how he and his wife “book-ended” the staff and walked them to the voting booth. A memory neither of us will forget.