Article December 2, 1996 Issue

Truth and reconciliation are commissioned by God

Dorothy Dipuo Maubane

South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established last April in an effort to put the horrors of apartheid to rest and to enable the nation to go forward. The commission is considering amnesty for those who confess to wrongdoing, looking into victims' accounts of atrocities, and recommending reparations for some.

While such government-sanctioned initiatives to bridge divisions among people are an important part of the reconciliation process, the articles that follow illustrate the essential role that each individual plays in overcoming hatred and injustice with healing and peace.

Of course, South Africa is not the only place where reconciliation is needed. Northern lreland, the Middle East, Canada and Quebec, the former Soviet Union, the divided parts of Yugoslavia, the inner cities and street corners of many metropolitan areas in the United States—these are all places where forgiveness and healing can do much good.

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