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\nThe\u00a0final story offers a window into the everyday reality of millions of\u00a0black South Africans during the peak years of the National Party government’s\u00a0crackdown on escalating resistance to apartheid.<\/p>\n
\nThe\u00a0final story offers a window into the everyday reality of millions of\u00a0black South Africans during the peak years of the National Party government’s\u00a0crackdown on escalating resistance to apartheid.<\/p>\n
In Guguletu, the same township where Amy Biehl was killed, another violent\u00a0incident had taken place seven years earlier. Unlike the uncommon circumstances\u00a0of Amy’s death, this incident was all too ordinary during apartheid’s\u00a0most violent years.<\/p>\n
In 1986, seven township youths were befriended and encouraged to raid\u00a0the local police headquarters by an askari (a captured anti-apartheid\u00a0activist who was coerced to work for the Security Police).<\/p>\n
Before the raid\u00a0could take place, the police ambushed and massacred the entire group\u00a0of youths, while a school bus filled with children looked on. Such tactics were\u00a0common at the time, especially when the police needed to show they were\u00a0having success maintaining order.<\/p>\n
Posthumously known\u00a0as the “Guguletu 7,” their collective funeral became a galvanizing\u00a0event, rallying thousands more to the cause of apartheid’s defeat. Through\u00a0the TRC process, the long-withheld details of the murders have gradually\u00a0been uncovered.<\/p>\n
Our story focuses on the mothers of the seven murdered youths, who come\u00a0to the TRC to publicly request reparations. The mothers testify about\u00a0finding out about their sons’ deaths on the evening news, which announced\u00a0that seven “terrorists” had been killed by the police.<\/p>\n
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After their own\u00a0cathartic testimony, the mothers watch two policemen who have requested\u00a0amnesty for the killings take the stand and admit their roles in the\u00a0pre-meditated slaughter. One officer is black, the other white, one\u00a0is remorseful and one not. (In an amnesty application the TRC requires\u00a0only truthfulness, not remorse).<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of the hearings, the black officer, Thapelo Mbelo,\u00a0meets directly with the mothers of the murdered youths to apologize\u00a0for his actions.<\/p>\n
After enduring more than ten years of police denials, the mothers assess\u00a0to what extent their need for justice is satisfied by finally hearing\u00a0the truth. One mother says, “As long as they are telling the whole truth,\u00a0I’ve got no problem with the amnesty.” Others feel that simply admitting\u00a0their guilt does not absolve their sons’ killers, and they express the\u00a0desire for punitive measures.<\/p>\n
As they speak out, telling their own truths and evaluating the killers’\u00a0testimonies, the mothers move through a process of transformation and\u00a0empowerment. Having considered themselves to be victims, the mothers\u00a0find a voice and an identity through their participation in the TRC,\u00a0emerging with a newfound sense of themselves as full-fledged citizens\u00a0in a progressive democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0final story offers a window into the everyday reality of millions of\u00a0black South Africans during the peak years of the National Party government’s\u00a0crackdown on escalating resistance to apartheid. In Guguletu, the same township where Amy Biehl was killed, another violent\u00a0incident … Continue reading