This study focused on the impact of the revelations at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings on 30 female victims of all races. An explanatory model, the TRC Revelation Aftermath Model was designed to direct the research and to interpret the data. Researcher made use of a non-probability sampling strategy. Five respondents were selected by purposive sampling and 25 were selected by means of the snowball sampling. The sample of this study consisted of three components, namely ten Commissioners of the TRC, ten Coordinators who worked in the TRC offices, as well as 30 female victims of all races. The Commissioners were interviewed to validate the data obtained from the victims while the Coordinators were consulted merely to obtain general information on the criteria which was used to process the applications submitted by the victims in order to receive the reparations. The analysis of the data revealed that the respondents accepted three assumptions, namely, they were invulnerable with regard to trauma such as that caused by the revelations of the TRC. In addition to this they viewed life as meaningful and that they also had a positive attitude towards it before the political conflict of the apartheid era in South Africa impacted on them. These assumptions were interpreted in terms of Janoff-Bulman and Frieze's theory. The research findings indicated that the assumptions were not only affected by the revelations but that they also influenced the way in which these women experienced the TRC process. It was found that the victim respondents, whose family members had disappeared and were never confirmed dead, had suffered exacerbated emotions which were characterised by denial. This was the result of repressed memories associated with the grief. Of importance too, was the finding that a few of the victims were successful in deriving meaning from their suffering, while others, who could not achieve this, could not reconcile with their perpetrators and this was determined by their age. As the former were willing to forgive their perpetrators they had thus found inner peace. During the interviews, the victims mentioned that although the TRC had appeared to be necessary before they made their submissions, however, after it had disappointed them by not granting them reparations, this exacerbated their suffering as they felt that they had been discriminated against in favour of the perpetrators who were granted amnesty irrespective of not having made full disclosures. According to Parsons General Action System all the respondents experienced their trauma as biological entities, and thus suffered symptoms related to psychosomatic illnesses such as, inter alia, headaches, insomnia, and ulcers. These were accompanied by personality characteristics such as anger, aggression, as well as hatred. As the victims could not function in isolation, they also endured ostracisation related to cultural stereotypes and in this way, their suffering was perceived as secondary to that of males. Furthermore, within the social system, the victims who perceived the TRC as biased, believed that it had caused the country embarrassment by bringing up the conflict of the apartheid era. However, others verbalised that the Commission was a good initiative for South Africa so that peace as well as reconciliation could be facilitated for the sake of unity. It is crucial to stress the finding that some of the respondents, although few, who had been granted reparations, were satisfied with the TRC and perceived it as fair and thus could reconcile with their perpetrators. The research report concludes with a number of recommendations for the establishment of support services for the traumatised victims as well as integrative mechanisms, which could encourage co-operation between the citizens of South Africa so that the reconciliation which the TRC facilitated can be sustained. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, amnesty, violence, human rights, reconciliation, apartheid, trauma, grief, bereavement. / Thesis (DPhil (Criminology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

"This work is arranged into six chapters. Beyond the introduction, chapter two highlights atrocities of the war and evaluates the diplomacy process, which eventually resulted in the creation of the TRC. It briefly examines the Abidjan and Conakry Peace Plan and specifically elaborates on the Lome Peace Accord, which finally culminated in the promulgation of the Truth and Reconciliation Act of 2000. The human rights and humanitarian law dimension of the conflict will also be addressed. Chapter three gives a general description of truth commissions and analyse the TRC with specific refernce to its structure, function, jurisdiction, mandate, proceedings, evidence, and its investigative methods, which is the backbone of the Truth Commission. It will aslo assess whether naming names would be a potent tool for the Commission to bring perpetrators to shame. From a human rights perspective chapter four address issues such as healing and reconciliation, truth, forgiveness, and assesses whether they are effective remedies for human rights violations. The issue of amnesty, especially Article IX of the Lome Peace Accord, will be evaluated. This chapter will also discuss the issue of impunity. Chapter five deliberates on the relationship between tribunals and truth commissions generally and specifically elaborate on the TRC and the Special Court with specific reference to their legal framework, composition, jurisdiction, information sharing, and whether both institutions serve as accountability mechanisms. Chapter six concludes the dissertation by determining whether or not there are any lessons one can learn from the Commission. It closes by making recommendations for the smooth functioning of the Commission and how it can effectively contribute to the needs of traumatised societies." -- Chapter 1. / Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Jean Allain at the Department of Political Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the American University in Cairo, Egypt / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Time has passed since truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) started to grow in popularity. The general patterns of their effect on the post-conflict societies are still unexplored. The main claim is that establishing a TRC will reduce the likelihood of conflict recurrence compared to other forms of transitional justice as TRCs are especially well equipped to mitigate reasons for conflict recurrence. This paper uses quantitative methods with the PCJ dataset and the UCDP dyadic dataset to analyse the trends of different types of transitional justice between the years 1946-2006. The logistic regression showed a negative relationship between establishment of TRCs and conflict recurrence. The main implication of these findings is that there are general patterns of TRCs having an effect, which need to be further researched.

Based‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌idea‌ ‌that‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌reflects‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌values‌ ‌and‌ ‌is‌ ‌meant,‌ ‌not‌ ‌as‌ ‌many‌ ‌have‌ ‌argued‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌means‌ ‌of‌ ‌teaching‌ ‌history,‌ ‌but‌ ‌rather‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌means‌ ‌of‌ ‌promoting‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌ideals,‌ ‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌serves‌ ‌a‌ ‌role‌ ‌in‌ ‌lauding‌ ‌people‌ ‌and‌ ‌behaviors‌ ‌and‌ ‌reflects‌ ‌a‌n important facet in the ‌creation‌ ‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌national‌ ‌identity‌ ‌and‌ ‌ethos. Further,‌ ‌that‌ ‌in‌ ‌this‌ ‌function‌ ‌of‌ ‌promoting‌ ‌societal‌ ‌norms,‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌serves‌ ‌as‌ an‌ iconography ‌of‌‌ a “civil ‌religion”‌ ‌which‌ ‌tell‌s ‌a‌ ‌story‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌citizenry‌ ‌about‌ ‌what‌ ‌a‌ ‌given‌ ‌country‌ ‌admires,‌ ‌reveres‌ ‌and‌ ‌aspires‌ ‌to‌ ‌and‌ ‌promotes‌ ‌a‌ ‌specific‌ ‌moral‌ ‌narrative‌ ‌regarding‌ ‌a‌ ‌country‌ ‌and‌ ‌its‌ ‌people.‌ ‌Thus,‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌forms‌ ‌an‌ ‌iconography‌ ‌reflecting‌ ‌the‌ ‌norms‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌“civil ‌religion”‌ ‌and‌ ‌its‌ ‌related‌ ‌mores,‌ ‌morals‌ ‌and‌ ‌ethical‌ ‌values.‌ ‌

This thesis concerns the challenges and limitations of developing a conception of a “reconciliatory pedagogy”. As a history methodology lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, I noticed that relationships among students were polarised. But during the course of an oral history and cooperative learning assignment with second year students, I observed a shift in relationships among some of the students. This started my journey towards conceptualising a “reconciliatory pedagogy”, which addresses the difficult issue of how we reweave relationships in the South African history lecture/classroom, given our torrid past. The methodology used in this thesis is narrative inquiry. I have used this approach to consider the meaning of reconciliation from different perspectives and contexts: the literature on reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa, and in practice with some history methodology students and history primary school teachers. John Paul Lederach’s (1997, 1999) images of reconciliation were key ideas literature that informed my conception of a reconciliatory pedagogy. He developed his dynamic ideas on reconciliation during his international attempts at peace-making, and I explored whether these ideas could be applied to the South African context of the history lecture/classroom. The TRC started the process of reconciliation in 1996, but everyday events continue to demonstrate the on-going lack of reconciliation in South Africa. A “reconciliatory pedagogy” aimed to take forward some aspects of the TRC, such as students/learners finding out more about the recent South African past via oral history interviews, and encouraging dialogue about this difficult past between the different generations. The use of cooperative learning strategies facilitated further dialogue about this past among the students/learners, where they shared “their” oral histories during a joint task, and in some cases engaged in Lederach’s (1999) “dance” of reconciliation. By interviewing history students/teachers, and through classroom observations, the successes and limitations of my conception of a “reconciliatory pedagogy” emerged. The results of the above process encouraged reflection about the education of history student teachers: it suggested the need for a more theory-based approach to their education via a critique of Lederach’s model of reconciliation and oral history in a “reconciliatory pedagogy”. A “reconciliatory pedagogy” does not claim to lead to big changes in attitudes or towards the teaching of history, but it assists in small shifts that may affect the broader project of reconciliation in South Africa.

Throughout the past three decades the world has witnessed an increased transition of states from autocratic systems to liberal democracies. During such transitions the reconciliation of societies fractured by previous human atrocities is an integral part for success. This article explores the impacts of principles of truth and justice on reconciliation of fractured societies during the process of transitional justice. Throughout the process it will provide an insight on different aspects and levels of the terminology of reconciliation. To illustrate the difference between a judicial approach and the process of amnesty giving, it will contrast the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. Furthermore, it will provide an analytical account on the impact of internal actors versus external actors on reconciliation of fractured societies. This analysis will provide an understanding of the factors at work during reconciliation as a process and an outcome.

Public apprehension about religious diversity has pervaded Canadian headlines at an increasing pace, particularly during the past fifteen years. Urban centres and suburban and rural communities alike have seen clashes over the manifestation of diverse belief systems in daily life. From immigrant ‘codes of conduct,’ a ‘charter of values,’ controversy over the wearing of the Sikh kirpan in school, to bans on religious vestments and symbols worn by public servants including teachers, conflict and socially divisive misunderstandings are often the unfortunate fruits of ignorance about the ‘other.’ Many religious actors at the center of these stories have seen their cases ultimately adjudicated in Canada’s highest court, reinforcing the perception that religious difference is a source of conflict and division in Canadian society. In this era of global conversations about how liberal democracies approach diversity, this dissertation expands the conversation on education about religion, beliefs and worldviews in Canadian classrooms. With public education situated as a primary site for constructing democratic citizenship, the question of how this evolving dynamic of diversity is taught in schools is symbolically and practically linked to broader debates about government and societal responses to pluralism. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by interweaving thinking from the literature on pluralism, xenosophia and deep equality as a conceptual framework, with empirical work investigating what parents and educators thought Canadian public-school (primary and secondary) students should learn in order to best prepare them for living and thriving in a diverse society. Triangulated data gathered from semi-structured interviews with parents and educators (n=22), responses from a national online survey (n=190), and a textual analysis of secondary student manuals from Quebec’s Ethics and Religious Culture Program (n=5), provided a holistic vantage point from which to consider the central research questions. Analysis and interpretation of findings revealed that learning about diversity and difference were of central importance, however, there were fundamental concerns regarding indoctrination, rejection of majority religious privilege and even-handedness in the presentation of religious and nonreligious belief systems. Existing discourse on religious and worldview literacy education in Canada tends to focus on teaching and learning in the context of a discrete curriculum such as the Ethics and Religious Culture program. However, findings from this research suggest that increased public awareness about the religious entanglements of colonization, combined with the significant rise in the number of Canadians who hold non-religious worldviews, contribute to a rethinking of how such literacy endeavours may be better integrated into other subject areas such as civics, citizenship, history or social studies.

This work is concerned with healing practices that are created within a participatory framework in pastoral theology. It works in post-colonial and postapartheid times in South Africa following on from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The thesis looks to forms of participation with both victims and perpetrators of apartheid. It seeks to challenge singular identities of victims and perpetrators, whites and blacks, which are bound up in juridical practices that are embedded within binary forms of identity. It exposes some of the problems associated with the splitting of a subject from an object of enquiry. The research concerns a journey with a group of Mothers who lost their sons and husbands to the violence of the apartheid state. It is also a journey with some of the perpetrators who were responsible for the elimination of these men. It seeks to deconstruct identity in order to find alternate descriptions of people, both the victims and perpetrators that are not constructed within a binary oppositional form. This is worked with ideas from the social construction movement particularly ideas relating to relational responsibility. The research attempts to create a safe enough context for accountability, vulnerability and healing to take place within a participatory frame of pastoral care. It works with post-modern theology and some of the philosophy of Derrida, Foucault and Levinas. / Practical Theology / D.Th.(Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Thesis contains the novel "Waterval" by Phyllis Sakinofsky. / Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Arts, Department of Media, Music, and Cultural Studies, 2009. / Bibliography: p. 128-138. / PART ONE -- Introduction -- Section One -- Early history -- The apartheid years - two realities -- Post-apartheid South Africa -- The creative response of Jews to apartheid -- Section Two -- Our relationship with the past: placing narrative in the context of history -- Rememory and representation -- Telling the truth through stories -- Section Three -- Imprints of memories, shadows and silences: shaping the Jewish South African story -- PART TWO -- Waterval: a work of fiction by Phyllis Sakinofsky / This is a non-traditional thesis which comprises a work of fiction and a dissertation. -- The novel is set in South Africa and provides an account of events that took place among three families, Jewish, Coloured and Afrikaans, over three generations. -- The dissertation is constructed in three sections. The first section describes the settlement of South Africa's Jewish community, its divergent responses to apartheid and how this is mirrored in its literary output. -- In the second section, the relationship between history and fiction since the advent of postmodernism is discussed, how there has been a demand for historical truthfulness through multiple points of view and how consequently there has been an upsurge in memories and memorials for those previously denigrated as the defeated or victims. -- Fiction has been re-valued because it is through the novel that these once-submerged stories are being told. The novel has the capacity to explore uncomfortable or silenced episodes in our history, tell important truths and record stories and losses in a meaningful and relevant way. A novel might be shaped by history but it is through the writer's insights and interpretations that messages or meanings can reach many. -- South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission report is an example of how the written word can expose the relationship between the re-telling of history and finding an alternate truth. By recording the many conflicting stories of its peoples, it has linked truth and literature, ensuring an indelible imprint on the country's future writing. The past cannot be changed, but how the nation deals with it in the future will be determined by language and narrative. -- The final section is self-reflexive and illustrates the symbiotic bond between the research and creative components, citing examples from the dissertation of how the two streams influenced one another. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / 145 p

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SATRC), using the theoretical and conceptual framework of the five pillars of transitional justice. Chitsike (2012) identified the five Pillars of Transitional Justice that the study uses. For that reason, Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling, Trials and Tribunals, Reparations, Institutional Reform and Memorialisation are the Five Pillars of Transitional Justice that this study elected to use as the conceptual and theoretical framework. The Five Pillars of Transitional Justice that were delineated by Boraine (2005) are referred to for analytical purposes in the study. Methodologically, the study assumes a qualitative posture. Literature study through content analysis that uses description and exploration is deployed to make interpretation of the used literature. This study notes that each one of the pillars of transitional justice has its recommendations and limitations, and the pillars are much more enriched and enriching when applied in complementarity to each other rather than in isolation. The SATRC process also had its achievements and limitations, and its popularity was based on political impressions rather than concrete transitional justice achievements on the ground, in the view of the present study. Furthermore, it appears to the present study that more time is needed for much more reliable evaluations of the effectiveness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to be made, some of its successes and limitations will take many years and or even decades to manifest because at the end of the day, TRCs are historical process and not events. / Political Sciences / M.A. (Politics)