The Revd Dr Bongani Finca

Former Commissioner of the TRC and IEC provincial electoral officer for Eastern Cape

Introduction

It cannot be an honour to speak to this Conference on this subject. It is a burden, a challenge, and a duty that one does in the spirit of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a Gerrman theologian) calls "costly obedience".

The subject of restitution is both complex and controversial. No one is willing to touch it. It has been carefully dropped by all structures of society –   by the churches, by the organs of state and structures of political engagement, and by civil society in general. No one wants to think about it, no one wants to speak about, no one wants to touch it because it is just too hot, too complex, too divisive, too uncomfortable, and too controversial.   Although it is poignantly raised in the reports of the TRC and in its recommendations to the State and to the Nation as a whole, it has been roundly ignored, even by the most bravest amongst us.

Commendation

Although I cannot, in all honesty, thank you for the invitation that I speak to you on this subject, I think I ought to congratulate you for your rare courage in keeping this subject alive in our country, for your commitment, and for your obedience which I am sure is a very costly one. The existence of an organization like this one, on its own, is an act of prophetic witness. It says to this nation, there is a part of the Church of Jesus Christ that is prepared to serve as the conscience of the nation. There is a part of the Church that will not shy away from stating that which is necessary for the healing of this nation, even if the nation does not want to hear it. It is a testimony to the words of Jesus Christ when he says to his disciples :   you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. So let your light so shine before women and men, that they see your good work and glorify your Parent who is in heaven."

I do, in all honesty and sincerity take my hat off and salute the work you are doing to keep this very uncomfortable and all-too-neglected subject on the focus of the church and of the nation. I am sure it is not an easy task. It cannot be. It will never be an easy task to do.

TRC Special Hearing on the Faith Communities

When we gathered in East London in 1996 as faith-based communities for a Special TRC Hearing, an effort was made to confront the truth about our past and to allow the truth about our past to confront us.   The question that faced all the faith based organizations, and the Churches in particular, was this   -   How must a religion that is so firmly based on love, caring, compassion, and goodness confront its history of evil, hatred, awful atrocifies and damage ? How does a religion that is so firmly based on love, caring, compassion and goodness face the victims of so much atrocities and harm to make amends, to repen, and seek reconciliation with the victimst ? How do we put right the wrongs that we had done under apartheid so that it is no longer a scandal for us and a source of hatred and harm.

There were a number of voices in our nation at that time that were saying

•  let us forget about apartheid and move on as quickly as possible.

•  let us not dwell on the pains of the past because if we do so we will delay our progress into the future.

•  let by-gones be by-gones. Let us forgive and forget. That will be healthy for us, the most noble, and the most Christian thing to do.

But we gathered in East London and we said No ! We said the history of our country has been indelibly marked by the stain of apartheid. Our perception and understanding of being human has been profoundly altered by it. We said we need the truth because it is the truth that shall set us free. By-gones do not just become by-gones. Skeletons must come out of the cupboards, the festering wound has to be cut open, cleansing and penance has to be done in order for healing to begin.

We knew then, as we know now, that the faith based organizations have a pivotal role to play in the national agenda of reconciliation and nation-building. We knew then,   as we know now, that the agenda for the transformation of our country will flounder and fail unless and until the faith based organizations provide it with a solid foundation and base which only the faith based organizations can provide. We knew than, as we know now, that the Prophet Jeremiah is right, we cannot seek to heal the wounds of God's people cheaply by shouting peace! peace! where there is no peace. We knew then, as we know now, that George Santaya is wight when he says those who do not remember the sins of the past are condemned to repeat them. The truth must be established as the truth, acknowledged as the truth, before it can be remembered.

Formal Apologies

What did we hear when we gathered in East London almost ten years ago ? Obviously we listened to words of apology, words of confession, words of penitence. Others profound, others no so profound. Others moving and deeply touching, others academic. Others desperate for forgiveness, others going through a ritual routinely.

There were those who confessed that they supported apartheid with every fibre of their being. They blessed the guns that shot and killed and maimed God's people. They provided theological justification for apartheid through Biblical teaching and theological reflection. They stood firmly behind those who exercised ruthless and evil rule and concurred with every act of repression and oppression and suppression. They said mea culpa and we said amen.

There were those amongst us who confessed that they did nothing. They shut their mouths and enjoyed the benefits that apartheid provided them – a superior standard of living that apartheid afforded those of a superior race; opportunities for a superior education; preferential work opportunities made possible by the Job Reservation Act; better housing, better health care, better amenities etc. They were seduced by the befits of apartheid to succumb to its lure. Neutrality became a shield behind which self-interest hid. People were dying like flies before their very eyes, but they did not see them, because the economy was good and they were busy buying and selling. They said mea culpa and we said amen.

There were those amongst us who confessed that they passed good resolutions in their synods, conferences and assemblies, only to hide behind them. Their religious structures continued to develop along racial lines. Support for the ministry in stipends and salaries followed the apartheid format. The quality of ministerial housing, appointments and deployment followed the same apartheid patterns. They had good resolutions recorded in their book of minutes but they never lived them out. They said mea culpa and we said amen.

TRC Recommendations & the Primary Role of the FBO's

Moved by what we heard and say in that East London hearing, the TRC believed that faith based organizations, and churches in particular, were going to play a central and a pivotal role in leading the country through a process of genuine reconciliation, the social transformation which we sorely need, and building our people into a nation again.

In our report to the nation, now gathering dust is some libraries of academic institutions, in Volume 5 Chapter 8, the TRC postulated that : religious communities will establish institutional forums to promote reconciliation. They will establish theologies that are designed to promote reconciliation and a true sense of community in the nation...

The TRC assumed that in the post TRC period the religious communities will play a leading role in assisting:

•  those who are white, as beneficiaries of apartheid, to play a particular role to aid reconstruction and reconciliation

•  in empowering black people to move beyond "victimhood" to regain their true humanility

• in articulating global ethical foundations that will promote the common good of our society.

The report of the TRC to the Nation, now gathering dust in some libraries of academic institutions, goes on to speak of   the huge and widening gap between the rich and poor, the haves and have-nots, the majority blacks and minority whites and it calls this gap morally reprehensible, politically dangerous and economically unsound. It calls on all of us to prioritize the bridging of this gap.

It speaks frankly on the subject of Restitution for those who suffered – because of apartheid, because of racism, gender bias and siscrimination, job reservation laws, group areas act, migratory labour system, the colour bar and wages laws etc

Several concrete proposal are placed before the State and the Nation as a whole to consider including a wealth tax, a once-off levy on corporate income, a 1% donation by all companies listed in the JSE, a Special Reconciliation Fund.

Post TRC Non-Activity by FBO's

The question is : what have FBO's done ? what have churches done post the TRC era ? How many FBO's have read just the report of the TRC to the Nation or just the section of it that deal with recommendations? How many have bothered to buy a copy of the report as a mark of commitment ? How many have read it or made reference to it in the church, or temple, or mosque, or synagogue? How many FBO's or churches have bothered to set up TRC Task Teams or even Reconciliation Task Team just to ask themselves in a systematic fashion : what wilt Thou have me do? as Paul did when the lightening fell upon him ?

The things that are listed in the TRC report will not happen unless there is a moral authority in the land that will challenge people's selfishness and self interest. There must a moral authority that speaks the painful truth to the nation and not whisper peace peace when there is no peace. The Church that sang a lullaby to the nation during the apartheid period seems to be singing a lullaby again. And when a Zimbabwe happens it rises in condemnation and judgment, yet failing to discern the signs that will lead our land on the same slippery slope. The Church is called a conscience of the nation   when it sounds the warning bells and wake the nation up if it slumbers and is tempted to fall asleep.

Restitution is a Moral Imperative

Restitution is not a political issue. It is moral and ethical. It lies at the centre of moral theology. In the 7 th commandment God says thou shalt not steal. Do Christians in this country know that when you deprive your fellow-man of what belongs to him by right, you are a thief ? Refusal to restitute is as much a sin as the theft of the pension money from the state coffers. Are we afraid of teaching this kind of moral theology from our pulpits because it is too difficult for our members to listen to ?

Restitution gives integrity to our national programme of reconciliation and it solidifies our democracy. There is a legend on the meaning of reconciliation that is told about a man called Zulu who had one cow. One day a Mr Whyte came along, overpowered Zulu, took his cow and went away. Zulu lived a miserable life without his cow. A few years later a TRC reconciliation process touched the lives of both Zulu and Whyte. They were deeply moved, they washed each other's feet, they had tea together, hugged and cried together. At the end of the process Zulu stood at the door of his shack and Whyte walked to his car outside the gate. Before they waved good-bye Zulu had the courage to ask the question : Mr Whyte what about the cow? Mr Whyte was very angry. He answered : Zulu, this is about reconciliation, it has nothing to do with the cow.

Restitution takes the imperative of seeking national reconciliation to a more deeper level, yes to a more uncomfortable level. It speaks of a cow. Aristotle calls it corrective justice because it does not only confess the injury done, it seeks for ways and means to correct what has been done wrong. One person has less than he ought to have because the other has taken away more that he should. Catholic theology refers to it as satisfaction, because it completes that which is partially achieved in an act of confession, apology, repentance. Atonement happens satisfaction has been done.

Of course some injuries cannot be repaired – for how do you restitute for a lost life, how do you repay for the dignity assaulted, how do you reclaim the blood that is spilt ? But you who struggle with the issue of restitution, you who talk about it painful though it is, you who have mustered the courage to debate its pros and cons deserve our utmost praise and admiration. How this nation proceeds on this issue of restitution or fail to do so will determine whether we truly seek morally correct ways of putting right our ugly past that continues to haunt us today or we live in denial of the real cost of genuine reconciliation.

We cannot hide behind the myth that it is a political issue. The Church that claims to be a custodian of the ethical values in this nation, as it claims to be on other issues, has to lead the nation on debating this as another critical ethical issue of our time.

We are aware of the ingredients and components :

•  There is an admission that happens deep down a person's soul

•  There is a confession   -   an apology

•  There is a public recognition

•  There is an action phase.

Some action may look small and insignificant, like going home to the lady who does your washing and talk to her like a human being for the first time   -   find out who she is, where she lives, how she lives.

Some will be moved to share skills with someone, give training, and provide empowerment.

Some have to look at the material gained and how they have been gained.

Some have to re-organize their business deliberately to create space for someone disadvantaged to come out of the state of deprivation.

The Gospel of St Luke 19: vs 8, 9, 10

Conclusion

I pay tribute to the work that is being done by this Foundation. You are unique in the country because I am not aware of any other organization that has started to confront the challenge that the subject of restitution places before us. You are leading the nation on an area where very few will have the courage to go. If ever you get tempted to give up because of the challenges, I exhort you: Hold On. This country needs your leadership. This country needs a model.

God bless!