Reconciliation in South Africa

Lucky Shangase (centre) training to be a chef with the Economic Justice and Empowerment Programme [Pieternella Pieterse]

Paddy Kearney of the Diakonia Council of Churches talks about how the church in Durban is building bridges between Black, Afrikaans and Indian church-goers

Racism and prejudice did not disappear overnight with the legislated end of apartheid.

Paddy Kearney of the Diakonia Council of Churches wants the church to return to the prophetic role it played in the 1970s by challenging the ANC government to tackle the growing inequality between rich and poor in South Africa.

Diakonia was established in Durban in 1976 and became the Diakonia Council of Churches in 1994. CAFOD first supported Diakonia in the 1980s when the organisation was involved in opposing detentions and forced removals by the apartheid government.

Today CAFOD funds Diakonia’s Economic Empowerment Programme which promotes job creation through small businesses.

How did it feel to vote in the 1994 elections?

It was a very exciting day. There had been great fears in this province in the run up to the elections. Many hundreds of people had been killed in the political violence.

People were terribly unsure what the elections would be like. They feared violence. But in the end it turned out to be a peaceful election.

What were the feelings of the communities you work with in this election?

Everyone is pleased there was such a high turnout. It was much higher than generally predicted. People feared there would be a lot of apathy especially among the young but there has been a lot of enthusiasm for the elections.

Most people are very happy with the outcome – there has been a nearly 70% vote for the majority party – though there is some concern that there won't be a sufficient challenge to the government.

Diakonia will be monitoring the delivery of promises made in the run up to the elections over the next five years. We will be encouraging member churches to be closely involved in the process.

Churches need to return to their more prophetic role of the 1970s and 80s.

What do you see as the main challenges facing the government?

The increasing gap between rich and poor. The racism that continues despite the abolition of legislated apartheid. The relatively slow pace of land reform and redistribution.

What can the international community do?

The international community should monitor the situation closely and work with the ANC government wherever possible.

They should also be prepared to challenge them where necessary. For example their AIDS policy has been a bit of a disaster from the President down. Their response to Zimbabwe has been unsatisfactory – they have not challenged human rights abuses there.

This is out of keeping with what they stand for and with their position on similar injustices in South Africa in the past.

Children at the Tumelong haven for children affected by HIV and AIDS. [Simon Rawles]

Could you tell us a bit about your Reconciliation Project?

We are working in six different areas of Durban. Each area is very different.

In one area we are working with an Afrikaans-speaking community of the Dutch Reform Church and the Black community of the United Reform Church.

The Black, Zulu speaking community and the Afrikaans are learning about each other and exploring relationships. They are looking at the history of conflict.

In another area we are working with an Indian congregation and a Zulu speaking congregation. They spend the weekend together and each side tells their story, their experience of apartheid and what it has meant to them.

This gives them a greater understanding of others, of their humanity, and of those they rejected or even despised in the past. These are pilot schemes but we hope they will act as a model for other communities and that they will make use of them.

Can you give an example of the difference this makes?

Well, one participant Coenraad van der Merwe, a fifty-three year old white Afrikaans man of the Dutch Reformed Church recently gave his testimony at a Good Friday service on the impact of the peace and reconciliation process for him.

This is what he said: " I was a silent participant in Apartheid. I have never had a Damascus Road experience: the Holy Spirit worked patiently; stone by stone the wall was broken down....

Perhaps it was they [Diakonia Council of Churches] who finally confronted my apartheid way of thinking with the cross of Jesus....

Just as I bear the guilt of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, so do I bear the guilt of the Apartheid system: by my vote at elections, by my silence when I should have spoken out, cosily sitting in a situation which benefited me at the cost of others....

But thanks be to God, the cross does not simply point a finger of accusation: By the blood that flows from the cross, I am washed clean.

And as a result I can experience the forgiveness of people to whom I have become close: they have welcomed me as someone who had gone astray, and now give their love to me as also a child of God and part of the family."

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