Apartheid Conscience
Introduction: What does it mean when we discover that the incarnation of evil is as frightengly human as we are? An article by Puja Goyal...
Article: It was the wake of democracy when the former oppressors of humanity in South Africa seeked retribution against their crimes. They were afraid of facing prosecution. As a settlement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established under the chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Its mission, to provide amnesty to those applicants who provided a full disclosure of all knowledge pertaining to gross human rights violations, establishing the identity of persons, organizations and institutions involved in these violations, and who is accountable for them - that is, to come to terms with history and to deal with its legacy. TRC empowered victims by providing a platform to share their stories and face their perpetrators for the first time in the hope that the process would help them find some conciliation, and enable them to move on with their lives.
As a commission member, Gobodo-Madikizela sat beside Bishop Desmond Tutu listening to anguished hearings in 1998. It was the story of South Africa’s most brutal covert commander, nicknamed "Prime Evil”.
‘A Human Being Died That Night’ written by Dr. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, recounts an extraordinary dialogue between Dr. Pumla and Eugene de Kock. It was a dialogue that changed her perception of forgiveness and remorse forever.
Gobodo-Madikizela’s experience and deep empathy for victims of murderous violence, including those killed by de Kock and their family and friends are obvious in the book. When the books first few pages are turned, we realize the extraordinary psychological courage one needs, to enter into Pretoria’s maximum-security prison and meet the man called “Prime Evil” a.k.a Eugene, who was the commanding officer of state-sanctioned apartheid death squads. The following pages of the book take us into a journey into what it means to be human.
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a psychologist who grew up in a black South African township, reflects on her interviews with Eugene de Kock, the commanding officer of state-sanctioned death squads under apartheid. In profoundly arresting scenes, Gobodo-Madikizela conveys her struggle with contradictory internal impulses to hold him accountable and to forgive. Ultimately, as she allows us to witness de Kock's extraordinary awakening of conscience, she illuminates the ways in which the encounter compelled her to redefine the value of remorse and the limits of forgiveness.
The victims of apartheid and survivors wanted information from De Kock, information about loved ones… What were they wearing or what did my father say? The communication between the victims and the perpetrators led to a process of healing for both.
Pumla writes, "But for all the horrific singularity of his acts, de Kock was a desperate soul seeking to affirm to himself that he was still part of the human universe...a human being capable of feeling, crying, and knowing pain."
In a world full of conflicts, the viscous cycle of remorse can be broken. Forgiveness may seem like weakness, but it actually empowers the victim. "For just at the moment when the perpetrator begins to show remorse, to seek some way to ask pardon, the victim becomes the gatekeeper to what the outcast desires readmission into the human community."
‘A Human Being Died That Night’ is not a book about death, but a book on life after death, and a life that heals through a process of forgiveness after the dark days of apartheid have long gone.
Gobodo-Madikizela's journey with de Kock allows us to witness the extraordinary awakening of his remorse, brings us to one of the great questions of our time: What does it mean when we discover that the incarnation of evil is as frighteningly human as we are?
Eugene is currently serving 212 years in jail for crimes against humanity.
Article: It was the wake of democracy when the former oppressors of humanity in South Africa seeked retribution against their crimes. They were afraid of facing prosecution. As a settlement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established under the chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Its mission, to provide amnesty to those applicants who provided a full disclosure of all knowledge pertaining to gross human rights violations, establishing the identity of persons, organizations and institutions involved in these violations, and who is accountable for them - that is, to come to terms with history and to deal with its legacy. TRC empowered victims by providing a platform to share their stories and face their perpetrators for the first time in the hope that the process would help them find some conciliation, and enable them to move on with their lives.
As a commission member, Gobodo-Madikizela sat beside Bishop Desmond Tutu listening to anguished hearings in 1998. It was the story of South Africa’s most brutal covert commander, nicknamed "Prime Evil”.
‘A Human Being Died That Night’ written by Dr. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, recounts an extraordinary dialogue between Dr. Pumla and Eugene de Kock. It was a dialogue that changed her perception of forgiveness and remorse forever.
Gobodo-Madikizela’s experience and deep empathy for victims of murderous violence, including those killed by de Kock and their family and friends are obvious in the book. When the books first few pages are turned, we realize the extraordinary psychological courage one needs, to enter into Pretoria’s maximum-security prison and meet the man called “Prime Evil” a.k.a Eugene, who was the commanding officer of state-sanctioned apartheid death squads. The following pages of the book take us into a journey into what it means to be human.
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a psychologist who grew up in a black South African township, reflects on her interviews with Eugene de Kock, the commanding officer of state-sanctioned death squads under apartheid. In profoundly arresting scenes, Gobodo-Madikizela conveys her struggle with contradictory internal impulses to hold him accountable and to forgive. Ultimately, as she allows us to witness de Kock's extraordinary awakening of conscience, she illuminates the ways in which the encounter compelled her to redefine the value of remorse and the limits of forgiveness.
The victims of apartheid and survivors wanted information from De Kock, information about loved ones… What were they wearing or what did my father say? The communication between the victims and the perpetrators led to a process of healing for both.
Pumla writes, "But for all the horrific singularity of his acts, de Kock was a desperate soul seeking to affirm to himself that he was still part of the human universe...a human being capable of feeling, crying, and knowing pain."
In a world full of conflicts, the viscous cycle of remorse can be broken. Forgiveness may seem like weakness, but it actually empowers the victim. "For just at the moment when the perpetrator begins to show remorse, to seek some way to ask pardon, the victim becomes the gatekeeper to what the outcast desires readmission into the human community."
‘A Human Being Died That Night’ is not a book about death, but a book on life after death, and a life that heals through a process of forgiveness after the dark days of apartheid have long gone.
Gobodo-Madikizela's journey with de Kock allows us to witness the extraordinary awakening of his remorse, brings us to one of the great questions of our time: What does it mean when we discover that the incarnation of evil is as frighteningly human as we are?
Eugene is currently serving 212 years in jail for crimes against humanity.
Copyright © 2004 Puja Goyal
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