SA’s national reconciliation journey littered with resistance

TIME FOR TRUTH

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ON DECEMBER 16, the country will celebrate 30 years of Reconciliation Day. Until 1995, this day was known as Dingane's Day or Day of the Vow. King Dingane, who planned the killing of Boers in 1938 after luring them into his kraal, died on January 29, 1840.

The Boers made a vow to God that if they were to win against Dingane, they would build a church to thank God. Their wish came true at the Battle of Blood River. It was for these reasons that the day had two names - one acknowledging King Dingane, the other acknowledging the Boers.

The current labelling of this day as "Reconciliation Day" was meant to heal the old wounds and build a post-apartheid nation. The extent to which we have been able to reconcile as a nation remains the subject of debate.

In simple terms, reconciliation refers to the process of restoring relations to the former state after they have been disturbed in one way or another. It is essential for peace to prevail.

Nelson Mandela described reconciliation as "working together to correct the legacy of past injustice".

But reconciliation is not an event - it is a process that goes through various stages. It does not only mean forgetting the past injustices but working hard to correct them so that they do not happen again. Corroborating this view, Mandela argued that "true reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past".

Reconciliation is achieved under certain conditions, one of which is telling the truth. In this regard, Mandela argued that "if there is to be reconciliation, first there must be the truth". Implicit in this submission is that if the truth does not come out, reconciliation is not possible.