Healing starts with understanding history

Head of the Dialogue Programme Mothomang Diaho, left, with participants of the community conversation in Atteridgeville

June 26, 2009 – The need for healing to overcome the divisions of the past emerged as the central concern at a community conversation in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, on June 20.

Organised by the Nelson Mandela Foundation in partnership with the Sonke Gender Justice Network, the Jesuit Refugee Services, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, the National Children’s and Violence Trust, and the Somali Association of South Africa, the community conversation in Atteridgeville was the first of a series of community dialogues in Gauteng province to promote social cohesion in communities affected by violence and xenophobia.

The community conversation was a small, intimate affair of about 100 people, comprising refugees and members of the community, particularly from the informal settlement of Jeffsville in Atteridgeville.

The event coincided with World Refugee Day. To mark the occasion, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and its partners joined forces with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the South African Human Rights Commission to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of refugees and asylum seekers and to acknowledge their contribution to the economic, social and cultural advances in South Africa.

This year’s World Refugee Day theme, “Real People, Real Needs”, was of particular relevance in South Africa on the first anniversary of the May 2008 violence against non-nationals. It was therefore fitting that as part of this year’s commemoration, space was created for migrant and local community members to engage in dialogue.

Stressing the importance of the community conversations through which refugees and local communities could build trust and join together in addressing their common socio-economic challenges, Sanda Kimbimbi, the regional representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said, “Words can inspire communities towards co-operation. Dialogues such as these foster an appreciation that refugees are real people with real needs.”

His sentiments were echoed by Ms Dikaledi Lehobye, member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) of the City of Tshwane. She lauded the community conversations as an excellent forum for the promotion of ubuntu (humanity) and the creation of a safer country.

Zonke Majodina, deputy chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, reiterated the need for building communities that respect and promote social solidarity and commended the support given by individuals, organisations and communities to displaced persons during the May 2008 attacks. She acclaimed the advancement of human rights principles set out in the Refugee Act but urged government to speed up the full implementation of the status determination provisions contained in the Act.

Mothomang Diaho, Head of the Foundation’s Dialogue Programme, reminded participants of South Africa’s proud tradition of resolving complex issues through dialogue. She also reminded them that the Founder, Nelson Mandela, in an address on World Refugee Day in 1997, had reminded those gathered that the theme for that year, “Together in Search of Solutions” was a call to all of us on the African continent to unite in the face of this pressing global problem.

She emphasised that the process of engagement encourages people to listen, empathise and reach out to each other. “This is where the experts keep quiet,” said Diaho, “and let the community do the work.”

In keeping with this spirit, members of the Atteridgeville host and migrant communities engaged in dialogue.

Working energetically in small groups, they considered how events of historical significance at the continental and national levels also ushered in change at the community level.

Participants spoke at length of their expectations of the “new” South Africa and the social and economic challenges they now face: increasing competition for scarce resources; growing poverty and economic depression; lack of jobs and diminishing economic opportunity; a lack of community and political leadership; and growing despair about poor service delivery, to mention a few.

A number of participants spoke about the negative ways in which these difficulties affect relations within and between communities and their frustration at “not being heard”. Many, however, recognised that only joint action, in the face of common challenges, would improve their situation.

As one participant remarked, “Change starts on the inside. Workshops and reports do not solve the problem. What we need is dialogue so that we can understand each other and can truly change.”

What stood out during the feedback was the sincerity of the community towards acknowledging the damage caused by violence by South Africans and their migrant neighbours.

Many of the explanations by locals of the causes of the violence came across as genuine and marked the beginning of a process of reconciliation. One dominant perspective that emerged was a deeper understanding of the historical and structural violence within South Africa and the impact this continues to have on South African society.

For many migrants, understanding the historical roots of violence was a powerful eye-opener. As participants reflected on this, one refugee challenged South Africans to heal themselves.

“We as refugees cannot expect to find a place of refuge here if South Africans do not heal themselves,” he said.

A member of the Atteridgeville community asked for forgiveness from the migrant community for what had happened in 2008 during the attacks. The apology was immediately accepted.

It is expected that the ongoing community conversations will contribute towards the process of reconciliation and that, in the foreseeable future, the community of Atteridgeville will host a symbolic ceremony as a first step for facilitating coexistence.

Certainly this is what the community dialogues are about – changing the future of the community to live in social harmony. It was therefore fitting for Jean Pierre Kalala, programme director of the event, to sum up the inherent power of the dialogues with a quotation, with which all participants agreed:  “We can see the past but not influence it. Even though we do not see the future, we can certainly influence it.”