uear 8achel

1hank you for conslderlng my [ourney ln Lhe SAul for your pro[ecL My LlLle l am a docLor ln
Lheology has never been lmporLanL Lo me

Full Name: uanlel 1heodorus nel

ate of Birth: May

!lace of Birth: nelsprulL

rea in which you lived when the law first affected you: 9reLorla

ow old were you when this law first affected you?

ow old were you when the law was passed? uon'L know

id you have any brothers who were also affected by this law? (if yes, how many, their ages at the
time etc.)

1wo and

hat did this law mean for you and your family?

Je had Lo ablde Lo Lhe laws of our counLry 8order duLy had been a sLressful Llme for our parenLs
and my wlfe (my broLhers were noL marrled) My broLher spenL monLhs ln Angola as a member of
Lhe parachuLe baLLallon Je Lrled Lo make a dlfference as ChrlsLlans

hat were some of the things this law made you sacrifice?

1wo years of earnlng penslon conLrlbuLlons lnlLlally an lnLerrupLlon of monLhs of our marrlage
(baslc Lralnlng offlcer's course border duLy) 1he same applled for callups

id you serve on the South frican efense Force or the South frican police, and on what basis was
this decided?

l served as a chaplaln ln Lhe Alr lorce lrlends ln Lhe Alr lorce recommended me

ow did your "call-ups" work? (i.e. how long were they, when were they, etc.)

1he offlcer ln commandlng of Lhe flghLer squadrons of JaLerkloof Alr lorce 8ase arranged my call
ups

ow many people were "caled-up" at a time?

l don'L know.

ere you with your friends when you first joined?

no l had compleLed 3 years of full Llme sLudy for my docLors degree ln Lheology before l [olned

hat was the hardest thing you ever had to do?

1he offlcers' course was qulLe Lough 1he hardesL Lhlng however was how my Lheologlcal ob[ecLlon
agalnsL Lhe presence of Lhe SAul ln black Lownshlps was handled l aLLended an lnLerdenomlnaLlonal
conference ln ln 9reLorla ln unlform varlous church leaders dlscussed Lhe role of Lhe church
durlng Lhe pollLlcal unresL of LhaL Llme wlLh speclal reference Lo Lhe lmpllcaLlons of Lhe sLaLe of
emergency whlch Mr 9J 8oLha lnLroduced l aLLended Lhe conference ln unlform l crlLlclsed Lhe
presence of Lroops by argulng LhaL our young men are belng LaughL Lo suppress a slLuaLlon LhaL calls
for a pollLlcal soluLlon wlLh vlolence 1haL ls a frulL of man's slnful naLure l dld noL reallse LhaL Lhe
press was presenL 1he followlng mornlng Lhe CauLeng newspaper 8eeld" reporLed my sLaLemenL
on Lhe fronLpage as Lhe vlew of an offlcer of Lhe Alr lorce ln unlform l was summoned Lo Lhe
headquarLers of Lhe Chaplaln Servlce My frlends warned me LhaL l mlghL be persecuLed Jhen Lhe
offlcer ln command of JaLerkloof Alr lorce 8ase was lnformed he lnsLrucLed me Lo explaln my
poslLlon 1o my surprlse he and Lhe offlcers ln commandlng of Lhe flghLer squadrons supporLed my
vlew l had Lhelr blesslng 1he lnLerrogaLlon aL Lhe headquarLers of Lhe Chaplaln Servlce LhaL
followed was a very unpleasanL experlence 1he lnLerrogaLors made lL qulLe clear LhaL Lhey
suspecLed LhaL l was a member of Lhe banned AnC Jhen l condemned Lhe vlolence of boLh Lhe
AnC and Lhe SAul and emphaslsed LhaL Lhe pollLlclans should sLrlve Lowards a pollLlcal soluLlon an
offlcer of Lhe Alr lorce lnLervened by sLaLlng Lhe broad supporL LhaL l had among Lhe offlcers of Lhe
Alr lorce 9rof !ohan Peyns dean of Lhe faculLy of Lheology of Lhe unlverslLy of 9reLorla advlsed me
Lo flle a full declaraLlon 1he ouLcome was poslLlve

ere you ever in a life/death situation?

es

hat were the working conditions like?

xcellenL 1he Alr lorce LreaLed Lhelr offlcers exLremely well

id you ever object to orders and if so what were the consequences for you? (if not, what were the
consequences for those who did object?)

l refused Lo carry a flre arm even whlle dolng duLy on Lhe border and ln Angola l argued LhaL lL was
agalnsL Lhe Lerms and condlLlons of Lhe Ceneva convenLlon for chaplalns Lo carry flre arms l also
made lL clear LhaL l could noL condone an armed sLruggle

ow old were you when this law was lifted?

l can'L remember

hen the law was lifted, what did it mean for you and our family?

l only had Lo do one callup afLer belng ordalned ln Jynberg Some mlnlsLers of lJ de klerk's
cablneL lncludlng Lhe depuLy mlnlsLer of defence were members of our congregaLlon l was Lold
LhaL Lhey dld noL wanL Lo share Lhelr pasLor wlLh Lhe SAul l am glad LhaL my sons would noL be
obllged Lo do mlllLary servlce lf Lhe law ls relnsLalled l would probably encourage Lhem Lo leave our
counLry (Lhey also have uuLch naLlonallLy) lL ls deflnlLely agalnsL my wlsh LhaL Lhey should Lake parL
ln any mlllLary acLlon somewhere ln Afrlca

o you ever regret any of the things you did? (if so could you please tell me some?)

no

hat are your strongest memories from this experiance?

l was sLruck by Lhe lnLegrlLy of Lhe offlcers of Lhe Alr lorce Some became my frlends l also grleved
Lhe loss of a mlsslonary who was kllled ln Angola l flled an offlclal complalnL LhaL dld recelve Lhe
necessary aLLenLlon