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    8 views6 pages

    Mandela's Children 1

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    mandela children

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    sro [Natcnal Geographic Magazine - NGMcom NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ‘Mandela's Children South Aiaia vibrant, multethnie democracy striving, with mixed success, to fulfil ts promise, Photojournalist Fames Nachtwey offersa vision of contemporary life, and Alexandra Flr tells an intimate tory about theong shadow of apartheid Dy Alzanda Ful ‘The Minister tur out therein shortct, bolt-of inspiration way to transforma person from laymar: to minster inthe Dutch Reformed Church of South Afric, It takes seven years of rigorous traning seven yeas of Deon Snyman'syouth—which made ital the more distressing wen, toward the end of his studies at the University of Pretoria in 1990, Soyman realized he had al the theology a person ould possibly need to funtion in the old South Africa but almost no ‘ls to ge him in the country that had jst released Nelson Mandel, Syman, who wasborn and raised in "a traditions Afikaans family ina typical Afsikaans town north of Jobannesbur,” says that back then he knew no black people, had no black rends, had never ever had a meaningful conversation with ablackperson. "The church was divided ino white congregations, Coloured congregations, Indian congregations, and black congregations,” he says. He decided that the best way he could avoid waking up one morning 2 ‘foreigner ia his own country was to become the minster of rural, black congregation. (On the day in February 1992 that Deon Snymman was installed asa minister inthe Dutch Reformed Curch in Afice—the charehs black ranch—in Nongome, Inthe beat ofthe KwaZulu homeland, his 54-year-old father stood up infront ofthe congregation, allof whom wore Zulus and said this "Wel iis clear ‘hat South Avion is going to change, Sut lam an Afrikaner, Ido aot know ifThave the capacity to change. Also, Iam an old man, Id no: know f Thave the skills to change." Then the father indicated his 26-year-old son. "So today, give you my son. Ifyou can teach him the rules ofthe new South Afic, he can teach us those rules. I you ea give him the sls olive inthis new ecustry, he can show us those sil." Inthe dogen years Sayman lived among the Zubia. minster, tbecume clear thatthe lesson he had to take backta his own people was this: "Those wo supported the system of spaztheid need to apologize ina way tht wil feel sincere, Thea the need to make amend in away that restores some ofthe dignity and some ofthe material opportunities that had been eroded under that system." Sryman started to thinkabou the idea of community Jed restittion-the seation, he says, of suck emblems of remorse asa schoo} lini, ora skis traning center. "Something everyone could point to and say, Here is our symbol of te soreyness, ere symbol of our decison o bull anew way to work together. twas avery deep dean ne." Bat it would be years before Sayman's imagination was captured by a smal Afrikaans farming town nthe Western Cape, a community unable to deny that Le effets of apartheid had spilled on Beyond 1994, when white rale ended and Nelson Mandela became the rebora nations frst president ‘The Town Worcester isa somnolent, gingerbread town prieked with white church spires an hour ands half northeast of Cape Town, la winter, he surrounding ‘mountains are snoweapped, In summer, heat hold like bells breath in the valley and melts the tarmac. The streets ae wide and orderly. The houses are abled and pictureaque; lawns ae eajoled into neat pockets; there are steroidal roses and telises hanging grapevines of verandas.I'sthe sort of town that ‘makes you wish youd worn longer skirt and higher collar. Inthe mid-s990s the ines drawn deep inthe geography and psyche of he place by apartheid were stil evident, but o moreso than elsewhere inthe country. Itistru that blacks stil ived mainly in Zwolethembe township Worcestr's undernourished twin aross the Hex River—while whites stl lived on ‘the dappled streets ofthe town tse or on farms lai atthe fet ofthe mountains. On the other hand, Worcester had elected its frst Coloured (mixed race) ‘mayor and its first Black depaty mayor. Also, in June 1996 the Truth and Reconeliation Commission (TRC)—a courte body assembled after the abolition of epartheid—had held a hearing in the tn, Vietims and perpetrators of torre and wbuse under apartheid had stepped forward and testified. The vilent past was over, surely. So teume asa shock when, ona sweltering Caristnas Eve afternoon in 1996, two bombs ripped through a shopping area just down the street from the police station andthe Duteh Reformed Church, The blasts kiled four people—three of them children. Neary 70 people were injure. All the victims were Backs ipsingr. nat ora geographic comprn20rOD6¢sout.aricaflertoxt 6 sro [Natcnal Geographic Magazine - NGMcom and Coloureds. The fest bomb to go of, around 1:20, hit Olga Macingyanein sucha way that her legs swelled instantly tothe size of trator tires. Minates Tater, the second bomb went of, and she was blown unconscious "Por 1g years Inever sew the person who did this to me,” Macingwane says spesking from her sitting room in Zwelethembe on very warm Sunday morning Inlate November 2009. Macingwane isa profoundly proper woman of certain age. Shes wearing pink, andle-tength pene skit end matehing jack. (Outside er home the towaship in the mids of open-alr chute services, and Macingwanehasto rise her voice to beheard, Ste gts up stfM)it is ‘obsiosly punt ul for her to walkand doses the door to the vad and to the world at large. The singing reaches into her home unabated "In my head, she continues asthe choirs of at least three churches compete onthe torrid ai, "Tpietured him. fn my head he sa man of 5 yeas old, very big withalong, beard ana very severe face. That she man who di this thing, That isthe person Lse in my nightmares.” A Turing Point South Afric's selection to host the 2010 World Cup gave peopl a surge of confidence. Ther nation could now be remembered for bringing the world sscer rather than apartcid. South Atia's modern infrastructure, envisly chic airports, cosmopolitan restaurants~its public face—all suppor the suggestion hatte tragichiston is just that, history. Much of Soweto, Johaanesburg’s infamous township in which apart cccurred snow series of bucolfe suburbs: Floridalit arshitectar behind smoot lawns, sloek foreign carsin driveways, (Squater camps encroaching t siolene visiblet the foreign media istrue.) South Africa hasa burgeoning black mide css, and since 1994 the government has built almost three million houses. In Johannesburg, just across ‘the oad froma casino and an amusement par, tourists can vst the impressive Apartheid Museum. Bat scratch the surface of any community, and one way or another there its the A-word, In May 2008 more than 60 people were killed and tens of ‘ousans displaced in xenophobic its targeting mainly Morumbicans and Zimbabweans, Apartheid ensured a deep mistrust of other" anda sense of stiement based as much, ifnot more, on who you were son what you did—that caries over to this dy Wisimpossible to overestimate the reach and brutality of apartheid. Between 1948 and 1994, when the system was dismantled, the Afrlaans National Party spplied hyper-segregation af racs to every possible facet of ie. "Apartheld so effectively enriched afew at the utter debasemnent of the majorty—ta say ‘nothing ofthe imprisonment of so many the exile, the disappearances, the valent deathe—that mere end to the system could not begin to repaie the damage," Téhepo Ma ingori says. Madlingoriis a g1-year-old senior lecturer of lw a the University of Pretoria and an advocaey coordinator forthe hulumani Support Group, an organization of 8,000 victims of politcal violence, mainly dusing the apartheid era "You can say, Everybody sequal now let's geton with t. That suits those who benefited from the system—butit does nothing to institute restorative justice andi can't undo generations of habitual racism, palpable hate, or feelings of inadequacy” ‘The Prisoner {ess thana month afer the Worcester bombing 15-year-old Daniel Stephanus "Stfuans" Coetze phoned the police ors his hideoct ona farm in the heart ofthe Great Karoo highlands—e sparsely populated, semiarid region in the central west ofthe country—and claimed responsibility fr his par inthe strocity.Coetare addressed the police oie in charge with respectful deference: "Oom,"heelled him. "Unde" He aid he had heard that there were children among the dead and or that reason he had no choice but to turn himself keeping himself contained, cate ‘The boy had reserved coustry manners anda country person's way of _Avthe lime ae was taken into custody, and fr some year alter, Coetaee was a member of nealy every extreme rightving, white supremacist group in South Aiea, nung one or two so secret and obscure that not even the people in them seem capable of explaining exaetly what they are: Wit Wolwe, Israel Vise, Boers Aanvls'Troepe From prison Coetzee continued to communicate with members ofthe Ku Klux Klan inthe United States and neo-Nazi groups in (Germany, encourtging them in thelr endeavors He rose up che rank ofthe national groups’ pseudo-mlitary structures. As white supremacist go, Coetzee ‘was poster boy. Inthe pecking order ofthe Helderstroom Maximum Seenrity Prison in Western Cape Province, however, he was pond life, "Iwas 9 years ‘old and white. Everyone wanted to rape me,” Cataee say of those frst yeurs in overcrowded general ells holding between 60 and 120 men. “Toul get bottom bunk. Teoulén't even geta top bunk. Teouldnt get any bunkst al.” Coetee slept on the floor ‘When I meet him in Pretoria Central Prison in November 2009, where hehas been held for over a decade, Coetze has just turned ya. Having not felt the sun ors long, his skin has leached gray, and although he is strikingly young looking, there ise Custer of fin lines around his eyes such as are usually scen only one much older man, His hair is dak, very short, and downy The leather belt he uss to hold up his prison issue orange overalls is pulled to its ast hole fee nota surprice ta learn thet before his incarceration he wa able to run fer and fastin blistering heat with very litle fuel or water. “Tloved torn,” he says as ifthe words might set isles free agin. "a, Feould run.” CCoctze and Ist facing each other, knee to kee, in alarge, nondescript, yellow oom designed for prison visits Five or six windows along one wallet ina ipsingr. nat ora geographic comprn20rOD6¢sout.aricaflertoxt sro [Natcnal Geographic Magazine - NGMcom sluggish ight that does nothing to enhance the greenish glow from the Nuorescents. 1 isTate morning and raining hard, and has been since early lastnight Asa result, itiscold, and were both shivering. (Coetzee tells me he was born in 1977 to a careless mother anda druken father. He has no memory of his parents being together. At este lived with his father inthe Orange Free State (now the Free State), When he was eight or nine his father burned ou. After spending time in an orphanage, Coetzee was ‘sent to lve wit his mother in Upingto inthe Northern Cape. For the next sx or seven years Coetee fell through one rackafter another and was in and out of welfare homes, until at the age of 0" 16 he was taken under the wing af a man named Johannes van der Westhuizen. A leader inthe ultrarght-wing, ‘white supremacist ult Irae! Vise, van der Westhuizen was stret vegetarian, tookno drugs, drank no aleshol, and studied a Bible that had been rewritten to bolster the idea that anyone who was not white was an animal of the field In Coetase's eyes, van der Westhuizen was roughly the sie and age ofa fates, you were to walk moreorless 300 miles northeast of Cape'Town unite night sky grew so Black ou could see al che way backto whatever might be the beginning of time, the odds are good that you would bein the Great Karoo highlands. In the early 3800s thisis where outlaws, cate rustlers, and ‘gunrunners hi nthe vast pains below the bruised Nuweveld Range. Even today so few people sr tough or crazy enough to cosa living from thie fin, ppepper-sented earth thet its considered a perfect destination for starganers—and those who do not wish the modern world to find them. Is remote secretiveness appealed to van der Westhuizen, aman in deep dens about the reality of post-transition South Africa, and it wae on is leased farm inthis redoubt that the bombing was planned "When Iwas first in prison, Lashed for Bible,” Coetzee sys, explaining how'he began to dismantle the hated shat had landed him onthe floor of crowded cellina maximum-sccurty prison, "But the Bible they gave me was nt the same Bible Istuied when L was with van des Westhuizen. Lseslzed that the Bible ‘Thad been reading wit him was skewed. Tht waste irs thing." Then Coetaee was transferred to Pretoria Central Prison, where helookedasses on anger management and restorative justice, He wrote eter to the prison authorities asking if they would allow him to apologize to the people andthe families he had nur, (They advised agaist it) Bu although he felt remorse for what he had done, Coetzee was still racist ‘early 2009, five years after his atrest, he was assigned toa work detail with an elder prisoner, Fagene de Kock, Now in is early 608, de Kockis serving two life sentences plus 212 years for erimes against humanity committed while he was a colonel heading the notorious secet security nit of the South ican Poles. (His men dubbed him "prime ev name adopted by the media.) For hours at time the wo men would be together mopping floors "Eugene was always teling me, ‘Look Stefaans, you have to stop believing you ae superior just because ofthe color of your skin,” Coetane ses. "He said, “Take it from me, Ive learned the hard way std be into prisons—one around my body, and another one around my hear.” told Eugene, "Please stop pestering me’ But he never shut up about it He told me that until stopped beinga ‘The Conversation Wistruc that f every child froma tficelt ome in South Africa were to grow up and perform an act of brutality, there would be nothing and no one left in ‘he country AS itis, there ar 50 murders every day, and 140 reported rapes, although the actual number is believed to bein the hundreds. "Yes, the abit of ‘siolene is very deep in this culture,” Marjorie Jobson, national director ofthe Khulumani Support Group, sts. "You have to remember, th children who row upin the atmosphere of apartheid—with all the lesson ofthat era—those children are nov adults." ‘have caught ait with Jobsona dsaemingly mild-mannered doctor in her sos—from Johannesburg and we're diving through the outskirts of Pretoria ‘ona blameless summer afternoon inate 2009, From here, South Aes administrative eqptal seems all lowering imptienee—50,000 jacarandas lend the and the sree are lined with beds of agapanthus, Advertisements fr the World Cup are everywhere; high-speed-ruin track {sein built parallel to the road, siya milly campy "Everyone was exhausted by 1994, Ithink they just wanted apartheid to go away and the government to fx everything. But that didnt happen” Jobson says "is upto eae individual South African to participate etvelin restitution. You know, the power af one The power one person has to perpetuate our olent pas, o the power one person has to contribute toa just, peaceful society" In this way our conversston comes bask o Coetzee. Sometime in 2004 Jobson rcsved a phone cl rom Eugene de Kock. Over the years de Koskhas tried ‘ohelp Khulumanilocete people wh disappeared during the struggle, deseribingin some detail the manner in which they vanished, mostly because he was responsible for what happened to them, De Kocktold Jobson that he had become acquainted over the previous couple of years with a young man called Stefaans Coste "Stefaans wanted to meet with his victims and apologize for what he had done,” she sae. Jobson west opposed to being helpful. The only problem was that Coetzee had no ea who his victims were. He could give no names and beyond the fact hat three ofthe dead had been cildren—no idonitying charecteristis, ‘The Presidents ipsingr. nat ora geographic comprn20rOD6¢sout.aricaflertoxt sro [Natcnal Geographic Magazine - NGMcom 12005 Thabo Mbel,s is send termas South Ais president, ted Jacob Zama, the deputy president, Zum had been implicated in a corruption scandal involving fve-iion-dolar arms deal, (Charges were dropped in April 2009.) Mek must have thought eding himself ofthis troublesome hgh priest of populism was x safe bet. But turned ou toe the pliteal kiss of deat, causing a deep spit within the ruling party, the African National Congress, ot ANC. By theend of they? aceon them, 5 Zama’s supporters were burning T-shiets with Mbeki Zuma and Mics, although both ongtime ANC stvists, could not he more unaiks. Mhekis a Xhosa from th Eastern Cape, highly educated and emotionally remote. Zuma isa Zh from KwaZalo-N 1 for opposing ith no formal education who served a decade-long sentence on Robben I spartheid. A charismaticman of action, be has three wives and a rape llegetion to his name. (He was eequitted in 2008.) 12007 Mbeki announced to both houses of parliament that he had authorized a pecial dispensation for pasdon applications for politically motivated crimes that had taken place betwen 1994 and 1999. Mb’ officiel explanation was thet he wished to finish the busines ofthe Truth and Reeonelston Commission, Unofficially the move was scen by some as an efor to gain much needed support forthe lagging president. The next year a group with representative fom each ofthe 15 ofc politica parties recommended 120 prisoners for presidential pardon, "twas anattempt to reach out politically,” Tahepo Malingox\of the University of Pretoria says But the process ignored something that had been a the ‘mortl, emotional, and political heat ofthe TRC—the victims would not be consulted before prisoners were granted amnesty, To human rights groups, this pedal dispensation was not about recondition; it was about poitial expediency, about closing the door and moving on, Bight organizations indluding the Khulumani Support Group, filed alawsuit, which eventually found itself atthe Constitutional Court of South Africa, the highest ourtin the land on November 10,2009. By then Mbeki ad resigned, and Zama—JZ.as he is poputaely known—was president ‘The Go-Between (On the ist of politcal prisoners identified for posible pardon, one name jumped outst Marjorie Jobson: the man Fugene de Kockhad telephoned her shout from prison, Stefasns Coetzee. Meanie, Khulumani had reached ou tothe victims, including Olga Macingwane, of those onthe is. A glance through Jobson's modest home in Grahamstown in the Fastern Cape reveals books everywhere, piled on furniture thesitting room, in stacks on ‘he oor, arose the dining room tele. "On the one hand, the Khulamani group was part ofa lawsuit to ensue thet the right of vitims wore take nto secount in this pardoning process,” Jobson say, cearing books off the ktchen table sa we can eat lunch. "On the other hand, Iwas getting mare cll ll the ‘ime fom Stefssns's socal worker and his minster, begging met se if could get him together with his victims. Not surprisingly, the ims of the ‘Worcester bombing were sheptical They had questions. Why doeshe want to meet us now? How sit going o benefit us? Ise feeling guilty now? Has he really bad a change of hear?” Jobson sets a bowl of chicken noodle soup infront of me. Inher distraction, she fil to eat a al. "Iwas interested in justi,” she continues, "but Iwas most interested inthe process of conciliation. twas a conundrum.” Inthe end Jobson appealed for help toa trusted colleague: ‘Tehepo Maalingor. (nthe day 1 meet him in is aw faculty oie, Madlingoriis wearing black jeans, a longsleved, blue dress hit with the sleeves rolled up and casual Teather snskers, Our conversations accompanied by the customary cup of tea, "Rootbos or normal?” Madkingos had asked, offering either South Afia’s native herbal tea or ordinary black tea, Nowhe blows into his cup and looks at me over the rm."We made decision tht I should go and see Coetae and se ihe was for real. was very nervous, very skeptical. didat know bow Iwas going to reel.” ‘Adlay in mid-April 2009 was set fora meeting between Madingoa and Coete inthe scial worker's office at Pretoria Cental "Iwas expecting someone in ‘my imagination that looked very racist, you know, nt this guy who walks into the office. Lsee a boy the same age as me. Hes somehow handsome, very Aifdent. We was surprised too. He was expecting to see an od, radical, miltant ANC activi.” ‘Madlingozi shook hands with Coetzee and introduced himself. Coetzee shook Madlingoa's hand and thanked him for coming. The two men sat foraeouple of hours and talked. "Mostly about ourselves,” Madlingoi says. "What does he mis in prison? How did I become a lawyer? How did he become prisoner? ‘What do we hope for ourselves? What do we hope for our county? “Madlngozis afew months younger than Coetze. He was born in Mangaung township the area set asde for blacks outside Bloemfontein inthe former Orange Free Stte—geographically not fr from where Coetree was born but a world awn in terms of culture, "It was semidesolate and vey violent," he sys Madlingoa's father was emigrant worker in the gold mises. “Migrant labor was one ofthe most devastating aspets ofthe ystem of apartheid,” Madlingox says. “I destroyed families. t destroyed communities. twas a way fr the apartheid government to get capitalization, butt emasclated men ‘who couldnt be at home to provide for their families. The fathers couldn't pass on folklore, culture, values, For the families left behind, itmeant the father came bac ter three months and didn't naw hs place in the family. Alot of men asserted their position through violence.” ipsingr. nat ora geographic comprn20rOD6¢sout.aricaflertoxt sro [Natcnal Geographic Magazine - NGMcom Madlingoa's father died of «hear attak wien his son was 14.” My mom and {had just relocated to a mining town tobe near him, We were just becoming ‘riends again. He hada vorscious appetite for reading novels, and we read together elt." Maclngorfinished his schooling in Welkom, a gold-mining town, 1aid oct inthe late 40s by the Anglo American Corporation, The mines in and around the town are very deep. Hach morning, brackish water is pumped from them into pans on the surface Hlocs of femingos,Hgyptin gese, and sacred bis congregate on the pans. The ar stung with the sents of salt and bird droppings. Madlingod Teas forward. "Meotng Sefaans bas reignited my faith inte ture of South Africa," he says. "My woriews back eonsciousness, and tat hasnt changed as result of knowing Stefaans. But ithas made me appreciate that even the most ardent racists even murderers change ad be humble. Yes, Stefaans’s intelligence, humility, aeute appreciation ofthe consequences of his actions and the system of apartheid, aswell as his appreciation ‘hut reconetaton snot merely about showing good, have greatly inspired me." Mallingo! has both hands under his chin now. "Lean see how there ‘might be people citing me for selling out. How ean ist this man? How ean [have empathy? But this is jst about winning. I can't be about winning IM weonly wast to win, then there wi ways losers, and how s that so different from the way things were? This has always been about the big picture, shout moving on together."Then he laughs and looks at me, almost challengingy. “Mm, i's complicated, messy—it ean be vey personal and sways in shades of gray. Bu that's where reality is. That's where we are. Thats what we have to work with ‘The Vietim From Worcester to Pretoria isa two-day drive—16 hours, more or less Marjorie Jobson bas arranged fr Olgs Macingwane and three other residents of ‘2velethomba torent ear and drive up forthe constitutional eurt hearing on November 10,2009, The four of them agree to mectStefuansCactzee the day before the hearing, but only on the condition that they are not doings to forgive hm, "Lam not thereto forgive him,” Macingwane says firmly te face the man in my head. [want to bear what he has to say forhimself But no, am no: thee to forgive him" amthere Life became difficult for Olga Macingwane after the bombing, and not only for all the obvious reasons. Cares ofthe ANC used the faneralsfor political posturing, racing disabled survivors ofthe atack throug the street in their whee ‘Thenin 2003 relatives, Alamintled photograph of Macingwace’s husband reves the exact match you would pick or Olga. He stands before a. 1970s polished yellow Datsun in a three-piece suit exuding an ara of conservative reserve. The yellow aris still parked outside Macingwane'shouse, dormant under thick gray lant. al the while chanting songs made popular during te strugale lacingwane's husband died, and without his support, she could no longer aford to raise their three children, They were sent away to live with ‘November 9a hot day, Macingwane and the ather three residents of Zweethen including Haris Sibeko, husband ofthe deputy mayor a the time of| ange jampsuit stamped withthe word “prisoner.” "Iwas shocked,” Macingwane says later. "What Ise toy. Not the mas Ihave had ia my mind ellthes years, but aboy- What ithisboy doing here? How di it happen? That fs what is inside my head all fx sudden,” the atack-walkint the social worker's office at Pretoria Central and see Coetae standing inthe corner inhi. “Macingwane ass to begin witha prayer. Inthe ensuing silence she gets to her kneas—Iaboriously, because two daysin a rental ar have done nothing to help ‘ho painin hor lgs—and begins to prayn Xhose, She praises God for his hallowediness She thanks God for bringing South Africa anothor day. She aks God to forgive her trespass, as se will forgive others thei respasses against her. She asks God tose that his wl be done in his oom today. Then she takes her seat. While her colleagues mop their brows and fen themselves against the hest, Macingwane maintains her composure ‘Tae meeting takes place in mixture of Xhosa, Afrikaans, and English, Macingwane is mostly silent. "He must explain himself before speak" she says atthe CCoetze doesnot talkabout his childhood. He speaks about the planing that went into the bombing, howe was chosen fr his excellent military sil, the _yearshe bs spent in prison, Leask for their questions andthe group responds, low id be learnt hate black people? How did he ualeara this hatred? ow does he spend his days sow? Ise sorry? And if he is so sorry, what can he give them? Coetzee admits he has nothing material to give the world except ‘he Feather bell tat holds up his overalls. But, he says, God willing ihe gets out of jal he can begin to attempt to compensate or what hehas done, "There sre children no in South Aftia,"he says, "dhildeen without parents, They might be tempted to getinto violent gangs, t follow anger instead of ove.” He sy, "Lean show them thatthe fis life you have to change is your own.” ‘When Coetee is asked about the dreams he has for his future, he says he would like to get married, He says he wil uve to tell his foture wife and any children be may have that hea murderer "Now Harris Sibelo intervenes, “Listen here, chief, you must wat unt child is old enough to understand what you are telling them, otherwise the cid wall hate you.” Sibeko turns othe group and asks, "Do you rally thinkwe en call this young man a murderer? What da you thinks a better name for him?” ipsingr. nat ora geographic comprn20rOD6¢sout.aricaflertoxt sro [Natcnal Geographic Magazine - NGMcom ‘Then Sibeko answers his own question, "I:hinkyou shouldbe called. a military operative. Yes, tal would be Beiter." ‘The group agrees with Sibeko, Thea Sibeko asks Coetaee whether he receives any visitors inal, Coetaee replies that one former prisoner comes sometimes, Sibeko is shocked. "None of your family visit you?” Coetzee replies, °N “The interview goes on fortwo hours. Finally, Olga Macingwane gts to her feet. Unusually, she sighting wit her emotions. She sy "Stefaans, when [see _you, Lae ay sisters son in you, and Tennot hate you.” She extends her arms. “Come here, hoy,” she say in Xhosa. Coetzee walks into her embace"T {orgive you," Macingwane says ofl, “Ihave heard what you sai and [forgive you.” ‘The Law ‘On hat day Daniel Stephanus Coetzee became the only one ofthe 120 politcal prisoner eligible fr presidential pardon to meet with his victims. The next day, November 10, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, with four new judges appointed by President uma, convenes. The fist order of business isto hear anguments about whether or not the president shouldbe allowed to pardon any ofthe politcal prisoners without a hearing fr their victims, Zama's sttomey argues for unfettered pardoning powers. The attorney representing one ofthe prisoners also argues for such powers. But an atorney forthe ‘human Fights groups urges thet no political riminals be pardoned without the victims of those crimes being heard. (On February 23, 2010, the constitutional court ruled in fevor of the vitims}) Present inthe cout are some three dozen victims of politica crimes involving any numberof perpetrators Several of the victims are wearing T-shirts that read, "No reconliation without truth reparation, redres.” Among them is Olga Macingwane "Llorgivekim, bu that does not mean. pardon hm,” Macingwane tells ne afterward. "We ae a country oflaws now. We are aountey Who respects the vojes ofall people. Is up to the laws of my country to decide whether or not to pardon Stefaans.” For oo long, separation snd suspicion were mandated by South African law. Now the country’s constitution upholds the dignity and equality ofl people, but its powers only as potent asthe peoples willingness olive hy it. On January 23, 2010—as long envisioned hy minister Deon Sayman-representatives ‘of Worcester and ofZwelethema township gather in Woreeste's Dutch Reformed Church Across the road ina wide, shady parelies tiny memorial tthe in the 1996 boring. The proceedings beyin wil prayer. Then Macingwane and Sibeko talk sbout their journey to Pretoria, thelr ‘meeting with Coetaee, their forgiveness of him. Restuion i discused—a youth center and. job

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