(Spotlight4764)Justice: The Story of Mapule Ramashala 19 September, 2011
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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ruby Jones. Voice 2
And I'm Steve Myersco. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Mapule Ramashala is from the country of South Africa. She grew up during the time of Apartheid law. This system of law kept people of different races or skin colors separate. The laws favored the white race. And this made life for non-white South Africans very difficult.
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Mapule was a black South African who suffered many injustices under the Apartheid laws. However, she has spent much of her life working to heal the pain that apartheid caused all South Africans. Today's Spotlight program will look at the life of Mapule Ramashala and her understanding of community justice. Voice 1
Apartheid law began in South Africa in 1948. The government passed many laws to segregate or separate the races. They made it illegal for a person to marry someone of another race. Everyone in South Africa had to carry their passport at all times in order to identify their race. And different races were forced to live in separate areas.
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These laws and many others made racial discrimination legal. People were treated differently and divided just because of their skin color.
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In 1959, the government passed the Extension of University Act. This Act denied non-white students the freedom to choose which University they wanted to attend. Mapule wrote about how this law affected her,
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"I was in the middle of doing my Masters degree at the University of Witwatersrand in 1964. Then, I received a letter from the government. It said I was to take all my property and leave the university immediately." Voice 2
Mapule was very shocked. She was going to school for her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. She wanted to help people achieve mental health by preventing and repairing psychological damage. And the University of Witwatersrand was the only school in South Africa that offered this degree. Mapule wrote,
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"You could not leave the country and you could not study in the country." Voice 1
Mapule knew that this law was not right. So, she asked the University to present a legal case for her against the government. The University agreed. And they won the case. However, the government did not apologize. Mapule wrote,
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"The government lost the case. But it stated very clearly that when I finished my Masters I was to leave the university." Voice 2
Sadly, after Mapule finished her degree, she was not able to find a job in South Africa because of her race. This story of injustice is only one of many Mapule experienced in her life. And Mapule is only one of millions of non-whites in South Africa who suffered under Apartheid law.
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In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected the first black South African president. He finished the process of ending Apartheid law in South Africa.
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However, ending the harmful laws did not mean that the country was healed. For almost fifty years, all South Africans suffered from racial discrimination and segregation. And the country was still divided.
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So, the new government of South Africa decided to form an organization called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Archbishop Desmond Tutu led this commission of South African leaders. And Mapule was also a member.
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This commission was like a public court. They investigated acts of violence and human rights abuses under Apartheid law. The commission invited both victims and wrong doers to tell the truth about terrible things they experienced and did during the Apartheid. The commission also considered how the victims, wrong doers and even communities could reconcile - how they could live together in peace.
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Mapule explained the difficulties the Commission faced. One issue was that there were just too many terrible acts that happened because of Apartheid. There was no way the commission could hear them all. So, they limited their hearings to the worst and most recent acts.
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Another issue with the process was amnesty. The commission gave amnesty to any wrong doer that completely told the truth during a hearing. This meant that criminals would not be punished by the government for their crimes during Apartheid. At first, many people, including Mapule, felt that amnesty for criminals was not fair. However, the commission recognized that they would never learn the truth unless they gave amnesty.
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Mapule came to recognize and agree with a South African judge's ruling that, Voice 3
"This process was not about punishing wrong doers. It was about moving our country forward and about knowing what really happened." Voice 2
Mapule was proud of the fact that the commission brought much forgiveness and reconciliation. She thought it was amazing how so many victims forgave their offenders once they told the truth. And the commission worked hard to find ways that the wrong doers could repair damage they caused their victims.
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The process of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was not perfect. However, it did begin to repair the damage caused by so many years of discrimination and segregation. It also provided a different example of how individuals can react to conflict. And this example can be seen in Mapule's own life. Voice 2
One day, Mapule was visting the country of Rwanda with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. While there, she received a telephone call with horrible news. Someone had burned down Mapule's house. Voice 1
You see, Mapule had recently moved into a traditionally white area of South Africa. Many white people did not think she belonged in this area.
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While Mapule was away, 60 young white people entered her house. They damaged the house badly and finally burned it. When asked why they did this act, they said they had done it for fun!
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The police arrested 12 of the boys responsible. However, when Mapule returned to South Africa she decided not to press charges against the boys. Many people disagreed with Mapule. They wanted Mapule to seek revenge by sending the boys to prison for their crime.
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But Mapule had a very different idea. She gathered the parents of the boys and the boys together. She told the group about the kind of justice she wanted. She said,
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"You are still going to take responsibility for what you have done, and my house will be rebuilt and you will be responsible for organizing the money to rebuild the house. However, I also want you to find people in the community, like older people, who are in need, and work out how the boys can serve them." Voice 1
Mapule also made the boys write a report for her every six months. In this report, they wrote about what was happening in their lives and in school.
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Through this process, the boys rebuilt Mapule's house. They also served other people in the community. However, Mapule was also able to build relationships with the boys and the community. The people of the community came to respect her.
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This process took much effort by Mapule. It would have been easier for her to let the government punish the boys. However, her way provided reconciliation between the boys, Mapule and the community.
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Mapule encourages others be part of such reconciliation. She writes,
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"...As individuals, we cannot be distant. We have to be involved, we have to change opinions ...Reconciliation is not a huge national idea. It has to start at the individual level. People have to communicate with one another." Voice 1
The writer of this program was Robin Basselin. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users can visit our website at http://www.Radio.English.net. This program is called "Justice: The Story of Mapule Ramashala."
