Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation: The Case of Canada and South Africa - Essay Example

Word count: 2157 Truth, Justice and Reconciliation: The Case of Canada and South Africa The Indian Residence School system (IRS) of Canada and the Apartheid regime of South Africa defined serious sociopolitical conflicts that involved wanton abuse of human rights. Even after the end of the tribulations, citizens of the two countries who survived or witnessed the events continued to live in great fear, self-pity, self-denial and mistrust. Solutions to the mistrusts and divisions in the respective societies came in the form of truth and reconciliation championed by Truth and Reconciliation Commissions established by the governments of the respective countries. The Truth and reconciliation process offers restorative form of justice that seeks to repair and solidify relationships between conflicting parties, victims and the general society. Restorative justice differs from retributive justice as it does not recognize punishment for those found guilty of facilitating conflict. The purpose of TRC in championing truth and reconciliation process is to determine and unveil truth to the public regarding the issues behind a particular conflict. Truth and reconciliation process therefore seeks to facilitate acknowledgement about a certain conflict, public mourning, healing and forgiveness among the people. In light of the above, Derek Rasmussen’s recommendation of reconciliation to forgive remains the only viable and practical way to achieve restorative justice, which is the basis of truth and reconciliation process. Annotated Bibliographies CBC News. FEDERAL COMMISSIONFAQs: Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 2012. Web. < http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-truth-reconciliation.html>. This is a news article written by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in reflection of the factors that led to the creation of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The article also identifies and recognizes commissioners appointed to serve in the TRC. According to the article, the move by the Canadian government through court to establish TRC related to the need to reconcile and console aboriginal Canadians who suffered in the Indian Residence School. The mandates of the TRC as indicted in the article were to investigate the reasons that led to the creation of the IRS system of learning and its impacts on the children. The article also reveals series of resignation by chairs of the committee as one of the challenges TRC of Canada faced. This article defines a very important material in facilitating the study bearing the clear information it depicts. Its importance to this study also relates to succinct definition and description of truth and reconciliation process as well differentiating restorative from retributive forms of justice. Sinclair, Murray. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Interim Report. 2010. Web. . This article is an interim report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and signed by Chairperson Murray Sinclair to provide understanding of what transpired during the era of Indian Residence School (IRS) system. The article begins by introducing the events that transpired during the era of IRS system and the reasons that stipulated development of such learning system. The article achieves its purpose by clarifying the part played by the government, churches and parents towards existence of restrictive learning system in the Canadian schools. The article moves further to compile narrations given by the survivors of IRS concerning their tribulations during the era. The article also presents the inner feelings of the survivors and their wishes regarding reconciliation. The article also bears recommendations by the TRC to the government and entire communities towards achieving true healing and reconciliation. The relevance of the article to this study relates to its conclusive and elaborate discussion of the all the events that took place during IRS era and the road to reconciliation. Van, der M. H, and Audrey R. Chapman. Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Did the TRC Deliver? Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. Print. The authors of this book have concerted interests in discussing in entirety the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. In the book, the authors begin by introducing the events that later necessitated the need to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Human oppressions, maltreatment, massacres, tortures, kidnappings, unequal distribution of resources by the ruling authority are some of factors mentioned in the book to have necessitated the need to establish TRC. T The book goes further to describe the three committees formed as part of TRC to account for various needs of perpetrators, victims and society as whole. The committees mentioned in the book include, Human Rights, Amnesty, and Repatriation and Rehabilitation Committees. The main purpose of the book is to determine and assess the level of success achieved by the TRC led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in facilitating social healing and forgiveness. The importance and reason for the selection of this book relates to its categorical definition of truth and reconciliation process and differentiation of restorative and retributive forms of justice, which are basis and part of the study. Truth and Reconciliation Process in Canada Canadian government through Truth and Reconciliation Commission initiated the truth and reconciliation process in 2008 to listen and determine truth from lies in the Indian Residential Schools (IRSs) that became into existence in 1874 (Sinclair 5). The establishment of the truth and reconciliation process came at a time when survivors of events at IRSs still grappled with pain, and after the closing of the last IRS in 1996. The IRS was a system of learning that targeted the aboriginal children. The intention of this system of learning was to separate Inuit, First Nation and Métis children from the traditional cultural practices and languages of their societies. Sinclair clarifies that this education system took place in almost 130 church and state run schools, and involved approximately 150000 children (5). Churches that accepted the IRS system of learning in their respective schools included the Presbyterian, Anglican, United Church of Canada and Roman Catholic. Clericals, priests and Indian agents worked to identify, pick and send children to the IRSs that were usually very far away from their respective homes. During its existence between 1920 and 1960, attendance into the IRS became compulsory to indigenous children aged from 7-15 years (Sinclair 6). Admission of children into Indian Residential schools was forceful and often in contradiction with the wish of parents. Until the last closure, the IRSs existed for about 100 years, which is a clear indication that some of the survivors and teachers still exist to date. The painful, restrictive and torturous conditions overcome by survivors have seen persistence of the past experiences into the brains of those involved. The reconciliation process in Canada over the events that transpired during IRS mainly involved the input of the public supported by government and other authorities. To ensure kill the experiences, the government and territorial authorities have created syllabuses that teach students about their respective traditional cultures and languages (Sinclair 14). The government also funds community programs bringing together survivors of the mayhem and other people to discuss the problems faced. Such community programs also intended to teach new generations about the past traditional cultures as well as enabling the survivor students forget the past and revive their cultures and languages. Moreover, the government also offered financial and material compensation to the survivors and their families. The process of reconciliation also entailed researching and release of all names of children who died during the era. Truth and Reconciliation Commission also sought to persuade parties responsible for the sufferings in the Indian Residence Schools to offer apology to the victims and families (CBC News). However, the reconciliation process is facing hurdles as government portrays sense of unwillingness to share certain documents with the TRC. Reconciliation process in Canada over the events of the IRS intends to make people forget about tribulations that transpired at the Indian Residential Schools. Concisely, truth and reconciliation process in Canada focused on restoring the past lifestyles lived by various cultural and social groups destroyed by the Indian Residence School system. Even during the public hearings held by Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the surviving former students of the IRSs confessed that they felt weak connection with their parents, cultures and families. The students also talked of difficulties they had to forgive their parents for having agreed to take them to the schools. Parents also talked of their hard experiences when separated from their children (Sinclair 21). Church representatives also unveiled of the poor experiences and practices done by their churches. Many survivors demonstrated to the TRC how they felt useless within their societies and had indulged in alcoholism and drugs abuse to help fade the past memories. Truth and Reconciliation Process in South Africa The government of South Africa in 1995 through court established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to determine and share truth with public, and carry reconciliation by restoring relationships destroyed during the apartheid era of 1960 to 1994 (Vander and Audrey 3). The South African TRC encompassed three major committees that included the Human Rights Violations Committee mandated to investigate issues of human rights abuse across the country. Another committee was the Amnesty Committee, which had the role to accord amnesty to truthful perpetrators of the violence and who came out to testify to the commission. The third committee was the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee that had the task of making recommendations for government to compensate the victims and societies wronged. Survivor victims of the apartheid atrocities told their stories to the TRC who listened and shared in feelings (Vander and Audrey 5). The offenses committed ranged from murder and disappearance of people, torture, abduction and mistreatment of people. In the mention of Vander and Audrey, victims explained how they underwent tortures as survivors who witnessed the era narrated of inhuman killing of their families who attempted to resist the apartheid rule (6). The commission also encouraged testimonies from the perceived perpetrators of the crimes. Such motivations saw some former Afrikaans police officers demonstrate how they tortured and massacred their subjects with bullets. They also testified how they gave false reports to the public attributing the tortures and massacres to resistance to arrest by the victims. Though intended to restore relationships, truth and reconciliation process in South Africa also entailed retributive measures. For example, Vander and Audrey indicate that the process was not exempt of charges, as guilty citizens, politicians and police officers whose testimonies did not attain the threshold for amnesty faced charges in courts (7). The amnesty was applicable to situations where the Amnesty Committee of the TRC determined that actions by particular perpetrators were political and that they spoke whole truth. For instance, during the hearing process, the TRC through its sub-committee on amnesty offered protected amnesty to 849 confessed perpetrators while denying amnesty to 5392 perpetrators (Vander and Audrey 15). The TRC also took various steps to offer psychological counseling intended to convince victims, survivors and their families to forgive one another and reestablish relationship with their offenders. According to Vander and Audrey, the TRC policies provided space for participants to withdraw, terminate and refuse to respond to the interviews (17). TRC also referred distressed and psychologically unwell participants to medical checkup and psychotherapy. The truth and reconciliation process in South Africa faced some challenges. For example, Black Africans who happened to comprise the largest portion of the victims of apartheid expressed displeasure with amnesty offered to people who abused human rights. The TRC also faced financial constraints that threatened to compromise its mission of finding truth and reconciling South Africans. Conclusion Truth and reconciliation define the best approaches to pay for the political, economic and social conflicts committed against human nature. To be effective, the process of reconciliation requires facilitation by a special Truth and Reconciliation Commission, constituted of members who are aware of the problems faced by victims during the conflicts and need to protect human rights. One important fact to note is that reconciliation process targeted at making victims forget about past events is impractical in any society. Survivors and victims of conflicts can only reconcile to forgive their perpetrators and repair their relationships. These facts have come clear in the reconciliation processes underway in Canada and that of South Africa. Truth and reconciliation process in Canada has involved educating children about the past tribulations of Indian Residence School system alongside their threatened traditional cultures and languages. Survivors also continue to talk of their tribulations as they also emphasize the need to revive their traditional cultures and languages. Recommendations developed by the Canadian TRC also advocates for governmental support in reviving and nurturing the past cultural practices and language. Similar measures happened and are underway in South Africa. TRC established in the country conducted public education about apartheid and need to for the societies to forgive each other and forge ahead. Works cited CBC News. FEDERAL COMMISSIONFAQs: Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 2012. Web. < http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-truth-reconciliation.html>. Sinclair, Murray. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Interim Report. 2010. Web. . Vander M. H, and Audrey R. Chapman. Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Did the TRC Deliver? Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. Print. Read More