Last night, voices from both sides of a once inviolable barrier came together in Alumnae Lounge to discuss fear, hope, anger and reconciliation. They were greeted by a standing-room-only crowd.
At the event, "South Africa: Fear, Terror and Reconciliation," panelists, using personal experiences, discussed the causes, effects and implications of apartheid.
Apartheid, Afrikaans for "separateness," was a systematic form of racial exclusion that officially began in 1948 with the election of the National Party in South Africa. It lasted for over four decades, destroying innumerable lives in the process.
The discussion on apartheid was part of the 2006 Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium on the politics of fear. Of the six-person panel, five had had direct experiences with apartheid. Each panelist came from a different background, and some were members of groups with historic conflicts.
One panelist, Benjamin Pogrund, is the former deputy editor of The Rand Daily Mail in South Africa. The media in the 1950s and 1960s was tailored exclusively to whites, Pogrund said. But he believed that "the newspaper had the duty to report the totality of society," and he therefore began to include more expansive coverage, causing him to be "hated ... by the government."
Pogrund was arrested twice in the 1960s: once for refusing to reveal a source and a second time for reporting on horrendous prison conditions. He was forced to move into what he described as a state of "semi-exile," spending some time in Israel. But he now holds out hope for the future.
"It's not a straight road, but at least the terrible past has been overcome," he said.
Shanti Sattler, a junior at Tufts, came to the same conclusion, but from different experiences. A graduate of last year's EPIIC class, she conducted research in South Africa with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a tribunal body formed in South Africa at the end of apartheid.
Sattler recounted her experiences with a country still struggling to overcome decades of atrocities. She recalled the story of a boy clutching a bullet, asking her, "Are you scared? Are you scared? American girl, are you scared?"
But Sattler is also hopeful. Looking toward the future, for "black, white, rich, and poor, I see hope," she said.
Aboobaker Ismail helped to bring about this current state of hope through efforts as an anti-apartheid militant. He decided at a young age that he wanted to be a freedom fighter, but when his intentions became clear, he was punished.
"I was beaten up, quite severely, and that became a turning point for me," he said.
Ismail then decided to "make the time come." He received training and became a commander of special operations within the anti-apartheid militia.
Hentie Botha initially fought on the other side of the line. A white Afrikaner, he said that Afrikaner nationalism "was instilled in you as you grew up... We believed that we were God-sent to Africa."
Nevertheless, he made the switch from enforcer to opponent of apartheid. "I acted outside the law. You couldn't rely on the politicians to find the solution," he said.
He then involved himself in dialogue with some of the victims' families, which he described as a healing experience.
"The lie that you have lived your whole life is now in the open," he said.
Mqondisi Ngadlela is another panelist with experience in the military or police. He recounted being forced to move twice a year while growing up because his family could not afford rent.
Nevertheless, he did not always realize that he lived in an unequal society. Somebody had to tell him "not everything is fine" before he recognized many societal problems, he said.
Ngadela joined the police "to stop... people from being killed." After being transferred five times for being a "troublemaker," he finally became a police commissioner.
The sixth panelist was Roelf Meyer, a chief negotiator in bringing about the end to apartheid. Growing up, Meyer-who is white-was not always against apartheid.
After becoming an attorney, however, he recognized the repressive scope of many of the apartheid laws.
Throughout the expressions of fear and hope during the evening, one theme remained constant: the power of a repressed people, and the power of dialogue between diverse groups.
"The truth will set you free, so don't be afraid to talk about it," Botha said.
"It will set you free," he repeated.
