 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
The South Africa Community Fund comes from a context where violence and religion were both used as tools to create a system of segregation and oppression—Apartheid. In that same context, violence and religion were used as tools to overthrow Apartheid. The young experiment of democracy in South Africa has served as a miracle to millions of naysayers who were convinced that once liberation was achieved in 1994 the nation would tumble into a period of excessive retribution and violence against those who operated the system of Apartheid. Instead, through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), South Africa attempted to air the violent trespasses against the civilian population during the Apartheid years—and instead of administrating classical political justice it experimented in amnesty in exchange for full disclosure of involvement in Apartheid human rights abuses. The TRC was never considered a perfect mechanism to process the country’s violent past, but it was seen as one of the best alternatives to violence in the future. In contrast to peace “keeping” which attempts to hold violent parties at bay, peace “building” attempted to understand the story lines of the various communities that participated in Apartheid, and then to find a way to move corporately into a new national story that would be to the benefit of the entire population. Peace building was understood to be a way of “interrupting” the story lines of parents and grandparents and even great grandparents; to be a way of refusing to carry forward the age old animosities of prior generations; to refuse to fight the battles of those who have already died fighting battles that don’t belong to today’s generation. The South Africa Community Fund offers programs to train people in peace building. The hope is to encourage the emergence of a new generation of leaders and lay persons who naturally choose the path to peace over violence as a means to solve conflicts. The world is in a time of great stress where nations are confused about patriotism, national identity and honor. Entire populations across the globe—from the affluent West to impoverished communities in the South—are moving quickly toward a violent “solution” to discord rather than a careful, diplomatic and respectful means to resolving the tensions between nations. The following peace building programs, based in Cape Town, are available through the South Africa Community Fund: |