Professor Piet Meiring believes God called him to sit on the famous South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission along with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Professor Meiring delivered a seminar at Auckland’s Laidlaw College campus, July 13, on the topic ‘Can swords be turned into ploughshares?’ He said he will never forget receiving the call from Archbishop Tutu. “I still am the archbishop of Capetown, and I speak for the Lord God, and the Lord says you have to come.” Apartheid was a method of legal racial segregation between whites and the black majority. It existed between 1948 and 1994. It ended that year in multiracial democratic elections which were won by the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela. The hearings began shortly after.

In South Africa, highlights of the TRC were broadcast nightly after the evening news. “People were faced with ugly facts and the need for healing,” recalled Prof Meiring.

Amnesty was offered to those guilty of crimes under apartheid. Seven thousand perpetrators requested amnesty. Half were granted. They had to be totally candid about their actions, give a motive and prove a balance between their motive and their act. An apology was not necessary. Prof Meiring said if you wanted reconciliation you needed truth. “God is great and reconciliation is possible. But it’s a long way. You need compassion. You need time.”

In 1994, he said, South Africans thought everything could be healed. ‘We thought we had it made. The rainbow nation. The rainbow has faded somewhat. You can write racism and apartheid out of the book. You can’t write it out of the heart.”

Throughout his life Professor Meiring has been involved in the Church’s struggle against apartheid, often challenging his own denomination.

As chairperson of the General Commission on Service and Witness in the Dutch Reformed Church, he heads a national programme that coordinates the church’s projects in the fields of reconciliation, poverty alleviation and moral reconstruction.

While on the Commission, from 1996 to 1998 he was primarily involved in reparation and rehabilitation issues, as well as coordination of the TRC Faith Community Hearings.

Prof Meiring admitted that reconciliation was a difficult but rewarding ministry to be involved in. “If you’re in the business of reconciliation, it is the business of building bridges between people and communities. Remember bridges are structures that people walk across, so if they walk all over you, don’t be despondent — if you want to be a bridge, people will walk all over you”.

Prof Meiring retired in 2010, but is still engaged in numerous research projects. He is the author of 22 books and editor of eight, co-author/contributor of another 57 books, and publishes widely in academic and popular magazines in South Africa as well as abroad. He is currently leading a project on reconciliation and healing in South Africa, the United States and Canada.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu (chairman) was one of a number of high profile members of The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with what happened under apartheid. The conflict during this period resulted in violence and human rights abuses from all sides. No section of society escaped these abuses.

The TRC effected its mandate through the Amnesty Committee, Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee and Human Rights Violations Committee, and was seen by many as a crucial component of the transition to full and free democracy in South Africa.
Sources: Truth and Reconciliation Commission website; Wikipedia

If you’re in the business of reconciliation, it is the business of building bridges between people and communities…if you want to be a bridge, people will walk all over you. — Professor Piet Meiring

By Aaron Ironside