Date:            99/10/21

I am grateful for this opportunity to officially apologise to all who suffered under the apartheid system.  I was recruited from Ireland because I am white and most South Africans were denied a tertiary education and hence there was a skills shortage.  Having had the benefit of growing up in a free country I could appreciate the evil of Apartheid but was all too ready to enjoy its benefits.  Outwardly I was opposed to the system and made some sacrifices to hasten its demise but I was also secretly grateful to share some of its' benefits.  I am ashamed of my selfishness and greed and seek the forgiveness of those who suffered.

I believe that restitution needs to made but I'm not sure how.

Jonathan Eves, Johannesburg
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Date:            99/10/21

At 23 years old, for most of my life, I have lived in ignorance that my privileged way of life was built on the suffering of others.
I feel that now it is important to commit myself to building bridges in South Africa, and so important to give back some of the benefits I had.
It is also important to live ones life with awareness. Thank you to the TRC for making people aware of some of the atrocities committed, even though most people would like to not know.
If there is anything I can do to help, please contact me.

Thank you

Emma Harvey, Cape Town, South Africa
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Date:            99/10/25

The atrocities committed in the past in the name of apartheid are a disgrace to all right thinking South African.

However we should not be caught up too much in the past we should keep the past in mind so that it serves as a reminder as to what we do not want our new society to be liked.

As a nation we share a common history of strife and conflict. We should make it our business to overcome this history and ] embark on a new path of respect for human dignity, equality and freedom.  And a celebration of all that unites us and makes us different.

To a great future through reconciliation.

Lawrence Vongani Mashava, Pretoria, South Africa
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Date:            99/11/04

Although I cannot claim that "I did not know" about the wrongness and injustice of apartheid, the TRC hearings and reports of them have convinced me that I actually knew very little. Therefore, I must confess to not only what I have left undone, but also to what was done "in my name."

I feel great shame about apartheid.
I feel a great responsibility for a just future.
I hope that South Africa will heal from the terrible wounds that it has suffered and will be whole and at peace.

Marietjie Odendaal, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A.
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Date:            99/11/07

I am writing to express my admiration for the South African people and to wish you continued courage to face this difficult and heartwrenching struggle.  I can only imagine the strength it must require to relive the agonies of the past, to grieve anew, and then to let go and forgive.  At the end of this journey, I do believe that you will achieve for South Africa, and for your own spririts, a just and lasting peace.

I am also writing in gratitude. Your struggle is a shining beacon for the world.  You have demonstrated that the peace process must respect the need of the individual for justice and closure.  I believe that the example set by South Africa is a model peace process that can bring lasting peace to the civil wars that continue to plague our globe. It is my commitment to you, for all that you have taught us, that I will pursue graduate studies in the field of conflict resolution and lasting reconciliation. Good luck and my heart is with you all.

Heather Antonsen, Halifax, Nova Scotia
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Date:            99/12/01

I visited South Africa during June/July 1998 to conduct research for an undergraduate Peace Studies thesis on the new South African constitution.  I enjoyed meeting and speaking with South Africans about their experiences in the past and their hopes for the future. 

Although I am not South African, I write this message only to say that I share the common hope for individual and social reconciliation in South Africa.  I wish God's blessings to those South Africans and to those in the rest of the world, including myself, who struggle to define and to create justice. 

Mark F. Massoud, San Jose, CA  USA
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Date:            99/12/15

I am deeply disturbed by the history of South Africa, as relayed by the thousands of people who come to the TRC
to tell the world about their realities.  I appreciate the honesty, good will and capacity to forgive that have been
synonymous with the TRC submissions and hearings.  I am very touched and disturbed by the pain and suffering that have been, and still are, experienced by so many people in our wonderful country. 
The TRC has been a great inspiration to me and I would like to state my commitment to building a new, and truly free, South Africa.

Marlise Richter, Pretoria
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Date:            99/12/21

My submission to this register is a result of my reading Krog's "Country of my Skull". My heart has been wrenched open by this book. I am so ashamed of our past, so proud of our present and so hopeful of our future.

Lee Ann Mounter, Durban
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Date:            00/01/01

This level of healing and reconciliation is a deeply moving testiment to the Spirit in each of us, in our ability to own our mistakes, and to forgive ourselves and others for wrongdoings.  It is also setting a clear intention about the kind of world we want to live in and create for our children.  Thank you.

Maryellen Butke, Providence, RI  USA
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Date:            00/01/12

Reconciliation is a complex and also an emotional issue/need. Interpersonal relationships are key as there is no such thing, i believe as "National Reconciliation". However, while we ordinary people have to find a way to live with one another in spite of divided pasts and current gross inequalities, it is up to people and government alike to try and reduce inequalities and thereby bring the dream of reconciliation closer. Finally, reconciliation then is a process which is long-term and will be re-invented on a personal level over and over again.

Mark Kaplan, Cape Town, South Africa
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Date:            00/01/17

May we find a place of acceptance that will mean peace. May God work with our hearts to provide the power to forgive. May we somehow learn from the past and that as a country we will not make the same mistakes.

Rev Dennis Gee, Sandton
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Date:            00/01/18

The TRC has given back to South Africans the human right to feel pride in our country and fellowship with our neighbours, to uphold a devotion to establish and maintain high standards of honesty, peacefulness, and duty to each other's happiness.
It has given those of us who did nothing before 1994 the chance to weep at our failings, acknowledge and regret our complicity, unburden ourselves of our collective guilt at standing by while unthinkable crimes against humanity were perpetrated, and to promise that we shall never, in our lifetimes, permit such evil to come again into our land.
Thank you for all you have done for us.
God bless South Africa, guide her rulers, guard her children, and bring her peace.

Vanessa Farr, Cape Town, South Africa

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