How does the memory of traumatic, intractable conflict affect later generations, and how can reconciliation be made an integral part of this memorialising? This report, published by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, argues that South Africa’s younger generations have absorbed an unresolved sense of trauma and anger from their elders. The older generation, many of whom survived severe human rights violations, have not adequately reached out to youth or used the past to encourage reconciliation processes.
Memory and identity in South Africa today are intimately and inherently linked. The raw materials of historical awareness are blame and shame, while instead critical citizenship engagement and constructive ownership of national history should be society’s aims. The transgenerational transmission of trauma has been well studied in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Despite the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), this phenomenon has not received due attention in South Africa. The report’s findings are based on research conducted with educators, students, survivors and their grandchildren, excombatants and experts on the topic.
The following findings are based on a series of detailed interviews. They illustrate the challenges of engaging young people with the past in a spirit of reconciliation:
- Revising school curricula and altering the celebration of commemorative days have had a positive impact on building national identity. At the same time, few youth see the past as a significant factor in their own lives.
- The teaching of history as the stories of famous men, involving the memorising of dates and numbers, has hampered the development of analytical skills in students. Previous attempts at revising teaching methodologies, although useful, did not adequately address this question.
- The celebration of government-led commemoration days has taken on an unfortunate racial undertone. With little outreach to minority communities, these days are perceived as being for African South Africans.
- Feelings of mistrust and unfamiliarity persist between different racial groups. Some of this sense of otherness can be attributed to the single-race enclaves in which most youth live, where interaction with other groups is minimal.
- Although young people are perceived as short-sighted and unreliable, they are also the victims of failed social structures.
This report recommends the use of particular tools, by various sectors of society, to engage youth more deeply and purposefully with the past:
- Both NPOs and heritage institutions should take on the mission of showcasing multiple and diverse perspectives on the past. This is needed in order to balance out the political biases of state initiatives and the subjective perspectives shared within families.
- The South African media should take a more active role in confronting the national past. By making greater use of their archive footage, working with both NPOs and the government on resource development and providing outreach of their own, media outlets could play a major role.
- While victims of the apartheid era are still living, it is vital that their testimonies are collected – even ordinary experiences outside the TRC’s scope. The resulting records should be made available for future generations.
- Commemoration day programmes should go beyond the familiar formula to appeal more to members of different age groups, class, race and gender with widely varying tastes.
