January 1998

Dear Friends,

One of the people in the world who I deeply respect today is Bishop Desmond Tutu. Having experienced both praise and opposition during the recent years of crisis in South Africa, Bishop Tutu--known for his irrepressible humor and ability to take himself lightly--has endeared himself to virtually everyone. He now chairs the "TRC" -- Truth and Reconciliation Commission" -- which has given South Africans and the world an insight into the horrors which take place when people dehumanize one another. Over decades of struggle and turmoil, both security police and their militant opponents committed atrocities that have "torn apart" the relatives of men, women, and children who were brutally abused and killed. For a long time, denial and cover-up left victims' families isolated in their sorrow. The TRC has given these persons an opportunity to tell their stories and to receive the consolation and sympathy of their neighbors.

Because of Bishop Tutu's stature, presence, and sensitivity, this process of truth-telling has become a vital step in the healing of a broken, sharply-divided South Africa. The diminutive Anglican bishop is not a judge but a facilitator and pastor. Perhaps you were watching the same TV pictures we saw while in Johannesburg: Bishop Tutu pleading with Winnie Madikizela Mandela ("I beg of you ...") to acknowledge her own responsibility for behavior that "went very wrong" -- brutality and death caused by angry young men against those perceived as informers and enemies. Not all witnesses testify in good faith. Some will avoid the truth, while others feign repentance to avoid legal penalties. But as the TRC's work has unfolded, South Africans and the world have learned a lot. Once-secret evil and corruption are "shouted from the rooftops." A consistent commitment to reconciliation, fostered by President Mandela as well as the TRC, has made possible the beginnings of a new society.

All signs of segregation are gone: no more separate rest rooms, restaurants, beaches, or transportation! We found people polite, civil, and helpful to strangers. Twice in the same day I lost my camera (in a case with 20+ rolls of film) and twice it was returned to me intact!

In Cape Town, a hotel worker reminded me that political freedom and economic freedom are separate and distinct. Another staff member added quickly: "racism is alive and well in South Africa." Gleaming glass towers (the gift of gold and diamond mines) accent shacks of tin and cardboard (the gift of apartheid and poverty.) But hope is alive, even among the poor.

Bishop Tutu's words of nearly a decade ago still inspire: "We are the Rainbow People! We are the new people of the new South Africa!" He adds: "The rainbow in the Bible is the sign of peace .... the sign of prosperity. We want peace, prosperity and justice, and we can have it when all the people of God, the rainbow people of God, work together." May the same commitment inspire our witness here in the U.S.A.

--Pastor Gary+