Ethical Dilemmas

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, however, also had its fair share of disadvantages. The main disadvantage was that many of the victims simply did not feel that justice had been conducted. The horrible reign of apartheid had lasted for a period of 45 years, and now the TRC was asking them to simply forget the wretched past. In the meantime, all the perpetrators of crimes from the era where walking away scot-free. To me, it just does not seem fair that these villains of such hate crimes can just walk away, and leave all their crimes unaccounted for. In addition, the blacks were not even able to receive any monetary form of compensation for all their years of segregation and ill treatment. Moreover, the TRC was asked to only look at the crimes that occurred between the years of 1960-1994, while in reality the Africans have suffered from white suppression ever since the earliest explorers. What happens to all the injustices that occurred in the hundreds of years before 1960? Also, the TRC experienced numerous difficulties and problems in their beginning phases of operation. As Tutu states, "Our meetings for the first year or so was hell. It was not easy to arrive at a common mind as each of us tried to stake our claims on the turf and establish our particular space." The early commission members "were as diverse a group of South Africans of that size that you could ever hope to assemble. We were Colored, Indian, African, and white, the entire racial spectrum in our race-obsessed society." All this diversity led to numerous voices and opinions on how the TRC should be run, which lead to many governing conflicts in the early stages. Given the racial turmoil that South Africa faced in the early 1990s as it finally rid itself of apartheid, I truly believe that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was the best way possible to address the crimes of the past and prepare for a peaceful future. I believe the TRC made the best of a horrible situation. There was no other way possible to address both sides, while at the same time alleviate the victims and condone the perpetrators for their sinful acts. I would have loved to see the apartheid felons pay for the crimes they committed, however given South Africa's poor economic status, lack of an adequate judicial system, and poor overall education. Individual trials against all crimes committed would have been impossible. The best South Africa could hope for was to let "bygones be bygones, " and this is precisely what the TRC aimed to accomplish. After all the years of racial injustice, the recent removal of apartheid has signified the need to start from a "clean slate," and concentrate on unifying all the people of South Africa to contribute to the nations future success and well being. For as Tutu so elegantly states, "God wants to show that there is life after conflict and repression - that because of forgiveness there is a future."