Role of Freedom Park in Facilitating Reconciliation in South Africa: A Site for Cultural Heritage Education and Political Tourism

“This is a most timely publication marking, as it does, two decades after the end of four centuries’ minority colonial and racist apartheid rule in 1994, when South Africa was reconstituted as an inclusive democracy with equal rights for all of the country’s inhabitants…The book serves as a barometer for gauging what still remains to be done now and in the future to ensure that South Africa steadily and resolutely remakes itself a true and permanent home of humanity.”
-Prof. Andries Walter Oliphant,
Head, Theory of Literature,
University of South Africa

“The author ably highlights the defining character of Freedom Park as a heritage resource that has an undeniable capacity to promote reconciliation and contribute to the development of unifying South African identity…she elaborates the fact Freedom Park showcases our living heritage which is defined by the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999…it represents a national site of cultural significance which preserves our intangible heritage…”
-Professor Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu,
University of the Witwatersrand

“This timely and illuminating, scholarly publication outlines the history of carrying out the mandate of reconciliation with remarkable detail and clarity… Reconciling a people with a past which is characterized by gross human rights violations is very complex. It can be a mammoth task, which can take many decades to be accomplished, even for an institution that has a clear mandate of reconciliation, such as Freedom Park.”
-Dr. Glen Reynolds,
University of Sunderland, UK

“The monograph provides an important synthesis of the challenges facing institutions like Freedom Park (FP) in fostering democratic phenomena of reconciliation, social cohesion and nation-building by putting together relevant collections. It makes a unique contribution to the burgeoning post-Apartheid African liberation scholarship on a new vision, values and goals of a democratic South African society. The manuscript offers some useful solution to the problems raised. It is also characterized by the use of African oral sources as a basis for the interpretation.”
Tlou Makhura

Foreword by Andries Walter Oliphant
Prologue
Executive Summary
Acknowledgements
Acronyms
Figure 1: Three Stages of the Reconciliation Process
PART ONE: BACKGROUND AND THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The Conceptual Framework
1.2.1 Reconciliation
1.2.2 Stage I: Social Transformation and Building Trust
1.2.2.1 Democracy and Reconciliation
1.2.3 Stage II: Truth Telling and Collective Memory
1.2.4 Stage II: Peaceful Coexistence and Nation Building
1.3 Who Are the Victims?
1.4 Amnesty, Justice and the TRC
1.5 Summary
II. PART TWO: FULFILLING THE MANDATE
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Cleaning, Healing and Return of Spirits
2.3 Commemorative Events on Wall of Names
2.3.1 South African Defence Force (SADF) Names
2.3.2 Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Names
2.3.3 The Boipatong Massacre
2.3.4 The Mamelodi Massacre Event 2.3.4.1 Impact on Community Members
2.4 Military Veterans’ Seminar
2.4.1 Impact on Veterans
2.5 Partnerships with Reconciliation Experts
2.5.1 Reconciliation Seminar by IHOM
2.5.2 The Reconciliation Road
2.5.3 The SANDF Wreath Laying Event
2.6 The Calvinia Reconciliation Project
2.6.1 The Reconciliation Symposium
2.6.2 Community and Multi-Sectorial Dialogues
2.6.3 Problems and Challenges in Calvinia
2.6.4 Impact of Calvinia Project
2.7 Summary
III. PART THREE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Reconciliation after 20 years of Democracy
3.3 Creating a collective memory after 20 years
3.4 Conclusions
3.5 Recommendations
REFERENCES
INDEX

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