A human being died that night : a South African story of forgiveness / Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gobodo-Madikizela, Pumla.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

De Kock, Eugene.

Police--South Africa--Biography.

Police.

Reconciliation--Political aspects--South Africa.

Reconciliation.

Reconciliation--Political aspects.

Torture.

Political persecution.

Political violence.

Death squads.

South Africa.

Death squads--South Africa.

Political violence--South Africa.

Political persecution--South Africa.

Torture--South Africa.

Human rights--South Africa.

Human rights.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

193 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2003.

Summary:

Eugene de Kock, the commanding officer of state-sanctioned apartheid death squads, is currently serving a 212-year sentence for crimes against humanity. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, who grew up in a black township in South Africa, served as a psychologist on that country's great national experiment in healing, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As this book opens, in an act of inescapable, multilayered symbolism and extraordinary psychological courage, Gobodo-Madikizela enters Pretoria's maximum security prison to meet the man called "Prime Evil." What follows is a journey into what it means to be human. Gobodo-Madikizela's experience with and deep empathy for victims of murderous violence, including those killed by de Kock and their families and friends, become clear in arresting scenes set during the TRC hearings, in which both perpetrators and their victims are given voice. The author's profound understanding of the language and memory of violence, and of the searingly complex issues surrounding apology and forgiveness after mass atrocity, will leave a mark on scholarship as well as on our emotional lives. Gobodo-Madikizela's journey with de Kock, during which she allows us to witness the extraordinary awakening of his remorse, brings us to one of the great questions of our time: What does it mean when we discover that the incarnation of evil is as frighteningly human as we are?

Contents:

1. Scenes from Apartheid 1

2. An Encounter with "Prime Evil" 13

3. The Trigger Hand 37

4. The Evolution of Evil 48

5. The Language of Trauma 79

6. Apartheid of the Mind 104

7. "I Have No Hatred in My Heart" 117

Appendix A Short History of Apartheid 143.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 149-176) and index.

ISBN:

0618211896

OCLC:

50280006

Online:

Publisher description