Engaging the Other

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela

We don't often read or hear Good News in South Africa these days. So the conference I attended at the University of the Free State (UFS) in early December made a welcome dent in the prevailing atmosphere of pessimism. Engaging the Other: Breaking Intergenerational Cycles of Repetition - the third of the post-TRC conferences organized by Professor of Psychology, Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela since 2006 - brought together stories of transcending violent histories from all over the world. It was at the first of these conferences that many of us were deeply moved by the presentation from the German psychoanalysts of PAKH who are the second-generation offspring of survivors and perpetrators of the Holocaust. It was also then that David Gerbi, a Libyan Jew, performed his extraordinary autobiographical play about "Making Peace with Gaddafi".

Jonathan Jansen

Six years later, Pumla has moved to Mangaung (formerly Bloemfontein) as have quite a few Cape Town academics drawn by the charisma and transformational energy of Jonathan Jansen, the Rector, who was appointed when UFS was rocked by a racist scandal in 2008. Three stories from South Africa impressed me.

The University of the Free State
The first undoubtedly was the story of UFS itself and what Jansen has been able to create in 3 years.
Surprising everyone by withdrawing the case against the Reitz Four, who had made a racist video in which they humiliated black workers at UFS, he engaged with them, their parents and the Reitz house residents to expedite integration on campus, at the same time attracting academics from all over the country to the University. This last sentence doesn't really do justice to the man, the many initiatives he has taken and the atmosphere he creates around himself. Even at the conference, he approached new information with a kind of innocent curiosity - a quality evident in many great teachers and learners.

While we were there long tents were being constructed. UFS had pulled off the huge coup of hosting the ANC's elective conference in the following week. The story goes that the ANC, notorious for not paying their debts, was forced to pay the University in advance of the gathering or else risk cancellation - just a small indication of the level of confidence Jansen has created.

Solms-Delta Farm
The second is the story of what Mark Solms has managed to achieve in engaging the farmworkers on his Solms-Delta farm in Franschoek. I have referred to this in a previous post. The video link is well worth watching - its a great story and Mark Solms is a terrific storyteller! Mark tells how difficult it was to engage with the workers he inherited and what was involved in trying to convince them he wanted things to change at Solms-Delta. It involved digging for the history of the farm - literally. Not only did he tell this story at the conference but we also heard from Sanna Malgas - one of the farmworkers. When asked what had finally made her realize that Mark might be an employer she and others could trust, she replied that it was when "we didn't have to work in the rain"!

In November/December 2012, we saw farm-workers across the Western Cape demanding a R150/day minimum wage. Some farmers are saying wages at that level will ruin them. They could take a leaf out of Mark's book - with his help his farm-workers raised a loan to buy the farm next door to his, using his farm as collateral and they work both farms! The produce is apparently excellent - he had donated the wines for the conference dinner. People seemed to be enjoying them immensely!

 Restitution in Worcester
The third is a lovely story about the research Deon Snyman has been doing in Worcester for an organization he started called the Worcester Hope and Reconciliation Process in partnership with Khulumani - an organization set up to lobby government on behalf of apartheid victims. He asked members of each community in Worcester - black, coloured and white - what would be the requirements for a sustainable peace in Worcester. He now has a long list and they have started with what is achievable. One of the first steps to restitution was a need for medical treatment for those injured in a 1996 bombing in a shopping mall and this has been provided, together with psychological services. Two of the victims have met with Stefaans Coetzee, the bomber, who is serving a prison sentence, and more victims are planning to visit him in 2013.