Friday, November 2, 2007 at 2:02am
Freedom through forgiveness, Part 2
Column: Executive Soul
Breaking the cycle of violence begins with seeing compassionately. To break the cycle of violence, one must first see with the eyes of the heart.
For Archbishop Desmond Tutu, head of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the mid-'90s, seeing compassionately grew out of prayer. Prayer undergirded his work with the commission, just as it had undergirded his ministry before that. As the commission began its work of uniting a divided country, Desmond Tutu turned to God for strength and guidance. Only through frequent, regular prayer did he find himself able to regard everyone, both victims and perpetrators, with compassion.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission chose a third way, distinct from both retributive justice and blanket amnesty. Through inviting perpetrators to apply for amnesty in exchange for full disclosure of their crimes, South Africa chose restorative justice. Leaders of the commission had to learn to see with compassion as they carried out their difficult work.
Tutu found himself stretched to offer compassion to perpetrators on both sides, and his heart grew larger in the process. After learning to see with compassion, he had to interrupt the cycle of violence, in order to ultimately break it.
Desmond Tutu interrupted the cycle of violence in South Africa on numerous occasions, both during his service on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and at other times. For example, on Sept. 6, 1989, when apartheid was still in full force, peaceful protests were held in South Africa to boycott the racist election. As Tutu reported in his book "No Freedom Without Forgiveness," the state security forces shot indiscriminately, killing 20 people, including children standing in their own yards. When Desmond Tutu received the news, he went into the chapel of his archbishop's residence at Bishopscourt in Capetown, crying and imploring God, "How could you let this happen?"
While it would have been easy to respond in fear, allowing the government to intimidate blacks, or, conversely, to respond with hostility, joining those who called for armed resistance, Desmond Tutu chose neither. He emerged from his prayer knowing that he needed to call for a peaceful protest march, which was held on Sept. 13, drawing 30,000 people, the first in a series of major protests that, in Tutu's words, "marked the beginning of the end for apartheid." The protests interrupted the cycle of violence by saying, "We won't stand for this violence" while at the same time making the statement peacefully. Less than five months later, on Feb. 2, 1990, State President F.W. de Klerk announced the end of apartheid.
More than 10 years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, what does South Africa's example have to offer the world? In this war-torn world, how can compassion, forgiveness and actions that interrupt the cycle of violence make a difference? If all of us learned to practice these skills in our families, our organizations, our neighborhoods and our nations, what miracles might happen in our world?
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.
For Archbishop Desmond Tutu, head of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the mid-'90s, seeing compassionately grew out of prayer. Prayer undergirded his work with the commission, just as it had undergirded his ministry before that. As the commission began its work of uniting a divided country, Desmond Tutu turned to God for strength and guidance. Only through frequent, regular prayer did he find himself able to regard everyone, both victims and perpetrators, with compassion.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission chose a third way, distinct from both retributive justice and blanket amnesty. Through inviting perpetrators to apply for amnesty in exchange for full disclosure of their crimes, South Africa chose restorative justice. Leaders of the commission had to learn to see with compassion as they carried out their difficult work.
Tutu found himself stretched to offer compassion to perpetrators on both sides, and his heart grew larger in the process. After learning to see with compassion, he had to interrupt the cycle of violence, in order to ultimately break it.
Desmond Tutu interrupted the cycle of violence in South Africa on numerous occasions, both during his service on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and at other times. For example, on Sept. 6, 1989, when apartheid was still in full force, peaceful protests were held in South Africa to boycott the racist election. As Tutu reported in his book "No Freedom Without Forgiveness," the state security forces shot indiscriminately, killing 20 people, including children standing in their own yards. When Desmond Tutu received the news, he went into the chapel of his archbishop's residence at Bishopscourt in Capetown, crying and imploring God, "How could you let this happen?"
While it would have been easy to respond in fear, allowing the government to intimidate blacks, or, conversely, to respond with hostility, joining those who called for armed resistance, Desmond Tutu chose neither. He emerged from his prayer knowing that he needed to call for a peaceful protest march, which was held on Sept. 13, drawing 30,000 people, the first in a series of major protests that, in Tutu's words, "marked the beginning of the end for apartheid." The protests interrupted the cycle of violence by saying, "We won't stand for this violence" while at the same time making the statement peacefully. Less than five months later, on Feb. 2, 1990, State President F.W. de Klerk announced the end of apartheid.
More than 10 years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, what does South Africa's example have to offer the world? In this war-torn world, how can compassion, forgiveness and actions that interrupt the cycle of violence make a difference? If all of us learned to practice these skills in our families, our organizations, our neighborhoods and our nations, what miracles might happen in our world?
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.