Stellenbosch University has formally stated that it “acknowledges its contribution to the injustices of the past, and therefore commits itself to appropriate redress and development initiatives" (Prof. W. de Villiers, Rector: Stellenbosch University, 2016).
Over the past year, the Division for Social Impact has been working in partnership with surrounding areas, community groupings and organisations, guided by a restorative justice framework, to create an enabling environment to restore the concept of community within Stellenbosch. Various organisations within Stellenbosch and surrounds have come together to launch a co-management forum holding that collective vision.
This intentional engagement is an opportunity to make meaning of our vision as a university. In order to address the wrongs of the past, we need to first have a deeper understanding of the current trauma of people of colour, impacted by those wrongs, in order to explore in equal partnership with the surrounding 'communities' what the appropriate redress and development initiatives need to be.
Restorative justice is inherently a relational concept and recognises the role of community in the restoration process. Community is not only found in our geographical location, but needs to transcend our living spaces to that of being in relationship with the other in order to commune together.
Restoring community
“We're in this together" is the sentiment that filled the room where over 40 participants met recently to discuss what it means to restore community in Stellenbosch. With its unjust past and fragmented present, the way forward for Stellenbosch was strongly captured in a statement by one of the participants: “What happens in Kayamandi, happens to me!" This is what it means to be in community, where 'an injury to one is an injury to all'.
The workshop highlighted that the key catalyst to building an authentic community is the knowledge that 'my humanity is tied up in your humanity'; 'I am because we are'. The concept of humanity is articulated in the African concept of ubuntu, which is embodied in the isiXhosa proverb umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a person is a person through other persons).
Therefore, injustice being rooted in dehumanisation and the fear of others means that restoration is deeply embedded in being in authentic community with others where we truly commune and listen to one another. The workshop provided an opportunity to dream together for our community, but also to tell stories of the past, including painful recollections of families displaced from Die Vlakte and their exclusion from an elite Stellenbosch. The displaced families now live in communities such as Kylemore, riddled by social ills, but their general sentiment is “We don't want you to do for us what you won't do with us".
Active citizenship is vital, where our communities know that their voices are heard. Mr Otto van Noie encouraged the group to study municipal development plans, including Stellenbosch's spatial development framework. It provides the opportunity to engage and influence rebuilding. The framework speaks of residents having a sense that 'this is my place'. As Mr Van Noie stated, “I've been in Stellenbosch for over 40 years and there are still places I don't feel part of". He made special reference to Banhoek Road, which is a clearly boundary between east and west, “separating the elite from the rest of us".
One of the key aspects of the workshop was the space that it created for smaller group discussions as a means to hear one another as well as feed the voices of the participants into the bigger forum in order to share communal priorities and the way forward towards the shared goal of restoring community. While diverse groups and sectors were represented at the workshop, there was much commonality across what was expressed. Some of these priorities included addressing economic inequalities; seeking ways to redress past injustices that continue to have an impact on the community; seeking ways to find commonalities across religions; restoring values in our communities; reclaiming histories, heritages and languages that have been obscured; and working towards seeing one another through our shared humanity as opposed to the differences constructed by our history. A collective expression of a deep desire to move forward in community and to explore the possibilities of standing in solidarity with one another in the various struggles faced within the collective was clearly expressed.
One of the most poignant moments of the workshop was experienced through the story of Mr Neville Bruitjies, when he expressed his current heartache, sharing that he made a conscious decision to never return to the Lückhoff School building in Banhoek Road because of the day they were forced to leave this school, 49 years ago. Although he is hopeful about this new initiative of restoring community, he wanted everyone present to be fully aware of his ambivalent emotions as he journeys with us, while gently holding on to his painful memories of the once vibrant school located in Die Vlakte.
Vice-Rector of Social Impact and Transformation, Prof. Nico Koopman, gave an inspiring closing address, encouraging participants to continue moving forward in the journey for community restoration and to understand that the humanity of one is tied up in the humanity of all.
Finally, Chief Timo and Estelle invited the group into a Khoisan unity ceremony where the ash of white sage was smudged onto the foreheads of participants, signifying that we are all made of the same substance, emphasising the concept of ubuntu and a shared humanity. The ceremony ended off with the singing of a song in Nama with the words Sida ge ra tsoa-tsoa, which translate into 'This is the beginning'.
In the words of Prof. De Villiers: “Our 2018 Centenary Year is an opportunity to reflect on our journey thus far and to look towards the future; to build on our achievements of the past, to correct our mistakes and walk forward together."
Please journey with us by contributing to our website: www.restoringcommunity.co.za.
Picture taken by Thandokazi Dlephu
