By Sue Hogan
STM Director of Marketing and Communications

Seattle University welcomed Rev. Dr. Peter Storey to campus on November 5, 2009. He is the former president of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and the Methodist Bishop of the Johannesburg/Soweto area. In the 1960s, he served as chaplain to Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners held on Robben Island. During the 1980s, Storey helped lead the call for international pressure to end the apartheid regime. After Mandela was elected president, he appointed Storey to help select South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was key in helping the country deal constructively with the tragedies of its past.

Dr. Storey began by introducing his son, Rev. Alan Storey, and commenting that they were traveling as an inter-generational team for the first time.

 
(L to R) Rev. Dr. Peter Storey, Rev. Alan Storey,
STM Dean Mark Markuly

Observing that human suffering is universal, Storey passed to give thanks to the churches in the United States who supported the struggle against apartheid, which plagued South Africa from 1948 to 1991. Reminding us that there was a time when South Africa stirred the world’s conscience, he told three stories about the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as the first black president of South Africa.

The first story depicted white South Africa as comfortable, church-going and enjoying lives similar to those in the United States. They did not see that the economy floated on a sea of cheap black labor. Whites became experts in letting their institutions commit sins for them. His warning is that the United States is also in a bubble, where all other interests are subsumed to enjoyment of majority success.

The second story was about becoming peace-makers in the midst of violence. The churches reached out to the Dutch Reformed Church, supporters of the apartheid system; business leaders joined with the knowledge that the economy could be destroyed. In September, 1991, the National Peace Accord was signed by more than 40 organizations. The document begins by stating:

Noting that the majority of South Africans are God-fearing citizens, we ask for His blessing, care and protection upon our Nation to fulfill the trust placed upon us to ensure freedom and security for all.

Bearing in mind the values which we hold, be these religious or humanitarian, we pledge ourselves with integrity of purpose to make this land a prosperous one where we can all live, work and play together in peace and harmony.

After the peace accord, “we stopped playing the race card and started playing the grace card.” By 1993, there were 24,000 trained peace monitors, wearing bright orange vests with two doves of peace. “People can do something against the self-propelling nature of violence.” Also in 1993, Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with F.W. de Klerk, President from 1989-94, who had brought about many reforms, including the release of Mandela from prison.


(L to R) Nelson Mandela and de Klerk

The third story was called “beyond reconstruction to reconciliation.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) formed three committees: the Human Rights Violations Committee, which heard stories from victims (20,000 in the first six months); the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee and the Amnesty Committee. In 1998, the Commission presented its 3,500-page report, which condemned both sides for committing atrocities. The TRC was perceived to be effective in bringing out the truth, however, in varying degrees. The Afrikaners perceived the TRC to be less effective in bringing out the truth than the English participants. Rev. Storey felt that the process should have continued at the local level.

Following a standing ovation of warm appreciation for his work, both Reverends Storey responded to questions from the audience.

Read "Breaking out of our bubble" by Jerry Large, Seattle Times staff columnist.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrylarge/2010231562_jdl09.html