Desmond Tutu Research Paper

Most white people were in denial about the apartheid crimes which they committed, to enforce whites to take responsibility for apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission granted amnesty. South Africa bargained for truth by granting amnesty to individuals in exchange for a full disclosure relating to the crimes they committed. Additionally, the individuals seeking amnesty had to plead guilty and accept total responsibility for their actions. Regardless, the granting of amnesty brought forth controversy. Many people thought that to grant amnesty was to sacrifice justice. Compared to the black South Africans who were heavily involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, few whites applied for amnesty, or even watched the Commission …show more content…
Tutu believes that forgiveness provides the possibility of a new beginning. Desmond Tutu encouraged the suppressed to forgive the whites. Although Tutu does not condone the misbehaviors of the white supremacists, he reminds people to show compassion for them, because the whites were conditioned by the government to be racists. Reconciliation means that the reality of the past is accepted, so the country can move on to a better future. Tutu believed that forgiveness would free both the wrongdoers and the victims. However, some blacks were not ready to forgive. It was too soon; they had been too recently hurt from the trauma that while supremacists had inflicted upon them. Many victims felt that before they could forgive, they needed more time to heal. After twenty thousand black South Africans had informed the world of the appalling crimes that had been inflicted upon them, how could they possibly want to forgive? In his autobiography, Desmond Tutu wrote a prayer for forgiveness “may God give us the grace to forgive one another, to love one another and to be sisters and brothers together.” In order to encourage forgiveness and unity among races, Tutu preached the profound African principal of