Repairing the Irreparable: Dealing with the double-binds of making reparations for crimes of the past
- 1 August 2000
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Ethnicity & Health
- Vol. 5 (3-4), 215-226
- https://doi.org/10.1080/713667456
Abstract
This paper explores the competing and often diverging psychological needs of the individual and the society with regards to making reparations for gross violations of human rights. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission's mandate and policy recommendations with regards to reparations for survivors and families of victims of human rights abuses are outlined. Thereafter, some of the psychological benefits and double-binds of making reparations are explored. Suggestions are then made with regard to how the process of making reparations for essentially irreparable loss can be eased. It is only the ongoing combination of truth, justice and survivor-support that may one day be sufficient to make some survivors feel at ease with the idea of accepting reparations as a symbolic replacement for what has been lost.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Minefields of MemoryNACLA Report on the Americas, 1998
- The Burdens of Truth: An Evaluation of the Psychological Support Services and Initiatives Undertaken by the South African Truth and Reconciliation CommissionAmerican Imago, 1998