Special Hearings — Conscription Hearings — 1997-07-23

WENDY ORR: Thank you Piet, I must say I'm always encouragedwhen Truth Commission Hearings or submissions end with the wayforward, because too often we hear stories of horror pain andsuffering and we leave the room without really thinking aboutwhat to do with that pain.
 I just want to raise a few issues here which I hope will stimulatefurther discussion and we're not going to spend too much timeon it because I know we're all if not physically, certainly emotionallyvery tired.  
 I think without a doubt the South African Medical Services offerthe best physically rehabilitative programmes on the continentof Africa and I don't think anyone would argue with that.  Myconcern is the psychological rehabilitation.  We have had so manypeople come to us to say, who have PTSD saying, I thought I wasalone I thought I was the only person who had these symptoms. When that person said that it was the first time I heard thatsomeone else shared the same symptoms.  I didn't know that anythingcould be done.  I have a quote here from an army doctor sayingI was told on making the diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorderthat no such condition existed and that punishment for malingeringwas appropriate.  
 It's very easy to recognise physical disability it's overt, whereaspsychological disability is hidden and it's kind of unacceptable,you know real men don't cry, so PTSD is an issue which needs tobe brought to the forefront, which Ian has made some suggestionsabout how to make people aware of it.  
 How do we do that, how do we make PTSD something which is okayto have?  How do we set up treatment centers which will returnpeople to society who have been struggling for so long with symptomswhich have removed them from functioning in society?  That isa challenge which, as I said before, is not only for the Truthand Reconciliation Commission it's certainly one which we willconsider in our final report, but it's a challenge for civil societyand it's particularly a challenge for the SADF.   It's a challengeas well for those who served in the SADF in MK, in APLA in PLANas to, not what can we do for you but what can we facilitate thatyou do for yourselves.  
 One other issue that I want to emphasise is that while in TruthCommission Hearings we've been hearing from victims within SouthAfrica.  A lot of the testimonies that we've heard to-day hasrevealed that their are victims in other Southern African countries,and what are we going to do for those victims who are after allthe victims of violence which our state sanctioned?  Another challenge,another question and I hope it's something that we can all putour minds to.  I now open the discussion to the floor.

MRS M GRAY: Hello, my name is Maggie Gray.  I've beenliving outside this country for about twenty five years most ofthis time in Sweden where I have had the privilege, amongst otherthings, of becoming a friend of Marius van Niekerk and in factworking with him on the editing of a book that he's written calledBehind the lines of the Mind.  He's also made a very interestingfilm.  Now he's had extreme difficulty in getting the book publishedin South Africa, everyone who has read it says fascinating butnot really our thing.  There is some money available in Swedento help with the publication and I think it's very important infact that this book is published and that it should be publishednow.  It's ready to be published it can be given for final editingto-day or to-morrow.
 The other thing is I really do believe that, I appeal to theSouth African television authorities that you take a look at Marius'sfilm and try showing it.  It's mainly Marius's experience as interpretedby another South African who is an actor.  It's what they calldrama documentation which is difficult to show because it's neitherdrama nor documentary, but I think that this is actually a formof film which allows people to get a much more real experience,people who can't be in on a session like this were we are a verysmall audience to-day, who have had the privilege of sharing oftenvery, very painful recollections with very brave men, but a filmlike this does allow a wider audience to get some of the experiencewe've had to-day.  So I would really recommend that this filmis broadcast here and the book is published.

WENDY ORR: Thank you, Reverend du Plooy?  Sorry, can youjust use the microphone because this is being taped.

REV DU PLOOY: Just one short remark.  Apart from thathas been physically done and that we've heard now, we've heardanother side of the story to-day and that's since Professor Seegersthis morning and what I said is there's a whole community outthere, there's a lot of churches out there all the churches outthere who sanctioned this whole situation which eventually endedup with the products we have now.  So in some way or other wewill have to get that community and the churches involved againto also return their possibilities to help with this repair programme.

WENDY ORR: I certainly think the church is an incrediblyimportant sector to have involved and I think Ian did raise that,but you're right, they sanctioned participation in the violenceand now it is their duty along with the rest of the society toheal that.  That which was injured and wounded.