A Human Being Died That Night recounts an extraordinary dialogue. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a psychologist who grew up in a black South African township, reflects on her interviews with Eugene de Kock, the commanding officer of state-sanctioned death squads under apartheid. Gobodo-Madikizela met with de Kock in Pretoria's maximum-security prison, where he is serving a 212-year sentence for crimes against humanity. In profoundly arresting scenes, Gobodo-Madikizela conveys her struggle with contradictory internal impulses to hold him accountable and to forgive. Ultimately, as she allows us to witness de Kock's extraordinary awakening of conscience, she illuminates the ways in which the encounter compelled her to redefine the value of remorse and the limits of forgiveness.
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PUMLA GOBODO-MADIKIZELA served on the Human Rights Violations Committee of South Africa's great national experiment in healing, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She lectures internationally on issues of reconciliation.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Profound Reflection on our capacity for Reconciation,
This review is from: A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid (Paperback)
Pumla Gobodo-Madikezela reflects on central human issues such as the nature of individual and social evil, the possibility of social reconciliation, the individual's ability to move from participation in violent evil to remorse, and the capacity to meet one another with forgiveness. As urgent at these issues are, her narrative makes compelling reading -- both her accounts of her face-to-face meetings with de Kock and her reflections on her personal story. She raises important questions. How are we to achieve reconciliation in an environment of domonization and divisiveness? Is the Nuremburg model of seeking justice for crimes against humanity actually a way of moving towards reconciliation? While she does not come to clear and definitive conclusions, her experiences and reflections raise some of the most urgent questions facing us as a human community.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Contemplating Forgiveness,
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This review is from: A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid (Paperback)
I read this book shortly after returning from a year in South Africa, when the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings were just waning. I originally bought it because of the timeliness of my visit. But I was also beginning the process of divorce. This book is a fascinating insight into the mind of a ruthless, apartheid murderer, but most important to me, the book has an underlying theme of the concept of forgiveness. We all have been taught that forgiving is the right thing to do, but is it? The author lets the reader decide. Terrific book!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A human being died....,
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This review is from: A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid (Paperback)
I expected this to simply be a narrative about the struggle to overcome apartheid in Sough Africa. in reality, to me it was more an explanation of how forgiveness happens - and the best one I've ever read.
The author (although a PhD in psychology) writes in a very readable style that was both a fascinating book and study in practical theology, but also one which haunting theme stays with me. An excellent read! Purchased at Amazon.com on the recommendation of a friend
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truth commission, apartheid politicians, trigger hand Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South Africa, Cape Town, Eugene de Kock, Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela, Western Cape, Stompie Seipei, Port Elizabeth, Hannah Arendt, Archbishop Tutu, Jeremy Gordin, Captain Duli, Westville Prison, Pearl Faku, Mandela Football Club, Robben Island, Mandisa Monakali, Human Being Died That Night, Prime Evil Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
truth commission, apartheid politicians, trigger hand Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South Africa, Cape Town, Eugene de Kock, Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela, Western Cape, Stompie Seipei, Port Elizabeth, Hannah Arendt, Archbishop Tutu, Jeremy Gordin, Captain Duli, Westville Prison, Pearl Faku, Mandela Football Club, Robben Island, Mandisa Monakali, Human Being Died That Night, Prime Evil Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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