THURSDAY, 4.30PM
VICTIMS of apartheid human rights violations and their families can look forward to the prospect of financial compensation for their pains with the release on Thursday of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s policy on reparations.
If the recommendations are approved, each of an estimated 22 000 victims will receive a grant of between R17 000 and R23 000 annually for six years. The grant is to be seen as a symbolic pay-back, and not as an actual value placed on the victim’s suffering. The amount will not be a measure of victims’ pain.
The TRC recommended R3-billion be spent on reparation and rehabilitation through the establishment of community-based programmes for health care, education and housing needs.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu presented the TRC’s recommendations to the government for approval, but said he thinks the government is fundamentally sympathetic. ”We are pushing at a door that is open,” he said.
TRC deputy chair, Alex Boraine, said the grants will only be available to those who fill in the official forms or who have testified at a hearing. Victims have until December 14 to apply.