UFS Trauma Forgiveness Reconciliation Studies

UFS Trauma Forgiveness Reconciliation Studies Welcome to the official page of Trauma, Forgiveness and Reconciliation Studies at the UFS. "Like" our page to receive all the latest updates.

Please join us for our end-of-year event Date: Wednesday 30 NovemberVenue: Room LG8; Economic Management Sciences Buildi...
28/11/2016

Please join us for our end-of-year event
Date: Wednesday 30 November
Venue: Room LG8; Economic Management Sciences Building Time: 09:30

and

Venue: Rehearsal Room, UFS Drama Dept
Time: 15:00.

Please RSVP to guarantee entry.
RSVP at: [email protected]

Please join us for the opening of the Sue Williamson art exhibition titled: “No More Fairy Tales”Date: 18 AugustTime: 19...
17/08/2016

Please join us for the opening of the Sue Williamson art exhibition titled: “No More Fairy Tales”

Date: 18 August
Time: 19:00
Place: Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery

Refreshments will be served.

A panel discussion on the artworks will follow with the artist Sue Williamson, Candice Mama and Siyabulela Mgoduka and will be facilitated by Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela.

This conversation will take place on:

Date: 19 August
Time: 10:00
Place: Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery

Please RSVP to Nomusa Mthethwa: [email protected]

Today we wish Archbishop Desmond Tutu a Happy 84th Birthday, and we remain thankful for his contributions to peace build...
07/10/2015

Today we wish Archbishop Desmond Tutu a Happy 84th Birthday, and we remain thankful for his contributions to peace building and reconciliation in South Africa and the world at large.

Happy Birthday Arch Tutu, many more years of good health.

TFR

Professor Felicity Burt is at the Department of Medical Microbiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Read more http:/...
18/09/2015

Professor Felicity Burt is at the Department of Medical Microbiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Read more http://buff.ly/1KpOpm0

Dr Buhle Zuma, one of our post-doc fellows, will be speaking on "Black Skin, White Masks: Is Frantz Fanon Relevant for t...
02/09/2015

Dr Buhle Zuma, one of our post-doc fellows, will be speaking on "Black Skin, White Masks: Is Frantz Fanon Relevant for the Post-Apartheid Condition?"
on Thursday 3 September, 12:15pm, Room 213, Benito Khotseng Building.
Please do come join us. Invitation attached below.
Light refreshments will be served.

From Prof Pumla: Flowers along Fyris River, Uppsala. Walk after lunch. “Pay Attention. Be astonished. Tell about it” – M...
27/08/2015

From Prof Pumla: Flowers along Fyris River, Uppsala. Walk after lunch. “Pay Attention. Be astonished. Tell about it” – Mary Oliver.

From Prof Pumla: Walking to my office at Uppsala University, Sweden. Monday 24th, 6:08 a.m. Lutheran Cathedral reflected...
27/08/2015

From Prof Pumla: Walking to my office at Uppsala University, Sweden. Monday 24th, 6:08 a.m. Lutheran Cathedral reflected on Fyris River.

The University of the Free State in collaboration with the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) held a Intergen...
04/08/2015

The University of the Free State in collaboration with the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) held a Intergenerational dialogue on Trauma and Healing where both Judge Albie and Candice Mama shared their stories and how they both dealt with their trauma. This was the first installment of the 6 lecture series that was held in Cape Town.

Senior Research Professor; Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is heading the research at Trauma, Forgiveness and Reconciliation Studies at the UFS and also is part of the IJR board.

Photo Credit: Carolin Gomulia

The Institute for Social Justice and Reconciliation in collaboration with the Trauma Forgiveness and Reconciliation Stud...
04/08/2015

The Institute for Social Justice and Reconciliation in collaboration with the Trauma Forgiveness and Reconciliation Studies at the UFS held an event on Trauma, Memory and Representations of the Past themed: Speaking Wounds, Voices of the Marikana Widows. Khulumani Support Group also formed part of this event, where art pieces by some of the widows were also exhibited. The Research Project on Trauma, Memory and Representations of the Past is funded by the Mellon Foundation, and the research is led by Senior Research Professor; Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela

Photo Credit: Johann Roux

30/07/2015

We are at the Intergenerational Dialogue between Judge Albie Sachs and Candice Mama in Cape Town at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. Our hasthag is trending on Twitter! Please follow us on Twitter and check out our timeline to follow this thoughtful, reflective and insightful discussion taking place right now!

30/07/2015

The panelists for the Speaking Wounds: Voices of Marikana Widows Through Art and Narrative Panel Discussion and Art Exhibition were Judy Seidman, sociologist and visual artist who facilitates the Khulumani Support Group art workshops, Dr Majorie Jobson who is the National Director of the Khulumani Support Group and Nomfundo Walaza who is the former CEO of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre.

Dr Marjorie Jobson opened up the panel discussion and spoke about how there was no dialogue during and instead of giving a voice to the miner's widows, the widows were there just as silent witnesses. She also spoke on how the failed us and how the are now filing a case against the IFC who gave Lonmin millions to build houses for miners yet they still lived in appalling conditions.

Judy Seidman spoke next on how the artworks and body maps made by the Marikana Widows aims to give voice to the people who have generally been made to be silent by society. She carried on by saying that the art helps the Widows embody their feelings into work that will help people empathise with their experience. The body maps drawn by these widows gave them a sense of confidence and self-actualisation in the process of dealing with their trauma. She spoke on how culture is something we need in order to grow our understanding and how culture was important in the struggle.

Nomfundo Walaza was the respondent in the panel discussion. She thanked Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela and the University of the Free State for creating these platforms for such important discussions. She spoke on how the body is the holder of pain. “It is the body that gets shattered during a traumatic experience,” she said. She adds on to her statement by saying that the massacre of the Marikana miners left pain in those left behind. Nomfundo Walaza then responds to the theme of culture and stated that “the rituals of culture are transformative.” She said that language as a cultural imperative is very important. She spoke on how language is so powerful and how her Xhosa language helps her unpack what is happening in the world around her. She shared a story about how a man did not want to share his trauma with her in their Xhosa language because he said that it would “shrivel your heart and burn your soul” She then segued into how we sometimes are unable to share our traumas because of our shame but it is also shame that holds perpetrators accountable as human beings. Nomfundo Walaza ends by saying that creative expression helps externalise what is internal without the stigma of therapy.

Professor Helene Strauss was our moderator for the event and she asked the panelists what temporal strategies can be implemented in order to deal with traumatic events such as ?

Dr Majorie Jobson responded by saying that the first step to healing is the recognition of the harm that was done to the victims. Dr Majorie Jobson then spoke about the story of Nokuthula Simelane who "disappeared" in 1983 while on a ANC mission from Swaziland to SA. Dr Jobson said that the report done by the is far better than anything the could have produced. The report about what happened during the done by the is on the Khulumani Support Group website. Dr Majorie Jobson ends by saying that without justice, healing cannot take place.

Nomfundo Walaza said that we should all dig into the walls of our cultural wisdom to try and find ways to heal our traumas.

Q and A opened up to the floor.

A woman shared her story about how her home was stormed by Apartheid police and her parents killed and she is still very angry and deeply saddened about it. Sometimes she is so paralysed by the trauma that she can’t even fully function or cope with life’s ups and downs.

Nomfundo Walaza responded by saying "ndiyakuva" meaning "I hear you" highlighting the fact that she feels her pain,her anger.

A man shared his story about how he was on Robben Island but he is still labelled as a criminal and can't secure a job.

Nomfundo talked about how the movement reflects the festering wounds and pain that is still affecting our country. She said that we all carry the wound of what happened in Marikana and asked us: what are we all going to do about it?

Nomfundo Walaza ends with saying that it is up to the next generation to change the structural disadvantages that we face just like the youth of 1976 did.

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