Don Mattera on the Collective Responsibility of White South Africans

MATTERA: For me the collective responsibility for the terror and the horror has not sunk in into the minds of white people. They suffer from forgetfulness. The South Africans refuse to look at the inquisition of their souls - white South Africans. They fear to look at themselves and say, "Yes, but we were privileged. Yes, we did have this kind of life. Yes, we remained silent when others were dragged out at night. Yes, we remained silent when children walked around with bloated stomachs, suffering from malnutrition. Yes; now what is our collective responsibility to these people?"

MOYERS: But how do they do it, how do five million white people say, collectively, "I’m sorry?"

MATTERA: But they can. Sorry is not just a word, it’s a deed. It is an act. Contrition is not "Bless me father, for I have sinned," contrition is "I have taken from thee, therefore I give thee back. I have hurt thee, therefore I help to heal your pain. Listen, your children walk barefoot thirteen kilometers to come to the school, can I help in some way to provide a free bus for them? Can I help to provide shoes? Can I help to give soup and food?"

Each human individual has to decide seriously what their role must be to the collective, to the collective reconstruction of our country.