Human Rights Violation in Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog

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In the book Country of My Skull, the author Antjie Krog uncovers the countless human rights violations that occurred during the South African Apartheid. The South African Apartheid, meaning separate or apart, was a system of racial motivated segregation in South Africa. Under this corrupt system of racial segregation, the minority group of South Africa or the White Afrikaners unjustly dominated the majority group, the black South Africans. During this period Black South Africans were unjustly subjected to punishments such as torture, kidnapping, murder, and other horrifying gross violations of human rights. However, after the abolition of the apartheid was the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a commission with the goal of restorative justice.

In other words, the main goal of the TRC was to motivate a broken nation, as well as the rest of the world to not only uncover the truth, but also to acknowledge the true magnitude of the gross human rights violations that had taken place. In order to reach this goal of national unity a large step in the right direction had to be taken. By creating the TRC, not only were the truths and past human rights violations brought forth by the victims as well as the perpetrators, but the victims were finally able to gain a sense of healing and restoration by giving their direct testimonies in order to move forward in their lives, and help create a more unified and integrated South Africa. In addition to the TRC accomplishing its goals of uncovering the gross human rights violations, and giving the victims of the apartheid system a chance to reveal the suffering and stripping of human rights they endured, it also made it nearly impossible...

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...inherits you. I snatch you from the death of forgetfulness. I tell your story, complete your ending—you who once whispered beside me in the dark” (Krog 38). This reveals Krog’s true goal and desire to inhibit the truth from dying with its victims by publicly demonstrating the truth of the apartheid to anyone and everyone whether they wish to listen or not. Throughout Krog’s narration and reporting of the TRC testimonies, she allows the voice of the victim or liberation hero stand alone, however she offers her feelings of guilt and harsh revelations, as well as her emotional and physical response to the TRC when coming to terms with the hatred that took over her nation of birth. In this way, Krog offers herself up to those harmed and victimized in order to not only ask for forgiveness, but for a chance to move forward as a unified South African, regardless of race.

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