Commemorating and Forgetting: Challenges for the New South Africa.

摘要

At this moment in history what happens in South Africa matters to all of us beyond its borders. South Africa with its racial and ethnic diversity and with the legacy of 46 years of a racially defined oppressive minority government, has now had some 20 years in which to reconstruct an inclusive identity and discover some means of coexistence, if not cooperation, between the erstwhile oppressed and oppressor. The global significance is obvious. If an effective modus vivendi can be found in South Africa then it can be found anywhere but if it fails to emerge in South Africa then there is little chance of success elsewhere. The country has thus become burdened with the expectations and aspirations as well as the misgivings and anxieties of all of us. It is thus a beacon of hope or symbol of despair in which public heritage will play a decisive role. A book written by someone who, I presume because the book lacks any biography of the author and is published in the US, lived in both the apartheid regime and through the 20 years of transition after its demise, will be eagerly greeted by a world anxious for informed insights about its present and its future.