Saying Sorry is Not Enough

By Sicebise Msengana

Pic: chatelaine.com 

We live in an imperfect world marred by pain and suffering. Over time, there have been different ways to deal with this age-old dilemma. Many answers ranged from loving your enemies to simply asking for an apology. Probably the most famous of all forgiveness asking is begging a deity to forgive us: "Dear God [Allah], I am a sinner and need forgiveness." That's all it takes to beg for mercy and forgiveness.

Although these solutions are loved by many for their godliness, it has some dire implications. For example, Many White people living in South Africa supposedly experienced an epiphany and decided to put an end to the oppressive apartheid system. Or three centuries
of chattel slavery in America, the US government grew morals and emancipated all slaves. Under this forgive-and-forget system, such people deserve forgiveness and all of their atrocious acts absolved and forgotten. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of African victims, were murdered, maimed, exploited, beaten, raped, fed alive to sharks, hanged and enslaved under horrific conditions ha to forgive, move on or live with it.

This is an insult. Simple logic and conscience argues against such an extremely unjust and offensive system.

It begs the question: how can justice be achieved if the guilty go unpunished? Sometimes it is not enough to be sorry or offer an apology. A least known fact is that Nelson Mandela allowed Whites to escape with blood on their hands, while keeping the wealth of South Africa and created a superficial "Rainbow Nation", which prevented Africans from trying them for their past crimes and ongoing exploitation.

Some acts are so serious that a mere sorry or apology is not enough. Not matter how sincere. Being sorry alone doesn't make wrong right, or undo the harm done. Too often, people pressured by a guilty conscience, the best they can do is to sweep the wrongs under the carpet and pretend like nothing happened. Are we to believe that five hundred years of oppression and enslavement can be wiped clean by a "I am sorry"? Are we to believe that fifty years of apartheid can be forgotten simply because of a man who spent twenty-seven years in prison? Little do people know that Germany still makes reparations to the Jewish community even after seventy years since the Holocaust.

Sorry is even a bigger word, and it takes a big person to say it. When you hurt someone -- be it a loved one,  co-worker, boss or a stranger, they need to know that you regret and it won't happen again.  Whites still control up to 80% of the South African economy.  How can such people be truly sorry when they still enjoy the same privileges and opportunities just as their ancestors?

Today, a vast majority of Whites in South Africa chanting "The ANC is a failure" are the exact same Whites that had absolutely no problem when the system was profitable. Talk about double standards!
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a court-like restorative justice body chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu allowed many perpetrators whose crimes demand punishment to escape scot-free. It really teaches that people do not have to take responsibility for their actions. One who commits a crime that hurts another person, one owes that person apology and restitution -- reparations to make up for the wrong done.

Being sorry cannot erase past deeds; forgiveness is useless if it not accompanied by action to make up for bad deeds.