The Elm Student Newspaper
Talk proposes positive way of dealing with criminals
Danielle Porter
Linda and Peter Biehl lost their 26-year-old
daughter Amy in August 1999 to South African
violence.
Courtesy of College Web site
Amy Biehl, at age 26, was stoned and then stabbed to death by a mob of angry African youths in Guguletu township in Capetown, South Africa in August 1993.
Parents Peter and Linda Biehl have worked immensely to educate people on the issue of race and religion, and on April 9 in the Casey Academic Center Forum, the Biehls brought some of their experience and wisdom to WC.
They spoke about Amy's life, death, and the process of healing for themselves as well as the country of South Africa.
The Leadership Development Office, Anthropology Club, Black Student Alliance, Center for Black Culture, Cleopatra's Daughters, Goldstein Program, International House, Student Athlete Mentors and the William James Forum all sponsored the talk.
The event was quite crowded, with a large amount of students, faculty, and guests in attendance.
In 1999, Amy Biehl's life and work was honored posthumously with the Immortal Chaplains Prize for Humanity, given to those who have risked their lives to protect others of a different race or religion.
The Biehls have established the Amy Biehl Foundation in America, and the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust in South Africa to help the youth from both countries to understand themselves as well as the world at large.
The Foundations support scholarships and internships for African students to study in the U.S., and Americans to study in South Africa. The Foundation Trust also sponsors community-based programs in South Africa to discourage youth violence and provide career training.
Mrs. Biehl offered some dollar figures, "The Foundation Trust can run an after-school program for less than $20 thousand a year per school, and it only costs $7.79 a person to teach them emergency first aid, CPR, and give them a well-equipped kit. The money for this comes from independent donors or the U.S. AID [Agency for International Development] - we don't get money from corporations or other foundations."
She added, "To date, we've put approximately $3 million into the country. The South African department of social services even gives us money to use for programs, since we have a system of accounting that will keep track of it."
Their talk began with a short video clip from the NBC News special "Seeds of Peace," about the spread of youth violence. It featured the Biehls and their attempts to help the community in South Africa by establishing after-school programs, creating bakeries to provide the community with bread, and even building a driving range for the youth.
Mr. Biehl commented about some of the footage: "I'm sitting with two of my daughter's killers, and judging a beauty contest less than 100 yards from where she died. I just never found it in my heart to hate anyone for what happened to Amy."
He continued, "Four young men were found guilty of Amy's murder and given jail sentences of 18 years each. After serving three years, they applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), headed by Bishop Desmond Tutu, for amnesty from their crime since it had been politically motivated."
He further explained, "All of them approached us and asked for our forgiveness. In July 1998, after serving four years, the Commission granted them amnesty and they were released."
Ntobeko Peni and Easy Mzikhona Nofomela were convicted of being accessories to the murder of Amy Biehl, but now they work for the foundation established in her name.
Said Mrs. Biehl, "They call us the Xhosa words for grandmother and grandfather - Makhulu and Tutomakhulu. They work as security for our bread delivery trucks because they know that in their community, guns are just as valuable as the bread."
Mr. Biehl commented, "Everything begins with truth. If you don't trust the person approaching you, how can you forgive them? Linda and I believed that they were truly sorry for what had happened. Reconciliation with them has made possible an unbelievable relationship with Amy's killers."
Mr. Biehl then described the group's dynamic: "Ubuntu is group solidary, a sense of community before everything else. It literally means 'I am because we are' and it is a major part of African society. It is about the restoration of harmony and balance to a community when a wrong is committed."
He also explained how crimes are viewed in African society: "Often, in a property crime, the item is returned along with a restitution item.
Dignity is reestablished for the victim and the offender is accepted back into the community because they have told the truth. Different community groups exist outside of the formal police to enforce the system. As well, it is a major principal of the TRC and its offers of amnesty. We've been able to help two of the four men that murdered Amy - a 50% success rating using a restorative system of justice, rather than a punitive one. I think that alone speaks for itself."Freshman John Killeen said, "I thought their talk was especially interesting because it focused on an alternative to punitive 'justice' - using communal expressions of guilt and redistributive measures to come to terms with certain crimes, rather than permanently denying rights to an offender."
Killeen was, however, somewhat reserved on this type of justice: "If this system is more effective or not, I am uncertain, but it does strengthen communities rather than weaken them."
Senior Kyle Geissler was a driving force in getting the Biehls to come to WC: "George Irani, a former professor here, gave their name in passing.
I did some research and then invited them to come speak, and then I started talking to the various clubs on campus to see what kind of interest there would be."She continued, "I've been in contact with the Biehls since Christmas to get them here - and they flew in from South Africa. They are amazing and so interested in people in general and getting their message out. They've changed me."
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