Reconciliation starts with you

13 December 2007 - 02:00
By unknown

December 16 is Reconciliation Day. Reconciliation South African style sounds like an easy "task".

December 16 is Reconciliation Day. Reconciliation South African style sounds like an easy "task".

What is not tangible in everyday interactions is the fact that many among us are consumed with self-hatred, and are not even aware of it.

There is self-hatred from guilt about the past. And then there is that sneaky type of self-hatred that shows up in a variety of socially dysfunctional behaviours such as xenophobia and racism.

You have to be at peace with yourself to understand the concept and profound process of reconciliation. It starts inside you, by understanding who you are.

My point here is that reconciliation is essentially an internal job. First reconcile with yourself before reconciling with another.

Dumisani Magadlela,

Midrand