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ID President Patricia de Lille says the Day of Reconciliation tomorrow, the 16th of December, ‘is a day when we must remember the many people that gave their lives for the freedom of our country.

‘We are a traumatized nation and we are still in need of a tangible and practical definition for reconciliation and exactly who must reconcile with whom,' Ms De Lille says.

‘Our current definition is extremely one-sided because there is a call on blacks to forgive whites for what happened in the past, but there is not a call on whites to reach out and seek forgiveness.

‘We need strong leadership, where leaders in politics, the church, business and leaders of all other persuasions need to encourage this process on a daily basis - one day of the year is not enough because reconciliation is not an event, it is a process,' says De Lille. 

‘The end goal of this process is to achieve a united, peaceful nation and we know that there will never be peace without justice. And justice means regaining our dignity and self-worth.'