Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 25, 2005 ‘Restorative justice’ after a daughter’s murder Activist Amy Biehl’s family members have brought healing to themselves, communities in South Africa, and even those responsible for her death By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune After her daughter, Amy, was killed by four young black, anti-apartheid militants in South Africa, Linda Biehl could have walked away and tended to her own grief and anger. But the world — and Amy’s spirit — wouldn’t let her. Not just sympathy poured in, but money. It was enough to start the Amy Biehl Foundation, which spends millions of dollars on jobs, cultural activities, AIDS prevention and other community- and individual-building programs in South Africa, Linda Biehl told the Ashland Rotary during a visit Thursday. Although Linda and her late husband, Peter, faced a huge journey of forgiveness, Linda Biehl stressed that her consuming work since Amy’s 1993 murder has not been in just forgiveness, but in the personal and political mission of reconciliation and restorative justice. Advertisement "When you forgive, that’s good, but you can also walk away and live your own life," said Linda Biehl. "What I learned about restorative justice is that people have to be restored to the community. It’s about work, not sitting around. It doesn’t mean you have to love everyone, but you’re engaged in positive ways, working with people, respecting them, listening to them and helping them reap the benefits everyone needs." A good example of restorative justice, she added, would be, instead of just thanking and paying your domestic worker year after year, go see where she lives and learn about her life and get involved in it. "It’s called ubuntu , which means ‘I am — because you are here,’ in other words, no man is an island. We’re in touch with each other’s humanity and, as the Rotarians say, service above self." This philosophy was the foundation for rebuilding South Africa under Nelson Mandela, she said. When people convicted of crimes under the apartheid regime appealed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for pardons, the Biehls did not ask punishment of the four men convicted of their daughter’s murder, but said they would support the TRC’s pardon, if it was found the act was political and not criminal. Today, two of the pardoned men work with Biehl and go on speaking tours all over the world, splitting honoraria three ways, she said, joking about how they’d all become close friends and how the well-fed pair have put on weight — and how she loaned them money to buy their homes in South Africa. "They now have goals, education and are married fathers of daughters who go to multi-racial schools," Biehl said. The Amy Biehl Foundation over the past eight years has spent $3 million and provided 150 jobs in South Africa in support of programs for drama, arts, recreation, sports, work in prisons, a golf driving range, Amy Biehl High School and many other programs — all with an eye to providing jobs and income to help mend a society torn apart by decades of revolt against apartheid. Said Rotarian Deedie Runkel, a sponsor of the Biehl visit, "What I got (from hearing Biehl’s story) is the power of one person’s commitment. It’s like the old saying — world peace will come through the will of ordinary people like myself." Funded by a Fulbright Scholarship to write a thesis on "The Transformation of Women in an Emerging Democracy," Amy Biehl fully knew the danger she was in as a white person in the final months of apartheid, said her mother, and Amy thoroughly explained her commitment to helping save young people and bring free elections. Amy, then 26, was dragged from her car by rock-throwing black rebels and stabbed to death, an event Biehl painfully recounted — including the phone call from South Africa, the shock and grief, the feeling of not being able to believe it and "how could this happen to us?" The Biehls for years received thousands of calls and faxes, showering them with funds and urging they set up programs to help themselves and South African society heal. In South Africa, the Biehls met and shook hands with the perpetrators and learned how they saw themselves — as freedom fighters living in poverty and oppression. "They came forward and said they wanted to start youth groups. It was kind of amazing, the courage they had," said Linda Biehl. "They took on Amy’s spirit and opened up to her work and vision. They told me they wouldn’t have killed Amy if they knew she was dedicated to their cause. They saw her as just another white oppressor and that’s what they were killing." The Biehls face struggles, still getting racist hate mail after 12 years — and seeing two of the four killers, trained in violence, guns and robbery, return to jail. "But a lot of people loved Amy. It shouldn’t have happened," she said. "We rallied around Amy. This is how we show our love for her — and our support for freedom in South Africa. The one great joy of this is what Amy connected us to, that we all have humanity." John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers dvd-r helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Computer Security Home Equity Loans Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Canadian Pharmacy Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Online Casino News Air Purifiers Advertisement s