From 18 –30 May 2014, the South African protagonists Ginn Fourie and Letlapa Mphahlele of the award-winning short film ‘Beyond Forgiving’ will speak at a series of public screenings in Belfast, Bradford, Durham, Liverpool and Oxford. The screenings will be hosted by universities working in peace studies, conflict resolution and restorative justice.
The university screenings are freee with a unique opportunity for students, community workers and the general public to watch the short 30-minute film on the powerful story of forgiveness, healing and reconciliation. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to Ginn and Letlapa on how they moved from 'victimhood to survivor' in post-Apartheid South Africa. The aim is to learn from their experience that surrounds the issues of forgiveness, conflict, terrorism and moving towards reconciliation and restorative justice.
Ginn Fourie - whose daughter was murdered 20 years ago in the Heidelberg Tavern Massacre in Cape Town - will be accompanied throughout the tour by Letlapa Mphahlele. As the former Azanian People’s Liberation Army leader, Letlapa ordered the fatal retaliatory attack responsible for Lyndi’s death in response to the killing of black school children by the South African Defence forces.
Dr Imad Karam, the film’s director comments: 'With this year symbolising two decades since South Africa’s first democratic elections, we very much hope that Ginn and Letlapa’s experience of tragedy and hope will serve as a poignant modern-day parable of how it is possible to go beyond forgiving to break the cycle of vengeance and help others.'
It is hoped that the events around the country will help inspire and stimulate discussion on how two individuals, thrown together through tragic circumstances, have managed to build bridges across their cultural divides in post-Apartheid South Africa and beyond. The tour is part of a national initiative to raise awareness for the ongoing development work in education, peace study programmes and reconciliation work carried out in universities campaigning for conflict resolution, restorative justice and peace building in divided communities across the world.
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