TRC Final Report

Volume 6

Section 4

Chapter 2

Subsection 10

The need for support

108. Graves may provide answers, but these answers may not be what the families had anticipated. Exhumations may therefore impact negatively on families and communities. Families should be prepared to deal with unexpected outcomes.

109. Families should be carefully prepared by the organisation or institution carrying out the exhumation:

a An empty grave will cause additional pain to a family.

b The grave may contain fewer of more individuals than were expected. The search for identity and for relatives of the deceased then begins.

c The remains of women who were pregnant at the time of death result in a double sense of loss.

d Skeletal evidence of great suffering prior to death (such as multiple fractures or dislocations) can provide painful proof of events that occurred before death.

e Witnessing the bones forces families to accept the reality of death, for which they may be inadequately prepared.

110. Amani Trust, an NGO involved in exhumations in Matabeland, Zimbabwe, has argued that, ‘to carry out exhumations without ensuring that families of the exhumed have access to psycho-social and emotional support is irresponsible’.^{3 0}

CONCLUSION

111. The Commission learnt some painful lessons during this process. While exhumations are a powerful mechanism to break the silence and establish the truth, they can do great harm if not conducted properly and with adequate support for families. Those organisations carrying out exhumations must ensure that they are carried out in proper consultation with families and communities.

112. It is only then that exhumations may contribute to a process of healing.