"These are very complex problems that are not unique to South Africa. Argentina, Chile, Guatemala and countless other nations are attempting to move beyond periods of state sponsored violence," said Mishler, who specializes in the psychology of trauma survivors.
While the efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have come under fire for unnecessarily raising a violent past, Godobo-Madikizela defended the effort.
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"If memory is kept alive to free ourselves from the burden of hatred, then it has the power to heal," she said.