Thembile Ndabeni
I hope this piece is not going to open healed wounds, but instead do what is intended to do, and that is the remembrance and commemoration of a youth who died on a good mission in South Africa.
Amy Elizabeth Biehl came to study in South Africa as an exchange student. In a way, that was the beginning or birthing of a new country that many South Africans fail to make a reality.
This was not only proved by her coming to the country, but by her attitude. The Bible says the reward for sin is death. But in Amy’s case the reward of righteousness was death.
Thanks to her parents, who instead of being bitter with hatred responded the other way. They met the youths responsible for her death and made peace with them.
They did not stop there. They established the Amy Biehl Foundation in the community the youths hail from, and people are now employed there, even the youths responsible for her death. There are things we think are just biblical, but cannot be done in our lives. This kind of forgiveness from Amy’s family is amazing.
It is a good demonstration, example, and lesson to draw from.
Amy’s legacy should be maintained because she died for doing good, and her death did not cause tension between the affected people. Instead, it led to peace and opportunities for others.
I also hope that her friends who witnessed the tragedy have recovered. Her family ended up being friends of South Africa.
Good as all that is, it does not mean this kind of act had to happen, or should happen again.
But one thing, people generally were not happy about what happened, especially the black community in which her death occurred.
There was no celebration of her death and the way she died. That was proof of maturity and that there was no hatred towards white people, but against oppression. That was proven later, not only with the establishment of the Amy Biehl Foundation, but the integration of the foundation and the family with the communities.
World-renowned leader, former president Nelson Mandela, said: “She (Biehl) made our aspirations her own and lost her life in the turmoil of our transition as the new South Africa struggled to be born in the dying moments of apartheid. Through her, our peoples have also shared the pain of confronting a terrible past as we take the path of reconciliation and healing of our nation.”
Which is the best way to remember Amy Elizabeth Biehl?
As much as her death was changed by her parents to a positive, her end was of an innocent soul written in blood. Therefore, she should be remembered both with regret and honour.
We should regret the death of another human being, an innocent soul, who was killed because of the colour of her skin, yet she was helping others in need.
But allow me to say that the devil was beaten at his own game. What he wanted did not take place. He wanted to widen the gap between African people and white people.
Fortunately, the opposite happened. Amy’s parents disappointed the devil.
They were forgiving to the youth who took the life of their daughter, as Christ was to those who did that to Him. Her blood watered the tree of transition, and her life was a sacrifice of forgiveness.
The memory of this tragic death should never be spoiled and changed from what her parents correctly, humanly, and godly wanted to be.
The tragic end of her life should not just be a sad story, but a said story too.
To Amy’s friends who were there helpless, sorry. To the family, especially the parents, sorry and thank you for being a good example of forgiveness and love to South Africa and the world.
When the History curriculum is really revised her name and story must feature well and be at the centre of the theme of “transition”.
August 26 marked the 30th anniversary of Amy’s death.
Ndabeni is a former history tutor at UWC and a former teacher at Bulumko Senior Secondary School in Khayelitsha.
Cape Times