Afrika Read Online Free Page A

Canadian. Apparently her mother is here to cover the TRC.”
    Both women exchanged a look. It was impossible for Kim to figure out what the glance meant. She remembered how her uncle had warned them that some people did not support the commission and suddenly, Kim was sure that Miss Phillips disapproved of the commission and of her too. She wished she could turn around and escape. Her throat was still scratchy and she still had a cough. She longed for the peace of her top bunk bed.
    Kim was shown to a desk halfway to the back. She sat down, opened her pencil case, and took out a pencil. Miss Phillips was still observing her. And so was everyone else. Kim rubbed the back of her hand across her mouth, hoping there were no traces of chocolate there.
    Kim peeled off her blazer and placed it on the seat beside her. As she did she turned and peered right into the almond-shaped eyes of a girl sitting behind her. The girl smiled politely. On the other side of Kim, three or four black students sat together. While Miss Phillips wrote on the board, Kim listened as they spoke softly in their language. Every once in a while an English word or phrase would stand out crystal clear. It was odd to hear familiar words bounce around in the middle of foreign sentences.
    Then the worse thing that could happen happened. Instead of starting the lesson, Miss Phillips put down her piece of chalk and directed her eyes so they were drilling right through Kim.
    “This is Kim van der Merwe,” she said as everyone turned to stare again. “Kim will be with us for three months. Her mother has come all the way from Canada to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” The teacher paused in front of Kim's desk. Kim's heart stopped for a second. What if Miss Phillips asked her a question that she couldn't answer?
    Miss Phillips moved on and addressed the entire classroom. “An historical event is happening at this moment in our country. Who can explain what this commission is about?”
    No one wanted to answer. Unfazed, Miss Phillips leaned forward and said: “We all understand what the word
truth
means. What does the word
reconciliation
mean?”
    A dark-skinned boy near the front of the room shot up his hand. “Reconciliation means to forgive,” he answered and then gave himself a hero's smile. Kim knew the type.
    “That's right, Jerry,” said Miss Phillips. “Do you understand why this commission was started and how it works?”
    “It's about healing the past,” he fired back. “Before we can build a new country, we must look at the wrongs of apartheid.”
    Apartheid.
It sounded different with his accent, but Kim knew the word. She remembered when she was much younger, perhaps five or six, Riana had first told her about it. “How does it work?” Kim had asked noticing the little word
apart
tucked into the larger word. “It means totally separating black and white people,” said Riana. “It means forbidding black people to swim in the same swimming pools as white people.” She went on to explain that a black nanny could go to the pool or the beach to lookafter a white child, but the nanny was not allowed in the water. “What if she went into the water?” Kim had asked. “It was against the law,” Riana replied. “She would get into serious trouble.” Even at a young age, Kim had been shocked by this injustice.
    Kim noticed that Miss Phillips was smiling at Jerry. He spoke as if he had memorized the answer from a book. It was the sort of answer that teachers like, and Miss Phillips was no exception.
    “Thank you, Jerry,” she said.“Many people will come forward to tell their stories to the commission. Some of the people will be victims. Others will be perpetrators – those who carried out the wrongdoings. The commission will listen to all the people and check out all the stories.”
    Kim scribbled in her notebook. The heat was off and she began to relax. Miss Phillips had called the commission historical. Suddenly Kim was