Amy Biehl

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Amy Elizabeth Biehl.jpg

Amy Elizabeth Biehl (26 April 1967 – 25 August 1993) was a White German American graduate of Stanford University, a student at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, and an anti-apartheid activist, who was murdered while a black mob shouted anti-White slurs.

History

The attack on the car driven by her was one of many incidents of general lawlessness on that road that afternoon. Bands of youths threw stones at delivery vehicles and cars driven by White people. One delivery vehicle was toppled over and set alight, and only the arrival of the police prevented more damage. There was evidence that some of the possessions belonging to her and the passengers were stolen.

According to Rex van Schalkwyk, in his 1998 book One Miracle Is Not Enough, "Supporters of the three men accused of murdering [her]… burst out laughing in the public gallery of the Supreme Court today when a witness told how the battered woman groaned in pain." Four people were convicted of murdering her.

The four men convicted of her murder were pardoned in 1998 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Biehl's family supported the release of the men. Her father shook their hands and stated:

"The most important vehicle of reconciliation is open and honest dialogue... we are here to reconcile a human life [that] was taken without an opportunity for dialogue. When we are finished with this process we must move forward with linked arms."

In 1994, Biehl's parents, founded the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust to develop and empower youth in the townships, in order to discourage further violence. Two of the men who had been convicted of her murder worked for the foundation as part of its programs. In 1999, Biehl's parents were honored with the Aline and Norman Felton Humanitarian Award.

See also

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