GAUTENG
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suffered previously by actions from both sides of the struggle can tell their stories.  That is the main purpose of these hearings.  The recovery, helping people to recover their human and civil dignity. 
 The Commission will not be making a finding immediately whether such persons are victims of gross violations of human rights.  That will happen a little later.  The testimony given enjoys the same privilege as if it were given in a court of law, and we have already indicated what is the case with that to the naming of alleged perpetrators.  If a witness deliberately gives the Commission false testimony then he or she will be guilty of an offence as will be the case in a court of law.  This is not a court of law, but we know you will conduct yourselves with proper decorum.  As I have said I hope we will not need to invoke the powers vested in us.  
 We want to thank all who have prayed for us, who are praying for us.  We receive quite a few letters, but we've received one or two that I want to refer to.  One is a fax from a Church in Harlem, the Church of the Intercession who assure us of their prayers.  But even more wonderfully is a letter from a junior youth group in Mitchell's Plain.  The letter says,
"Our programme focused on our present renew theme, the Cost of being a disciple within the Community, and the children needed to identify how they could be instrumental in our community by trying to turn bad news into good news, and while we were looking through the past weeks' newspapers we noticed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and how you are trying to do just that, healing the wounds of
JOHANNESBURG HEARING TRC/