CHAIRPERSON
We warmly welcome you to this hearing of the Commission, the Commission of Truth and Reconciliation.   We welcome you all.  The last in this region will be held in Durban next week.
 Thank you to Fazel Randera, the coordinator of our regional office.  Yasmin Sooka and Wynand Malan deputy chairs of the Human Rights Violations Committee and to all our other Commissioners and Committee members from this region as well as our region and national staff members.
 We say thank you to the South African Council of Churches and the South African Chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, especially for the service that was conducted here yesterday afternoon.  We are enormously grateful to the Central Methodist Church, its presiding minister and his staff for availing us of the facilities of this beautiful church and all. Thank you very much Mr Mvume.
 Thank you to the Police and Security personnel.  They have in the other venues done a splendid job of work and we believe that that is going to be the case here as well.  Thank you also to the traffic cops.
 An especially warm welcome to those who will be testifying before the Commission and their families.  Thank you for your generosity of spirit and your courage in exposing yourselves to the gaze of the world.  We have kept saying this in the other venues.  It is not an easy thing to do revealing your pain, your hurt and your trauma to the scrutiny of others.  We have heard some harrowing accounts in East London and King Williamstown.  We have said that our nation and we repeat, that our nation and indeed the world has been touched by what we have heard.  We have been deeply JOHANNESBURG HEARING TRC/