NEWS: Author slams Tutu’s silence on sex abuse
Personal response to statement on Oxfam scandal details priests preying on children
SOUTH African author Ishtiyaq Shukri has lashed out at Archbishop Desmond Tutu over his decision to step down as an ambassador for international aid organisation Oxfam last month in the wake of a sex scandal.
Shukri lambasted Tutu for not speaking out against sex abuses in the church – abuses he says he was a victim of.
Tutu‚ as chancellor of the University of the Western Cape‚ capped Shukri in 1990 when he graduated.
“The day Archbishop Tutu conferred my degree was not the first time I was touched by a clergyman from the Church of England in South Africa,” he said.
“In the years leading up to my graduation ceremony‚ I was being sexually abused by priests from the [Church].
“So far as I am aware‚ the Archbishop has never fully addressed such systematic and institutionalised sexual abuse happening in his own organisation.”
It was reported last month that Oxfam staff had paid for sex with prostitutes in Haiti while in the country after a devastating 2010 earthquake, allegedly using the UK-based organisation’s money.
While not stating outright that his resignation was due to the revelations – instead saying it was linked to his retirement from public commitments – Tutu’s office said in a statement the 86year-old Nobel Peace Laureate was disappointed by the news.
“[Tutu] has supported Oxfam International’s good work for many years‚ most recently as one of its global ambassadors‚” his office had said.
“The Archbishop is deeply disappointed by allegations of immorality and possible criminality involving humanitarian workers linked to the charity.
“He is also saddened by the impact of the allegations on the many thousands of good people who have supported Oxfam’s righteous work.”
But Shukri – author of awardwinning novel The Silent Minaret and I See You – described this stance as hypocritical.
His statement is dated February 19‚ four days after Tutu’s statement was issued. Shukri’s publisher‚ Jacana‚ released the statement yesterday.
“When Archbishop Tutu made his statement about Oxfam‚ saying he is ‘deeply disappointed’ about the sex scandal‚ I was reminded of the times I had been sexually abused by Anglican priests‚” he said‚ alleging that he was first abused in 1978 when he was 10.
“When I read [his] statement I knew that‚ as a man‚ it was time to speak my truth – to him.
“Knowing what I know‚ I see no way of living with myself if I let the archbishop’s comments about Oxfam go unchallenged as they have in all the mainstream western media I have read.”
Shukri alleged that he was routinely sexually abused by priests at St Cyprian’s Cathedral‚ in Kimberley‚ where his maternal family worshipped.
“The abuse was alienating and confusing. I did not know what to do‚ so I kept quiet‚ knowing I was not alone‚ and that there were others‚ too.
“That knowledge provided a distorted sense of comfort‚ normalising the abnormal.”
He went on: “The abuse has had a lasting impact on my life‚ starting with the first diagnosis and medication for clinical depression in 1979‚ the year I turned 11.”
Shukri describes his battle with clinical depression, selfloathing and despair, and habitual thoughts of suicide, saying “were it not for the unconditional and unending support of family and friends‚ I fear for what might have become of me”.
The statement continued that while Shukri had “managed to remove myself from the abuse”‚ the effects endured.
“My personal ties with Oxfam are already known.
“Supporting my wife who works in Oxfam’s humanitarian team has brought this crisis into our lives in a very particular way.”
He said he had “great regard for the work Oxfam does‚ having witnessed it first hand in several countries”.
“Oxfam has gone to great lengths to admit its failures regarding the sexual abuse‚ and my admiration for [its] work remains.
“However‚ I am left wondering whether Archbishop Tutu can unequivocally say the same for the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
“Because of the conspiracy of silence in the Church‚ men like me have felt it best to live our adult lives in silence with the trauma of what happened to us at St Cyprian’s Cathedral – even during religious ceremonies.”
The Tutu Foundation had not replied to a request for comment on Shukri’s statement by the time of publishing.