Antonette's story

Antonette (left) and her dead brother: The picture that brought her tragedy home to the world

Many black South Africans have been left disappointed with the achievements of the Truth Commission and the process of reconciliation it was meant to bring about.

Antonette Sithole is one person who remains haunted by memories of a period in South African history she would rather forget.

In 1976, she found herself in the midst of a student demonstration that came to be known as the Soweto uprising, which led to one of the great crimes of the apartheid era.

The protest which became known as the Soweto uprising

It began as a protest against the implementation of apartheid education laws which had seen the divide between black and white communities become a chasm.

Large groups of students took part and soon the stones they hurled were met with bullets from the white security police.

Antonette's brother, Hector Pieterson was the first to be killed.

Her extreme grief as a friend cradled the body of her limp brother was caught in a snapshot that became famous the world over.

Today she continues her vigil at his graveside.

But while his death and many others have been investigated by the Truth commission, the full details about what happened on that fateful day, remain unclear.

This has left Antonette bitter about the lack of progress made by the commission set up to uncover the sins of the past.

Antonette today: "Answers are not there."

"I still don't really know what has been achieved by the Truth Commission," she says.

"I'm not really happy ... because I think some of the answers are not there."

Her feelings are echoed by others in Soweto, who welcomed the idea of an investigation into the crimes of the apatheid era, but who remain disappointed by the lack of reconciliation and the half-truths solicited by the commission's work.

There is a perception that the black community, which suffered most under apartheid, has been far more supportive of the process and that whites have generally evaded or obstructed its work.

The commission aimed to lay to rest the ghosts of the apartheid past, and heal the wounds of a divided nation.

But for Antonette and others like her, the wounds may not be so easily healed.