It has never gone away – the nightmare of August 25th 1993.

This night was to be a celebratory occasion for Amy Biehl.  Friends were hosting her farewell party. Tomorrow she would return to her home in idyllic Newport Beach California, having completed her Fulbright Scholarship.

“I’ll drop you guys off at home.  “But I can’t stay,” she told three young African friends after enjoying her last collegial cup of coffee at the University of Cape Town (UCT)

“Gugulethu will only take a few minutes, just a detour on my way to the party.”

At 26 years, Amy’s future was an open book of promise.

In the biting twilight she shrugged off their protests and shoved the group into her little yellow Mazda.

Spirits were high and they sang as the car weaved along the N1 highway towards Gugelethu Township.

Back home Amy planned to complete her PHD on Sub Saharan Africa, focusing on active engagement with current issues, also, unbeknown to Amy, her boyfriend planned to propose marriage on her return.

Amy was that rarity; born 2nd of 4 children, an all round high achiever, beautiful, and brainy, popular, gifted and ambitious, all the attributes other girls can only dream of.