The Real Legacy of a Charmed O.C. Life

As “The O.C.” gives TV viewers a weekly 60-minute dose of the shallow and materialistic characters of Newport Beach, can we at least pause for a few moments to reflect on the 10th anniversary of the death of Amy Biehl?

A child of Newport Beach, Biehl was stoned and then stabbed to death in 1993 while studying as a Fulbright scholar in South Africa. She was 26 when she died on a road far away, killed by an angry black mob that hated her because she was white.

Ironically, in her final months of life she had devoted herself to fighting apartheid and empowering women in South African politics.

Her story could have ended in the maelstrom of hatred and oppression that was Cape Town in 1993. Instead, her parents turned Amy’s work into a lasting memorial -- by creating a foundation in her name that has channeled money into various Cape Town projects -- and publicly forgave her attackers. When a tribunal considered political amnesty for Amy’s killers, which was granted in 1998, the Biehls didn’t file formal objections.

I’ve written twice before about the Biehls -- first after Amy’s death and the second about her parents’ acts of forgiveness and humanity in returning many times to Cape Town to continue her work. It’s probably not wise to canonize mere mortals, but when it came to the Biehls of Newport Beach I found that tough advice to follow.

Now, 10 years have passed, and a commemorative newsletter from the foundation brings it all back again, reminding us that behind the trappings of comfort and privilege lie the realities of life.

Many things have changed since 1993 -- the Biehls left Newport Beach and Peter Biehl, Amy’s father, died of cancer in 2002.

But some things must be remembered, and this family’s mark on history is one of them. “Aug. 25, 1993, began as a good day,” Amy’s younger brother Zach, then 16, writes in the newsletter.

“Until that day, I had lived somewhat of a charmed life,” Zach continues. “I lived in a beautiful city with my loving parents and three sisters that, although they caused me countless headaches, we all got along very well with each other. Until that day, I had never had anyone close to me die ... I still had my youth. That all changed with one phone call, one moment in time.”

He goes on to describe the family pain and the media blitz that ensued. “I was angry. I wanted revenge, despite the view of my parents,” Zach writes. “But all that changed when we went to South Africa for the first time. It was on that trip that I realized that if I had grown up under the type of oppression that existed in South Africa, I would not have lived to be 16. I would have been among the most militant of thinkers and activists.”

To this day, Zach writes, he thinks of his sister in his first waking moments. He still has sleepless nights, and a ringing telephone still makes him nervous. The absence of his sister and father still yield moments of sorrow.

But he’s not looking for closure, he writes. “I will not allow her legacy, or the legacy of my father, to fade. The only way I know how to deal with the pain that has been cast upon my family is to continue down the path so admirably paved by Amy and Peter Biehl.”

So, that’s the latest from one former Newport Beach family that hasn’t been in the news lately.

I have no gripe with the Fox’s depiction of Newport Beach. It’s diverting TV fare. It’s entertainment and a perfectly legitimate way to while away an hour.

All I’m saying is, there’s “The O.C.”

And then there’s the Biehls.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (714) 966-7821, at dana.parsons @latimes.com or at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.