Lessons from South Africa (22 December 1998)

22 December 1998

Lessons from South Africa

By Tony Becca

The New South Africa is moving at a rapid pace towards a free, and as the coloureds, blacks and Indians refer to it, a just society.

In the four years since the African National Congress was voted into power by the majority, the previously disenfranchised have been afforded opportunities which previously did not exist - to the extent that although the change has been the result of legislation through the Employment Act, office staff in South Africa is multi-racial. And the same goes for social gatherings.

There is one problem, however - the whites believe that the "transformation" is too rapid while the non-whites, especially the blacks, believe that it is not fast enough.

According to the whites, the "transformation" should take place, but it should be gradual for the simple reason, according to them, that non-whites have been placed in positions for which they are not qualified, and because of that service industries and the economy are suffering.

The non-whites, however, and again, especially the blacks, believe that regardless of the few hitches, for "transformation" to really take place the change had to be immediate, and it had to be swift - for the simple reason that the whites cannot be trusted.

"This country has been through too much, there were sacrifices to get where we are today, and there will have to be more sacrifices if the people who were disenfranchised are to benefit from the struggle," said Malcolm Vandeck.

According to Vandeck, a coloured cricket coach who lives in the Northern Area - the Port Elizabeth reserve for coloureds, the non-whites still do not trust the whites - a sentiment expressed by others around the country, including taxi drivers.

"The whites still do not believe that we are capable of doing certain things, but they have no choice. They just have to accept what is happening."

One of the things in which the whites have no choice, and which they have to accept, is non-whites as their neighbours.

Although the blacks still live in "townships", and the coloureds and Indians in their designated areas, those who can afford to are moving out and into previously "whites-only" residential areas like Newton Park in Port Elizabeth.

The movement, however, is mostly by blacks, for although there are mansions in "townships" like Soweto and Alexandra in Johannesburg, and in Mission Ville in Port Elizabeth, the communities are generally dirty.

"There are a few Indians moving out, but not as many as the blacks," said Vandeck. "The Indians are not in a hurry. They had better housing and were fairly comfortable."

That is almost an understatement. In Johannesburg, the Indian confine of Lenasia is almost luxurious - a stark contrast to Soweto; in Port Elizabeth, the Indian area of Malaba is comfortable, better than the coloured's Northern Area and far better than the shanty towns of Embeke Village and Zwaite where the blacks live; and in Durban, the affluent in the vast population of Indians live in good surroundings, the less affluent in simple but comfortable government-erected houses.

South Africa is changing, no question about that - and rapidly. Apart from the opportunities brought about by the Employment Act, and the social mingling which also includes blacks as guests in white homes, but hardly the opposite, places like Humewood beach and King's beach in Port Elizabeth, and hotel swimming pools around the country which were previously off limits are overflowing with non-whites.

One of the astonishing things about South Africa is the peaceful way the people are going about "transformation". The blacks, oppressed for so long, have put their anger aside and have not been seeking revenge, and the whites, despite losing control, have not been causing problems.

To forgive is one thing, however, to forget is something else, and as one young Indian woman said in Durban, the people - the blacks, the coloureds and the Indians - have not forgotten, but are willing to play their part once the whites play their part.

"There is still resentment about what happened. There is still anger in the hearts of many, but we love our country. You would not believe it, but three years ago when we won the rugby World Cup, every South Africa celebrated. You should have seen them in the streets mingling and hugging each other."

"We have come a long way," she said, "but it will be generations before the hurt, the anger, goes away."

Does South Africa still have a problem? "Of course we do," said a white man. "By their Employment Act, by all this talk about quotas for non-whites on the national cricket and rugby teams, the ANC is doing what the NP (National Party) did, and if it was wrong then, it must be wrong now."

"In some ways, yes, and the ANC is under pressure from their own people," said a black man. "Although some black people have benefited, "transformation" means nothing to the people in the rural areas who are still without light and water - or to those, the majority, who still live in shacks."

The general feeling, however, is that South Africa is really changing, and that it will continue to change - not because of legislation but because the people want it to change.

"I now feel that this is my country, and I will do anything for us to live together," said one black taxi driver."

"Many of us did not know about most of what was happening during Apartheid," said a young white woman. "They controlled the media totally, and they were good, really good. They hid what they did not want us to know, and they made us believe that non-whites were inferior. Now that we know different, South Africa will be a better place for every South African."

Right now, after only a few years, in terms of living together, the people of South Africa can teach the world a lesson or two - including many of those countries whose leaders boast of integrated societies.

Tony Becca, Senior Sports Editor of The Gleaner, is on assignment in South Africa covering the Test series with the West Indies.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)