Country
Focus: South Africa
In Ruckus [Vol. 7,
Iss. 3, December 2003]
In memory of my grandfather, Pieter Christiaan
Harnmeijer.
"Some black guy just threw cookies all
over me! Now is that dialogue!?"
A dispute in a South African bakery? Nothing
quite so exotic - just an exclamation from one of UW's good ol
College Republicans during their highly controversial anti-affirmative
action cookie sale last month. In case you missed Ruckus
coverage last month, the Republicans sold cookies outside the
UW HUB with pricing determined by their customers skin-color.
The show ended in chaos, with angry students ripping up the stall
and cops coming out of nowhere. Questions of race run deep, and
run everywhere: from 25c cookies for Pacific Islanders on the HUB
lawn and boats of sinking Indonesian immigrants in Australia to
outbursts of violence against Han Chinese in Singapore.
One country whose mere mention instantly
evokes images of racism even to people who havent been
there - is South Africa. In April 1994, Nelson Mandelas African
National Congress (ANC) became the first democratically elected
party in South Africas history. This marked the end of 46
years of white minority rule, or apartheid, under the
National Party. People of all colors celebrated and sang in all
combinations of South Africas 14 national languages. The world
looked with anticipation towards the unfolding Rainbow Nation.
Here was a country endowed with the infrastructure, expertise and
resources needed to show the world that Africa exists and matters.
Today, almost ten years later, feelings are
mixed about South Africas future. The years shortly preceding
and following majority-rule saw many white families evacuate to
commonwealth countries such as England and Australia, taking their
wealth and government-subsidized education with them. Today, many
South African graduate students prefer to see their future in Europe
or America rather than taking part in building the new nation.
Crime is through the roof. Cape Town recently
attained the dubious distinction of overtaking Johannesburg as the
city with the highest murder rates per capita in the world. About
ten women get raped in South Africa in the time it takes you to
read this article the highest per capita incidence in the
world. South Africa also has the largest number of people living
with HIV/AIDS. Unemployment is massive. At least [under Apartheid]
we had a job. How much is freedom worth without a job? one
of my black friends even said.
South Africa remains one of the richest countries
in Africa, thanks mainly to two major discoveries. In 1867 an African
shepherd found the first Kimberley diamond. The British Colonial
Secretary predicted correctly that on this rock the future
success of South Africa will be built. In 1886 the first sample
of gold-bearing conglomerate was found in the Witwatersrand, now
the worlds largest source of gold. Ownership of these resources
was the indirect cause of the gruesome 1899-1902 Boer War that pitted
the British empire against local settlers of mostly Dutch descent
known as Boers or Afrikaners. Tens of thousands
of Boer women and children died as concentration camps made their
historical debut onto the list of civilizations advancements.
Affirmative Action
The Affirmative Action schemes implemented
and proposed in the US would be described as mild at best when compared
to South Africas. Want to get into medical school? Very, very
hard if youre a white male. This is bad news for the university,
whose degree inevitably loses international standing. Affirmative
action has been widely implemented with mixed success in almost
every aspect of South African society from business and industry
to the national cricket team.
Its easy to criticize such policies
as unfair or even racist. And they would be, if the world represented
a level playing field. But consider the alternative by taking a
look at neighboring Zimbabwe, where no such policies were implemented.
Transform yourself, if you will, into the life of a freedom fighter
returning home from a ruthless and bloody civil war to an independent
Zimbabwe in 1980. Little has changed, and little is to change for
almost 20 years. The government has changed color, but businesses
and wealth remain largely in the hands of a small and secular group
of whites. Until recently, white citizens in Zimbabwe have enjoyed
one of the highest living standards in the world. Swimming pools,
tennis courts, gardeners and cleaning maids were the status quo
in white neighborhoods until President Robert Mugabes government
commenced its internationally criticized land-reclamation scheme
in the late 90s.
The fact is, racism is everywhere. Fancy
P.C.-lingo is certainly not going to solve the problem, if it doesnt
make matters worse. The way people talk is not going to change socioeconomic
statistics. The University of Washington recently proudly announced
that the enrollment of underrepresented freshman increased
by 12.31%. Sounds good, until you realize that the total number
amounts to a mere 447 students, out of a student body of 39136.
The army seems to having much better luck with affirmative action,
with over 38% of US troops presently in Iraq comprised of ethnic
minorities.
The African National Congress (ANC) student
rallies I attended in Cape Town remain amongst the most electrifying
political experiences of my life. I was the only white person. Brightly
colored ANC flags filled the third class passenger wagons (largely
ignored by Cape Towns white citizens who travel mostly in
first class). Posters of Nelson Mandela and shouts of amandla!
freedom! - filled the air. Students were instrumental
both to the ANC and South Africas transition. Many paid with
their lives, working for what the apartheid government was quick
to brand a terrorist organization. Repression breeds
revolution. It makes me wonder if we, in our mostly undeserved American
comfort, have not let our freedom - real or imagined - tempt us
into moral and political passivity
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