 |
 |
 |
|
| home | about jelte | photography | erudition | links | PanAmerican Expedition |
|
Country
Focus: South Africa 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 customer’s 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 haven’t been there - is South Africa. In April 1994, Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) became the first democratically elected party in South Africa’s 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 Africa’s 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 Africa’s 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 world’s 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 civilization’s advancements. Affirmative Action The Affirmative Action schemes implemented and proposed in the US would be described as mild at best when compared to South Africa’s. Want to get into medical school? Very, very hard if you’re 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. It’s 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 Mugabe’s 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 doesn’t 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 Town’s 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 Africa’s 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… |
|
info@yell2jelte.org
|
