South Africa 14 or 18 years later

I apologise for the late arrival of this piece.
I wrote it while staying in Capetown with Terna and Koni last March 2008 and only just now got around to publishing it. The recent election doesn't change much of my view of things. I look forward to another visit next year for the World Cup of Soccer.


Blog 9 South Africa 14 or 18 years later
Eighteen years ago Nelson Mandela walked out of prison.
Fourteen years ago the historic post-apartheid elections took place and overshadowed Malawi’s equally important transition to democracy.

For me, a trip to South Africa is very special and the chance to go to Capetown and visit some old comrades and friends and just see that very beautiful part of the world is a real privilege. Before leaving Canada, one hears about the problems and mostly the violence in South Africa. The statistics reveal more homicides and rape per inhabitant than anywhere else in the world that is not caught up in a war zone. Eight of ten women will be raped as a matter of course; there are huge numbers of homeless and squatters; there is also enormous disparity and of course there is the whole AIDS denial issue and refusing to deal with the issue head on. Was I excited or afraid? Fear seems to be the theme and pictures of walled compounds and electrical razor wire confirm that it must be true.

The opportunity arose because I was going to Malawi to be with another group of visitors to Makupo. This time it is Smokey Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Union (OPSEU), his wife Val and 2 boys, Jesse 14 and Scottie the youngest, who is 11. Also traveling is Smokey’s executive assistant, Ron Lavigne and his 18 year old son, Zack, who is training as an electrician. The trip is being organized by our old comrade Brenda Wall who looks after the OPSEU Social Justice Fund. They are visiting projects that the union has already funded and are scouting out new initiatives. Their trip started in Capetown and so I took advantage of the reduced fare on the distance between Lilongwe and Capetown to visit the phenomenon that is modern South Africa in all its beauty and complexity.

My hosts are a fascinating example of the new SA. There is four year old Sankara named after the Burkinabe revolutionary and he warrants the name. He is a wonderful mix of Africa’s different sides. Mom is Koni Benson, born in Canada of South African parents who left the country to avoid having to raise a family under apartheid racism. Dad is Terna Gyuse whose Nigerian parents were students at the time he was born. Terna introduced me to radio and has been a constant beacon in terms of political analysis since 1996. Koni is a historian and committed feminist. They decided to try settling in Capetown and have become deeply immersed in the life of the people still struggling for a place in that complicated society. Koni works for ILRIG the International Labour Rights and Information Group where she has a special focus on women’s issues and the informal settlements or squatters. Terna is working for Free Speech International and is their representative in South Africa, although his mandate is world wide.

The issue of fear is always there. South Africa has a history of violence. It has grown that way from the times of Shaka to the barbarity that was the Boer War, to the implementation of the systemic violence that is apartheid. A walk through Observatory, one of the nearest (white) suburbs to downtown and the walls and wire are imposing. Security is the growth industry. The transition of crossing one street, and a short walk into (coloured) Salt River finds lower walls, no wire and matrons leaning on the porch. Over the walls of Obs hang a profusion of plants and flowering trees in the front yards. There are few cars on the street since most of them are nestled inside the protection of the walls and electrical razor wire. The streets of Salt River are jammed with parked cars since there are almost no front yards. The matrons on their front porches are leaning over the sidewalk to see who is coming – the most effective security system. Young men and old sit on the sidewalk here and there out of the sun and out of the house chased there by the matrons who won’t let them smoke inside.

Even fear is a hold over from the apartheid – whites are afraid – of what – of redistribution and sharing. Under apartheid, the walls were around whole cities and separated people by colour. A black person in the city centre after dark was arrested or worse, so the freedom enjoyed by whites seemed greater but was still very much circumscribed by the walls of laws and a police state. Democracy and integration means that the laws of racial separation are gone and class walls are built that must respect the rules of a multicultural society. It’s much harder to know who you are walling out when the visual signal of skin colour is no longer the simple criteria. Johannesburg city centre is now inhabited by a lumpen-proletariat that is largely black and from all over Africa, scrambling to make a living in a very competitive and often violent environment. The richer classes no longer have a place there. Drive a fancy car, regardless of colour and you run the risk of problems – Lucky Dube the reggae musician was gunned down in a carjacking and his murderers probably knew who he was, but the class struggle is so sharply alive, that even a man of the people like him was not immune from what can happen.

Sadly, the party in power has turned its back on the people, at a very fundamental level. The ruling classes have enriched themselves with vigour and the discredited business model is touted as the route to development while the statistics point to ever increasing disparity as a result of inequitable access to the economic means, resources, jobs, housing, education, etc… to live even decent lives. The shanty-towns, squatter settlements and the Bantustan backwaters remain outside the development sphere.

Even more troubling are the many really good people who have remained part of the structure to try and change the system from within and they do some very good work, building houses and providing clean accessible water. They moved into power with the transition from liberation movement into a political party and government. Sadly, they are no longer representing the working classes and other marginalized people. The organs of resistance like the trade unions and SACP have found much of their senior leadership co-opted into positions of ruling and whether intentional or not they have become part of the structure of underdevelopment. Instead of militating and pressuring government to follow a pro-people course, the wonderful old comrades are now administering a capitalist state and contributing to the building of a new class society which will inevitably be confronted with the demands of the people who are being left out. These are the best intentioned. There are others who have turned their backs on the disadvantaged groups and are amassing fabulous wealth as the Black Economic Empowerment programme comes to mean creating a rich black elite in direct competition with the old white one and just as avaricious and venal.

We used to know him as Zola Zembe, but now as Archie Sibeko, he says that apartheid has left a lot of damaged people and the wounds are deep and long lasting. How many generations it will take to heal the scars of centuries depends on good faith and hard work as well a political commitment. While the government and the party in power continue apartheid in a class form, there are the many grassroot organisers, union local militants, dissidents, intellectuals and others who recognise the problem and are organising to represent the marginalised populations.

Then there is the spirit of the people. People come out for a wonderful game of soccer in Athlone with the fans whooping it up. In the apartheid era the beach at St James was whites only and now is aswarm with the Cape mixed people and Africans. Myself and 3 other white holdouts were completely welcome and integrated into the people’s playground. Crescent Street in Montreal is Long Street in South Africa with the same sort of feel and sidewalk café life abuzz late into the night. And the vibrant music scene covers the full spectrum from jazz to hip hop.

A walk through the vendors stalls near the bus stop and train station introduces one to people from all over Africa, scrambling to make a living by selling just about any small goods or service, but willing to chat and compare notes. The old comrades are so glad to be back in the country after years of exile and recognise the damage done by apartheid. They know that it is a new struggle and soldier on to build the new South Africa. The leaders in the informal settlements, the union locals and the bustling civil society are all confronting the problems of the old system in its new form and giving us hope.

I, for one, am excited not afraid and keen to see a lot more of the country and meet more of its wonderful, talented people.