South Africa Today I

First published in Daily Greater Kashmir on 26 July, 2009

South Africa today - I

Apartheid, colonialism versus spirit of freedom

Arjimand Hussain Talib

A century and sixteen years have passed since Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg here for boarding a first class train coach in 1893. It is now fifteen years since the end of the grand Apartheid in South Africa in 1994. To some measure, human spirit for freedom and dignity has prevailed. People have achieved little freedom from colonialism. Small triumphs against racism. Some petty battles against oppression and exploitation have also been won. Yet a lot has never changed.

Last Sunday when I reached Johannesburg South Africa was celebrating Nelson Mandela’s 91^st birthday. The increasingly frail former statesman is affectionately called Madiba here, his clan name. It was a day marked by celebrations and new pledges – to end racism, exploitation and oppression.

On the occasion, the current President, Jacob Zuma, told his countrymen that ‘if there is a story to be told of an icon that inspires the world, characterised by the humility, warm humanity and a will for prosperity, then Madiba’s 91-year life story offers a story of life worth living.’

The uniqueness about South Africa is that it is a country which is a constant history in the making. For people like us, the so-called ‘subjects’ of the colonial empire, the understanding of the modern human history is incomplete without understanding South Africa. The grand project of colonialism in this country has deep lessons. It holds answers to many unanswered questions of our spiritual quest about our history and our current miseries.

Down the years, South Africa has changed. As the grand Apartheid ended in 1994, with the African National Congress assuming people’s power, the country has given birth to many other struggles.

Even as some sections of the native Blacks have come out of poverty and misery, large sections of its population continue to live in destitution and suffering. The social and economic divides between the haves and the haves-not are glaring. Petty Apartheid has not ended altogether. It is a life of ghettos. The Whites, the Blacks, the Indians and the coloured, all have their own neighbourhoods to live in. Although intermingling of races is a reality in South Africa today, some corners of people’s minds continue to nurture racism.

Today South Africa is not only about a nation which is progressing after achieving its freedom. There is raging class warfare in the society, at the root of which is acute poverty and exclusion.

South Africa’s general living standards and infrastructure are comparable to any European country. It has a booming economy, and the rich and the middle class make good money. But vast sections of the Black population are suffering. Immigration is a sensitive issue. Locals feel immigrants have taken away their jobs and economic opportunities.

Incidentally, last week, members of the newly-emerged South Africa Unemployed People’s Movement stormed into the shops owned by foreigners in the town of Balfour and took away food. According to news reports, more than 200 people have been arrested last week alone as protesters in townships around Johannesburg and in other parts of the country stoned vehicles, set fire to buildings and looted shops.

All these protests were organised by the South African Unemployed People's Movement, which is demanding free education, better public health care, and a 1,500 rand (about 200 dollars) monthly grant for the unemployed.

Today millions of Black South Africans feel they have yet to enjoy the fruits of democracy, as frustration mounts over dire housing conditions and a lack of basic services, such as water and electricity. Unemployment in the country is officially at 23.5 percent but is believed much higher. President Jacob Zuma has promised to create 500,000 jobs this year, but the country has slipped into its first recession since apartheid, with more than 200,000 jobs already lost.

When the mayor of the farming town of Balfour, southeast of Johannesburg, tried to speak to a crowd late Wednesday, his convoy was stoned and police used rubber bullets to break up the protest. It reminded me of Kashmir.

Meanwhile, in the posh port city of Durban, two grocery stores were looted Wednesday by about 100 people, mainly old women who said they were hungry.

The provincial police spokesman, while speaking on a local TV channel, said that they just ate in the shops because they were hungry. Some took some rice and maize meal. They didn't struggle with the police. They are not criminals, he asserted.

Since the end of Apartheid, South Africa has made strides in improving housing while expanding access to clean water and electricity, building 2.8 million houses in 15 years. But more than one million families still live in shacks without power, often sharing a single tap among dozens of households. The problem is particularly acute at the moment, as South Africa is at the height of winter, with freezing temperatures in Johannesburg and other parts of the country.

The latest demonstrations have also sparked anxious memories of the xenophobic attacks that swept the country one year ago, when 60 people died and tens of thousands of foreigners fled townships for refugee camps.

The 2008 xenophobia violence has a painful background. The local Black population feel that the foreigners, having come from the neighbouring African countries and India, take away their jobs. Since South Africa’s currency is doing very well, it attracts immigrants far and wide. Local companies prefer immigrant labour and other high end job seekers, as they demand lower wages.

In the northern Thulamela Township, I came across an exclusive neighbourhood of Indians, mainly Muslims from Gujarat. Over the years, they have developed into a full fledged community there, managing almost the entire supply chain. From barbers to tea selling shops, to KFCs and super markets, all are run by South Asians. This racial ghettoisation is disturbing the locals.

But there are others in South Africa who reject this xenophobia. At the Johannesburg University campus, the place of my stay, I spoke to a few students at a coffee shop at the Campus Square about their views on such xenophobic perceptions. They say that the number of the immigrants was too small to alter local economic opportunities. To them land ownership in South Africa was the basic reason for the poverty among the local Blacks. The Whites in this country continue to own about 96 percent of commercial arable land, which generates the real wealth.

The South African government aims to put about 30 percent of the country's agricultural land into Black hands within 15 years. But the process is slow. The situation today seems highly unequal. I am learning.

Feedback at arjimand@greaterkashmir.com