I came to South Africa one month ago expecting to see remnants of Apartheid. I know from growing up in the United States where issues of racial injustice are once again rising to the forefront of public attention that historical injustices never completely disappear. They leave their mark on whole generations to be passed down from one to the next. So is the effect of historical trauma. Ending injustice means not just changing the rules that created systematic inequality but making active attempts to repair them. For example, black people in America are going to suffer the repercussions of slavery for as long as they are still affected by inherently being born into lower income classes due to their familiar history and lack of opportunity. I knew about the impact of historical trauma before coming to South Africa, and I knew that the system had ended relatively recently, so I did not expect the repercussions of Apartheid to be gone. However, I was shocked when I got here to see that South Africa was not only still suffering from the repercussions of Apartheid, but that in so many ways it seems like Apartheid was never ended at all.
I knew that Apartheid had meant complete (or at least attempted complete) segregation of the races within the country. I didn't expect full integration. Still, I was shocked to enter restaurants in Cape Town and see only white customers and only black workers over and over again in some neighborhoods. My ideas of South Africa had been shaped not just by knowledge of Apartheid, but what had occurred more in my lifetime - the transition to democracy and the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. However, seeing the actions of the government in forms such as the Marikana Massacre and the inaction of the government in places like Blikkiesdorp showed me how far this country really has to come in creating a fair and just society.
The moment that the legacy of Apartheid really hit me was during one of our first lectures in Johannesburg when I learned that white people still own 80% of the land in South Africa. White people are less than 10% of the population, but they own 80% of the land. How can that be true and this country claim to overcome their racist, segregationist past? Democracy has been a positive step for South Africa, and I would never want to under-represent the important work that activists, mostly activists of color, have done in order to affect positive change in South Africa. However, democracy alone is obviously not enough to foster equality in South Africa. What the country is facing now is an economic Apartheid. Even if the laws say that black people are no longer relegated to townships, segregation still exists in that people cannot afford to move. Economic restraints are as important as legal restraints because at the end of the day, they have the same outcomes.
I'm certainly not educated enough about the political climate to make any accurate predictions, but based on what I have heard from the citizens of this country that I have spoken to - I would not be surprised if South Africa is setting itself up for another political uprising and revolution. The next step in the path toward equality is going to have to entail a redistribution of resources, economic, natural, and political. People of color in this country have been oppressed for a very long time, but there is a trend towards progress. Unfortunately, the people in power are almost never going to give up that power - in this case economic - willingly. The next step might require the oppressed majority to reach a breaking point and eventually force a change in South Africa. At least, I think there are still some very large changes that need to happen in this country to avoid such a revolution.
I knew that Apartheid had meant complete (or at least attempted complete) segregation of the races within the country. I didn't expect full integration. Still, I was shocked to enter restaurants in Cape Town and see only white customers and only black workers over and over again in some neighborhoods. My ideas of South Africa had been shaped not just by knowledge of Apartheid, but what had occurred more in my lifetime - the transition to democracy and the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. However, seeing the actions of the government in forms such as the Marikana Massacre and the inaction of the government in places like Blikkiesdorp showed me how far this country really has to come in creating a fair and just society.
The moment that the legacy of Apartheid really hit me was during one of our first lectures in Johannesburg when I learned that white people still own 80% of the land in South Africa. White people are less than 10% of the population, but they own 80% of the land. How can that be true and this country claim to overcome their racist, segregationist past? Democracy has been a positive step for South Africa, and I would never want to under-represent the important work that activists, mostly activists of color, have done in order to affect positive change in South Africa. However, democracy alone is obviously not enough to foster equality in South Africa. What the country is facing now is an economic Apartheid. Even if the laws say that black people are no longer relegated to townships, segregation still exists in that people cannot afford to move. Economic restraints are as important as legal restraints because at the end of the day, they have the same outcomes.
I'm certainly not educated enough about the political climate to make any accurate predictions, but based on what I have heard from the citizens of this country that I have spoken to - I would not be surprised if South Africa is setting itself up for another political uprising and revolution. The next step in the path toward equality is going to have to entail a redistribution of resources, economic, natural, and political. People of color in this country have been oppressed for a very long time, but there is a trend towards progress. Unfortunately, the people in power are almost never going to give up that power - in this case economic - willingly. The next step might require the oppressed majority to reach a breaking point and eventually force a change in South Africa. At least, I think there are still some very large changes that need to happen in this country to avoid such a revolution.
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