April 25, 2004

On April 27 South Africa celebrates its tenth Freedom Day — the day the nation embraced democracy after more than four decades of apartheid

I am a Pakistani who is currently living in Cape Town, South Africa. During the last few years of my work related involvement with the African continent, I have become a student of its political and economic past and present. However, even in the context of continuing political upheavals and violence that this continent has unfortunately become accustomed to the apartheid regime in South Africa and its effects on the lives of ordinary people is discriminatory to such a degree that it seems unreal. Hence, before sharing my views as an outsider on today’s South African society, I would like to outline how life was for ordinary people during the days of apartheid.

During apartheid, colour was the defining feature of who you were and what you can become. In this country of over 40 million people, where 75 per cent of the people are black and less than 15 per cent white, being black meant belonging to the lowest social tier. More importantly, this discrimination, based on colour, was not an individual act, but an institutionalized one. The Government ensured through a system of identity documents that individuals were classified into categories that included black, coloured, Indians and white. It was based on this classification that an individual’s position including rights of ownership, education, medical help and state entitlements was determined. This meant a society where pockets of reasonably affluent white areas bordered townships and squatter camps where upto three black families lived in one bedroom and shared a single toilet and kitchen with upto thirteen other families.

It meant that all public utilities and areas from trains to beaches had segregated areas for different races, violation of which was a punishable crime. This meant that the darker an individual was, the bleaker would be chances for education and employment opportunities. This meant a regime where peaceful expression of political discontent amounted to life imprisonment in an abandoned island where the only choice was to survive in inhumane conditions indefinitely or to die. And for white individuals, this meant a life of privilege from the state which came at the expense of global isolation, a compulsion to go through two years of military training to fight the enemy within, and a burden of guilt for being part of a system which a large population of white people inherently did not support but found themselves involved in. But things can change, and they change for the better and there can be no better evidence of that than the South Africa of today. In the short period of ten years, this nation has transformed into one that has not only understood and accepted it’s ugly past but has also developed the courage to talk openly about it. It has not gone on the path of revenge against those who engineered and perpetuated this system, rather it is on a road where all races have learnt to recognize, forgive and move ahead with a new optimism. This huge transformation, in my view, is a great example of leadership that can change the course of history and where one man took this country to a path of reconciliation when civil strife could have been an equally likely outcome.

Nelson Mandela is the hero of this nation and rightly so!

Based on interaction with people of different racial, social and economic backgrounds, my observation is that South Africa today has three generations running in parallel with their distinct views on the past and the present. Firstly, there is the generation of those currently in their sixties and seventies. The whites in this age bracket support the change publicly. However, I sense a feeling of unease that in most cases is a result of drastic change in autumn of their life — something that they find difficult to get used to.

The black and coloured people of this generation, now referred to as previously disadvantaged communities, have had wasted lifetimes due to the previous regime. Although these people are clearly happy with the changes that have happened, they are almost indifferent to the impact of these on their lives, as it has come too late for them. Also, the historical baggage in this generation is greater which makes it more difficult to establish a bond of trust between races.

Secondly, there is what I will refer to as the troubled generation of people from their late thirties to early fifties. Most people from previously disadvantaged communities in this generation have not had equal education and employment opportunities in their development years. They now have an environment where initiatives such as Black Economic Empowerment make affirmative action, a tool to bring them in the economic mainstream. However, a large population find themselves without the required skills or experience to benefit from such opportunities and improve their lives. These are people who fought for freedom and, despite sincere efforts from a generally committed Government, are struggling to see improvements in their lives that freedom had promised.

The whites in this generation are those who have benefited from better education and exposure, but who now almost feel a sense of reverse discrimination where being a middle aged white male is probably a disadvantage in the employment market. This troubled generation, although having completely accepted the principle of this change, seems to be struggling in implementing this change in a consistent and balanced manner.

The last generation is the one that I believe will shape the future of this country. These are the children or teenagers who have been hardly exposed to the apartheid regime. For this generation, racial difference is almost a non-issue and their behaviour, when it comes to self-belief and interracial interaction, truly reflect that.

In this context, the next decade or so would be crucial for how this country shapes up. There are risks that discontent in the previously disadvantaged people of the troubled generation could lead to disillusionment. This could lead to violent civil strife at worst and for this disillusionment to be passed on to the next generation at best. There is a risk that lack of opportunity for young white people could lead them to leave their homeland in droves thereby creating a vacuum. There is a risk of political instability once the current crop of leaders of passes over to one that is unwilling to attempt for the kind of balanced governance that current leaders practice based on their reconciliatory frame of mind.

Finally, there is a risk of political apathy amongst the younger educated electorate, which is critical as active electoral involvement is a must for the changes this country has and intends to go through.

Nevertheless, the promise that this nation holds is enough for them to confront these challenges. The key factor is that this nation has been exposed to a past that makes them value the freedom and democracy they now have. Still, despite all the risks, this country values this democracy to such a degree that it will do everything to maintain it, as any alternate is completely unacceptable. Hence, the next decade or so is crucial for this nation.

Political will needs to combine with the energy and desire for democracy of its people to continue with the difficult stage of structural changes aimed at bringing equality. If this nation is able to see this phase through, South Africa will become a beacon of democracy and development not only for Africa, but also for the world.

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