White Pretoria Memories of Dark Days

White Pretoria Memories of Dark Days

Photos: Hussein Lari

It seemed as if we had arrived at where the wedding had taken place a quarter hour after the ceremony had been over and the guests left, but the bleating of the vuvuzela was still heard all around the place occupied by millions of football fans who for a whole month scrutinized every part of South Africa as though it were a lovely bride in a wedding dress studded with blue jewels extracted from the rich bottom of the earth, dancing to the tune of the waka waka.

We entered Pretoria, the capital which blacks with flat noses were denied access to in the past, in order to see for ourselves the end of the apartheid era, visiting its landmarks and streets and going through its past and people s stories.

The morning of the cabinet reshuffle

It is my habit on the first day of my visit to a foreign country to read the headlines of the local press to get the front-page news and use it as a conversation opener with people. The main news that I read that morning, and I don t know whether my companion and I were a good omen or otherwise, was President Jacob Zuma s expanded cabinet reshuffle decision, with photos of both outgoing and incoming ministers, with those of the latter s looking happier. I was not interested in the details of the news, but I examined the colour of the new and old ministers carefully. The cabinet was a mix of whites and blacks, a case which affirmed the new age which Nelson Mandela ushered in 1994 as the first black president of South Africa, a country formerly controlled by force and violence by whites alone.

The above news was a good starting point for this Exploration, replacing reference to my visit to the South African embassy in Kuwait, where the ambassador was from the Indian minority and the lady in charge of political affairs a descendant of white settlers.

The problems of integration

The second event on the very same day took place at the start of our tour of Pretoria: a woman teacher leading a queue of white and black schoolchildren probably on a school trip to a museum. In the past, it was absolutely impossible to combine white and black children in one classroom, but this is acceptable albeit a slow process today, as changing attitudes takes a long time, as does changing the education system.

The scene posed a number of questions about the issue of integration and preparing the younger generation for peaceful coexistence and putting the sorrows of the past behind them. The forms of integration are to be found in the workplace, school, accommodation, etc., but educaion remains the most improtnt since it is linked to the future, and in a country like South Africa, the issue of racism can t be summed up in terms of colour alone, as in each colour there are profound differences.

Afrikaans speaking whites of Dutch origin, e.g., form the majority of the while population, and the rest are English-speaking of British origin. Blacks consist of a number of tribes, the largest of which speak different dialects, e.g. Zulu, spoken by over seven million people, in addition to Xhosa, Tsonga, Venda, etc. The Muslim Indian minority brought by British colonialists to work in farming do business in English, but they are keen to observe their cultural and religious peculiarity. It is well known that Indians, regardless of religion, leave their unmistakable stamp on the place where they live.

To achieve integration, this ethnic and cultural mix needs time and a common desire, particularly in view of the fact that the former education system for non-whites was based on teaching the blacks that they were born to serve their white masters. Moreover, blacks schools were in a very poor condition, and, in contrast to white schoolchildren who received free learning resources, the blacks had to pay for theirs. That long legacy of apartheid needs more time to change.

Pretoria, an African capital

I spent enough time in the previously forbidden capital to see that it is actually an European city in form, but to be accurate I should say it is a relatively modern European city that cannot be compared with Rome, Paris or Amsterdam. It was founded about two centuries ago, and has witnessed modern urban development. I did not feel this city, which was open to the black only for limited periods and for those in possession of work permits, was friendly at all, despite the essential changes it has undergone, perhaps because I recalled its past too much. But I really felt depressed in it because everything in it belonged to such type of people who rejected the entire world, not only the blacks, Coloureds and Indians. I wasn t very surprised when I knew that television was introduced into this rich, developed country as late as 1976 because it was in favour of isolation from the outside world as long as possible.

Pretoria today is a cosmopolitan city, with most of its residents black Africans, who are free to enter it without IDs or permits, carrying with them their bad habits, such as selling fruit and vegetables on the streets near buildings and shopping malls. It s the other way round now. Blacks were only seen by chance in the past in the former capital of apartheid, but now the whites are only tourists. The situation has turned into an absurdist play ridiculing the past with acts of the present.

The positive discrimination policy

Despite the changes introduced after 1994, it s quite unfair to compare the living conditions of the whites and the blacks in the past or at present, even in the light of the signs of the damage done to the white minority from the new so-called positive discrimination policy. Seeing slum areas and shanty towns round major cities is not strange in South Africa, but what is really strange is seeing whites begging at traffic lights, as blacks in other cities do. That was a common sight, which led us to identify its causes.

In the past, whites, even limited-ability ones, got preferential treatment in terms of education and job opportunities, but that stopped in the mid-1990s, and unemployment has become widespread among the whites, about half a million of whom live below the poverty line. A different dramatic scene is that of hundreds of poor whites living in camps or caravans a primitive life in terms of food cooking and heating. The same fate as that of the blacks awaits them; they have no other homeland and were not lucky enough to own large farms, nor have they emigrated to the Netherlands or Australia, as others have.

At the opposite end of the spectrum signs of hope have been replacing those of frustration in black areas as plans to build decent houses were launched a few years ago. The housing project includes clean water and electricity supply and, more importantly, sanitation and toilets, which the developed world is still unaware that their shortage in poor countries and refugee camps is an awful disaster. The good news is that any new housing project leads to the disappearance of slum areas which represented a sense of injustice, discrimination and despair.

Natives differing views

I tried many times to convince myself that the whites are Africans, but to no avail: This is not the home of those blue-eyed, blond-haired, snow-white-faced people. This personal view has nothing to do with the arguments offered by white settlers or even blacks who maintain that they are the true natives, for if whites were evacuated from South Africa, it would be similar to its neighbours famine and civil wars. But anyone who visits this country gets a strong feeling that it differs completely from all other African countries.

Blacks and whites have totally opposing views about who the real natives are. Not denying that they settled there centuries ago, whites say the country was uninhabited then, and after developing it, Africans came from everywhere and bloody clashes followed. On the contrary, blacks affirm that it was the white strangers who seized the land of their grandparents and attacked them violently.

There is an apartheid era museum in Pretoria which supports whites, views and chronicles the great Trek the immigration of six caravans of 20,000 European families, mostly Dutch from the British Cape Colony into different parts of South Africa in the period 1835-1854. Those were called the Boers , who later founded small republics, such as Orange and Transvaal, the main components of the Union of South Africa in 1910. On the other hand, the Freedom Garden Museum commemorates South Africa s dead freedom fighters. This rhetoric on history and roots has calmed down since 1994, as South Africa is now one country, the home of all whites and blacks with no discrimination on the grounds of race, colour or religion.

Dr Yusuf Dado is Head of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Unviersity of South Africa (UNISA). He is from the third generation of the Indian minotirty. His paternal grandparents were born in Gujarat, north of Mumbai. He is more optimistic about the future of South Africa. Dreams take time to come true , he said. He believes that what has so far been achieved to stamp out racism is good, saying that the marginalized minorities suffered a lot during the apartheid era to achieve their objectives. However, he warned of the danger of slow economic reform as the majority of the people s patience is running out.

Dr Dado received us in an elegant mainly Muslim Indian middle-class area. The weaknesses of three centuries of racism, he said, can t be eliminated even in a year. About the possible return of white domination he said that could be on the minds of government decision makers, including blacks who are trying to monopolize all sources of wealth without making any worthwhile effort.

South Africa: reality and the contrary

What I saw during my visit to Pretoria made me get into a state of mixed hope and despair, change and stagnation, the possible and the impossible. South Africa was stigmatised by the world until it gave up the apartheid policy, and a decade later it succeeded in convincing the world it was worth hosting the World Cup, as if the world community gave it a chance to whitewash its dark history.

Before I left Kuwait, many people warned me of thefts in South Africa, but I came back to Kuwait intact , while the house of ex-President Thabo Mbeke was robbed! It s a country with the world s largest platinum, gold, diamond and other metal reserves, while a large section of its population lives below the poverty line, in addition to a high unemployment and crime rate.

South Africa is the first country in the world where a heart-transplant operation was performed. It has world-famous physicians; however, its health services and too many AIDS cases leave much to be desired. This is a unique country if taken as an example of the worst racial discrimination regime in history as well as the best example of achieving the peaceful-coexistence of differing human communities within a relatively short space of time. Once again, isn t it a state of mixed hope and desair, change and stagnation, the possible and the impossible?!

  • An interview with the editor-in-chief of the African Resource paper in South Africa Bilal Al-Sabah
  • I am a South African , the youth s answer to the question: Where do you come from?

To identify the issues related to the apartheid policy in South Africa we interviewed Mr Bilal Al-Sabah, member of South Africa s Journalists Union. An Arab living in South Africa, he is the editor-in-chief of the African Resource paper and has a master s in peace and development studies in Africa, as he is interested in African and Middle East political affairs.

  • Do you believe that the apartheid policy has ended in South Africa? If it still exists, what are its forms?
  • -All South Africans whites, blacks and Coloureds agree that racism has ended constitutionally and legally. Some whites even see that blacks enjoy more rights in terms of job opportunities and business deals with the government. However, disagreement still exists between poor whites and blacks on not very serious issues. The former attribute failure or inability to lead a decent life to the end of apartheid; the latter say wealth is still controlled by whites. Whites s wealth is legally gained, thanks to their scientific and technological advancement, as private companies and the government believe. In contrast to Zimabwe, whites s wealth in South Africa is safe.
  • Are whites and blacks on good terms with one another?

-Under the new constitution drafted by ex-President Mandela with black leaders and many whites who supported him during his ordeal, laws lay down a social relationship among all citizens regardless of colour, race or religion, including the reconciliation programme which settled most disagreements between whites and blacks, in addition to state education, health and employment plans which make blacks look forward to the future. Effective programmes are being launched among the youth to promote patriotism, and indeed when asked where he comes from, a South African young man or woman answers, I am a South African. The moment some of the country s visitors enter a small of restaurant and see blacks and whites sitting apart they think racism is still alive and well. But this is a matter of culture and traditions rather than racism, and today the younger generations sit at one table and share the same culture in terms of traditions, food and clothes. Blacks are trying to assimilate European culture, but not the other way round. That s why some South African traditionalists warn of the danger of spreading Western culture and obliterating the African one.

  • Where did whites go after Mandela became president? Have they really migrated? Have hey retreated into reserves?

-Whites in South Africa are estimated at 5,000,000 plus, mostly of Dutch origin, followed by British and German and Greek minorities, but the number may actually be 7,000,000. There was a big wave of migration at first, but now the wave is very small, as the West does not want the country to be purely African and ruled by the military. The country witnessed a ten-year economic and construction recession, but now as the government is in full control there is a state of reverse immigration. Many whites came back from Britain due to the high cost of living there, and welfare facilities are more redily available in South Africa. As for the Jews, President Zuma asked South African Jews an economic and academic elite-to return to South Africa. The remaining Jews are only 70,000. Retreat into reserves is untrue. Reserves are in fact confined to the whites, but today everybody is looking for a job and suitable accommodation in peaceful coexistence.

  • Do you consider South Africa a country worth immigrating to and working in?

-Yes, for the following reasons: the strongest economy in Africa; Africa s gateway to the outside world; safeguarding the right of all investors, in view of the race to invest there by the USA, Japan, the European Union, China, Israel, Arabian Gulf countries and Iran.

(Translated by Dr Shaaban Afifi)

 

Ibrahim Al-Mulaifi


Cover



A panoramic view of the capital Pretoria, which until the end of the apartheid policy was an essentially European city, but today it’s an African city open to all sections of the South African people without permission



Preparing the younger generations for peaceful coexistence and forgetting the past takes a long time, and mixed education is a major melting pot of South African society



The expanded cabinet reshuffle made headline news in most South African papers



It’s the other way round. Blacks were only seen by chance in the past in the former capital of apartheid, but now the whites are only tourists. The situation has turned into an absurdist play ridiculing the past with acts of the present



Paul Kruger Square. Kruger (1825-1904), the first president of the South African Republic or Transvaal, who led resistance against the British in the Second Boer War, which ended in 1902



South Africa’s scorching sun. A girl protecting herself from the sun with an umbrella while walking in open areas



In the main white cities, blacks were only allowed in shopping malls as staff or cleaners, but this has changed and the malls are open to all now



Seeing slum areas and shanty towns round major cities is not strange in South Africa, but what is really strange is seeing whites begging at traffic lights as blacks in other streets do



Signs of hope have been replacing those of frustration in black areas as plans to build decent houses were launched a few years ago. Pictured is a resettlement project



A digital camera, but the primitive method of taking portrait – sized photos against a white background is still used



Buying and selling in the open air in the heart of Pretoria. Many sellers are keen to occupy the busiest and most strategic locations



Several pictures of the Great Trek of European families from the British Cape Colony northwards into South Africa; founding a number of successive republics for brief periods, ultimately the Republic of South Africa



Several pictures of the Great Trek of European families from the British Cape Colony northwards into South Africa; founding a number of successive republics for brief periods, ultimately the Republic of South Africa



Several pictures of the Great Trek of European families from the British Cape Colony northwards into South Africa; founding a number of successive republics for brief periods, ultimately the Republic of South Africa



Several pictures of the Great Trek of European families from the British Cape Colony northwards into South Africa; founding a number of successive republics for brief periods, ultimately the Republic of South Africa



Several pictures of the Great Trek of European families from the British Cape Colony northwards into South Africa; founding a number of successive republics for brief periods, ultimately the Republic of South Africa



Museum of the Great Trek housing the belongings of the European immigrants



A huge crowd in central Pretoria in 1904 in mourning for the death of the president of the Transvaal, Paul Kruger. The photo reflects the European type in terms of building and clothing style



Al-Arabi’s camera shot this special photo which combines most sections of the people of South Africa – whites, blacks and Asians



Muslims are still a minority in South Africa; however, they are free to perform their religious rituals



Wide streets in central Pretoria reduce traffic jams which cities like Johannesburg suffer from. Picture taken at midday but people and vehicles can still move easily



Taking a rest in the shade of the many trees in most of Pretoria’s squares and streets, making walking or sitting there a genuine pleasure



Dr Yusuf Dado



The magnificent Presidental Palace in the South African capital Pretoria, many parts of which are open to tourists and visitors



Bilal Al-Sabah


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