USAC; Winners and losers in South Africa 2018

These past few days I have been very driven to speak out for my country of birth, South Africa.
Although it is the white population that is being targeted because of the past injustices of Apartheid, my empathy lies with the black people who are the ones who, in the end, will be the biggest losers!

Having been born and brought up in South Africa, I lived through the apartheid era. As I've pointed out before, my father worked for the Chamber of Mines after being demobbed from the army in 1943. He had English and possibly Scandinavian roots whereas my mother had English, Dutch and German roots. We spoke English at home and my bro and I attended English schools. For us the Afrikaans language was secondary. For Afrikaans speaking families the situation was reversed and English was their 2nd language.

I myself hated Colonialism because it left me feeling rootless!
South Africa as it was governed at the time of my growing up, did not inspire loyalty because, generally speaking, the English and Afrikaans speakers did not get along well. We lived in a type of apartheid ourselves both churchwise, education wise and language wise.
I was devastated when South Africa became a Republic and left the British  Commonwealth. It was a dark time indeed!

In our home we always had domestic and garden help and I got along well with the black people who filled these posts. We were not allowed to mix on a 'best friend' basis so I never got to know any black children which was sad because, had we done so, we would have learned at least one tribal language.
My dad, having grown up before the apartheid laws were in place, learned to speak both Zulu and Xhosa.

In 1958 or 59 I heard Elvis Presley on the radio singing 'Heartbreak Hotel' and I was hooked. It was around that time I started to take notice of African music and dancing and liked to watch it in real time from our garden which was just a stone's throw away from the Compound/Hostel where the contracted mine workers lived.
Their instruments were somewhat primitive but the sounds that came from them were mindblowing! Usually just a xylophone and drums were used with other finger picking instruments made from the calabash and bits of metal and stones or gravel in tins. Whatever made a great sound!

Xylophone and drums

Tribal Dancing

The music and dancing usually started on a Friday evening and continued until Sunday evening with short periods of silence between. Where the dancers got their energy from one really wondered!

To end this 'documentary' let me return to the beginning where I said that the black people will be the biggest losers if they continue along the path of annihilation and destruction. Why do I say this?
Well because there are many whites like me who, from the beginning, wanted better education for all kids in South Africa and would still like to see this happen! If the country is attacked by continuous riots and strikes and destruction of infrastructure, the economy cannot improve. If the farms are not well run then there will be food shortages and prices will go up. If the buses and trains and cars are burnt up there will be no transport with which to get to work.
Instead of attacking the whites I would suggest learning from them!
There are many whites who are willing to teach if one can let go of pride and arrogance and vengeance and use any opportunity that comes along to learn new things about running a country that is not rotted by corruption and greed.

Instead of protesting about land reform which, unless one has the knowledge of how to produce good fruit from that land, will not be beneficial in the long run, go out and claim from your governing bodies FREE Education for all!

'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;
Show him how to catch fish and you feed him for a lifetime'

South Africa has the capacity to work together and produce good fruit as all who genuinely love their awesome country will want to strive towards peace and harmony and a better future for their children.
Since the death of Nelson Mandela the politicians who have come after him have done a very bad job and only by acknowledging this sad fact and working together, regardless of skin colour, will  changes come that will restore South Africa back to success in this dark world. There are other eyes on this country and their owners are happy when they see the chaos as they know their chances of taking it over are growing stronger!


USAC


Higher Education Today: Johnny Clegg/ Musician and Anthropologist