Smart politics - an oxymoron? Not always.
Very few people who knew South Africa in the 1980’s would have predicted that the country would have made such a peaceful and successful transition from the oppressive apartheid (pronounced apart –hate) regime to the current democratic one, which became reality in the mid-1990s. Indeed huge numbers of white South Africans couldn’t face the uncertainty and left for other countries, notably, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Canada.
So it is reasonable to ask why this happened. Why didn’t the South African Blacks follow the path of retribution and revenge? After all, by legislation they were prevented from receiving a decent education; by legislation they could not vote; by legislation they were told where and where not they could live; by legislation they were not allowed to take skilled jobs; and by legislation they were treated as inferior human beings.
The reasons are both sociological and political. In this blog I want to highlight some of the political decisions that had a big influence on making the transition happen without violence.
Of course a lot of the responsibility lies on the shoulders of my hero, Nelson Mandela. After decades of imprisonment for trying to change the apartheid government. Mandela emerged as almost a god to the Blacks, and to a few Whites also. Most Whites were extremely nervous as to what he would do, especially they had generally regarded him as a terrorist.
But he emerged from prison without apparent hate for Whites or for Afrikaners (who made up the majority of the pro-apartheid National party). Indeed he immediately advocated that he wanted a South Africa for all, Black and White; and that South Africa would only prosper if all its citizens pulled together.
Four political decisions had a decisive influence on how South Africa moved forward.
First, Black South Africa was not monolithic. In fact there were multiple Black groups living within the country, with differing cultures and different languages. The Whites, too, were splintered into the historically conservative Afrikaans speaking (generally pro-apartheid) and slightly less conservative English speaking, who typically opposed the government in elections but were very happy to benefit from the cheap labour and lack of job competition. Rather than go down the path of divisiveness, Mandela and the leadership of the African National Congress preferred to be inclusive. So they passed legislation that gave South Africa 11 official languages. None of the Blacks were left out, and the Whites, particularly the Afrikaners, had their languages officially recognized as well.
The second decision that had a big impact was also in the area of inclusivity. Historically, under the apartheid regime, the National anthem was Die Stem (The Voice), almost always sung in Afrikaans, even by English speakers. The new national anthem starts with two verses of the beautiful Nkosi sikilele iAfrika (God save Africa). Then there is a verse from Die Stem in Afrikaans, followed by the refrain of Die Stem sung in English. So the national anthem has two totally different melodies, sung in three languages.
The third decision was the most momentous, in my opinion, and one that countries around the world would do well to follow. It was the establishment at the urging of Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The background to the TRC was that crimes were committed during the fight for democracy by both the apartheid government and its minions, as well as by the freedom fighters. The basic premise of the TRC was that anyone who came before the TRC would be pardoned and be free of future prosecution if they fully confessed the crimes they had committed. This is a mind-boggling position to take. In the interest of building a new country, using the talents of all its peoples, they new majority was willing to forgive. The new leadership in South Africa showed the world there was another option to take other than revenge – the option of forgiveness. And it seems to have worked. Of course not everyone buys into the philosophy of forgiveness, but overall the TRC was a remarkable success. The transition to the new South Africa has been relatively free of the violence of retribution.
As an aside, Public Television in the United States has a two-hour documentary on the TRC. I watch it every opportunity I can, and sit with tears streaming down my face for the duration. I cannot recommend more strongly that you watch it too.
The final political decision that had a big impact on the country was in the field of sport – rugby to be precise. To most White South Africans, rugby was the national sport. Most Blacks disdained rugby and favoured football (soccer). Rugby was dominated by Afrikaners, even though there were some outstanding English-speaking players. For many years all South African sporting teams – named the Springboks – had been ostracized from world sport. With democracy came the opportunity to be part of the world sporting stage again. One of the first major events was the Rugby World Cup, which was held in South Africa in 1995. South Africa won the final against the New Zealand team. The political decision that had such an impact was that Nelson Mandela arrived to cheer on the Spingboks, wearing the No 6 shirt of the team's Afrikaans-speaking captain, Francois Pienaar. With Mandela behind the team, the whole country, White, Black, Coloured, Asian, were behind the team too. This amazingly simple act united the country like nothing else. The enormity of the impact can’t be overstated. A movie, Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, has just been released to critical acclaim. It too offers an insight into the South African psyche.
I, for one, have an strong dislike and distrust of politicians in general. It’s a pleasure to report on something they did that had a truly positive impact.
Stan – Thursday
Postscript: Following my earlier blog on The Merry Wives of Zuma, it was reported in the South African press last week that Zuma has another, previously unreported child, this time by the wife of a friend of his. This makes 20 the number of children he has fathered.
