South Africa’s Future Prospects by Jacob Wyde

As the honeymoon period of Nelson Mandela’s presidency fades away, South Africa must face the harsh reality of the country’s current status. With an unemployment rate ranging close to 40% and one of the highest murder and crime rates in the world, the citizens of South Africa face a steep climb toward the equality they were expecting when apartheid ended.

Even though apartheid officially ended in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela, racial segregation is still glaringly apparent in the new South Africa. This is shown in the Genie coefficient, an economic factor that shows the distribution of wealth in a given country, where South Africa has the highest score (showing a large disparity between the rich and poor).  Not only is there a glaring difference in the two economies as discussed in “Chasing the Rainbow” but the Whites still hold the majority of the white-collar jobs. While many of the Coloreds and Blacks still hold lower-end jobs that cater to white people (i.e. taxi driver, bartender, etc.) Millions of Blacks and Coloreds still live in poverty-stricken townships on the outskirts of major cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg. In these townships it is not uncommon for unemployment to be around 80% with their yearly average salary being $2,000 US dollars.

While it is to be expected to see lingering effects of apartheid in such a young democracy, it is still saddening to see how tight of a grip the segregation and oppression had on the people of this country. But as Dr. Layne said to the class, you have to see the horrors and lows of a country to truly appreciate the beauty and greatness it has to offer.  Although apartheid was an unimaginable evil it did bring the people suffering under its oppression together and gave them a self-drive and determination to succeed that is rarely seen in other countries. When talking with people in townships like Langa and Ocean View you can hear in their voice both conviction and hope.  They want and believe that the country will be a better place in the future for their kids and grandchildren. Their ability to look at their problems in a long-sighted manner greatly differs from America’s way of always looking for the quickest solution.

I believe that South Africans ability to look at a long-term solution instead of a short-term solution directly stems from Nelson Mandela’s presidency. Mandela made the controversial but ultimately correct decision to grant amnesty to the people who committed crimes during apartheid.  While this angered many people who wanted to see these people face the consequences of their actions, Mandela understood that this new nation and democracy could not be built on a foundation of resentment and revenge. So Mandela granted amnesty to these people as long as they admitted to what they did. This admittance of guilt was a key component to the rebuilding of a nation because many people were not willing to move on until the perpetrators admitted they were wrong.  We were lucky enough to talk with Zenzile, a senior investigator of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, who simplified this admittance of guilt into an example of how one usually does not accept an apology unless you can sense the sincerity of that apology.  While this forgiveness may be given grudgingly by most people, everyone seems to understand that it is better for South Africa to unite as one now then prolong the tension between the different racial classifications.

While Zenzile explained that Mandela’s actions were for the best interest of South Africa, they did have some repercussions. Especially how many people do not correlate their actions with consequences, which Zenzile explains comes from the amnesty that was granted. He said that in South Africa when someone robs your house they would not think twice about killing you because they feel that their actions will not have repercussions.  While this is just one man’s theory about why the murder and crime rate is so high in South Africa, it does hold validity. The Blacks and Coloreds grew up in an environment where all their human rights and freedoms were controlled down to their movements and where it was not uncommon for police to patrol the streets and shoot women and children on whims. So it is not a stretch of the imagination to see how they believe that their actions will not have consequences when they see the people that killed their family and friends walking freely on the streets.

However, as I mentioned before a majority of these people have a drive and a determination to better their lives not just for themselves but also for their family.  As we learned when we went to Soweto the people who do make it out of poverty are not looked towards with resentment but more as a beacon of hope in the eyes of the rest of the community.  Also, it is not uncommon for the people that make it out of poverty to stay in the community because of the ties they have there. As l learned in my internship at Ubuntu, a soccer training camp in the Ocean View township, the people that have made it but stay in their township are usually the best motivation to succeed especially for the younger kids. These role models are easy to connect with for the kids because they are in their everyday life and not some celebrity that they see on television.

One of the most heartbreaking experiences I had on this trip was seeing how badly the kids in these townships wanted to excel in school but are held back due to the schools inadequate funding or their family situations.  While in the US, there are so many people that have the resources and means to go to school and get an education, but squander it because they do not have the same drive as these kids in the townships. I feel that the strong emphasis that many of these people place on education is born from the Bantu education system that was put in place under apartheid.  In this system of education, the Blacks and Coloreds were educated just enough, usually to a fourth grade level, to become a low level laborer. From this type of outcome based education system they have learned that from education comes power. After being oppressed solely because of their skin color for hundreds of years, it is clear of why holding power in their society is so appealing.

This strive for economic equity is not only shown in their drive to succeed in school but also in how many business have begun to appear throughout South Africa begun by smart minded entrepreneurs. One of the best examples of this is the township of Soweto, a place 3.5 million people call home. Soweto still has its share of informal settlements and internal struggles but are making great strides too not only improving the living conditions but becoming an economically viable town like Cape Town or Johannesburg.

While South Africa’s democracy is still in its infancy and there is a clear correlation between their Bill of Rights and the struggles they faced under apartheid, the younger generation is already taking for granted the freedom they are living under. The “born free” are forgetting the hardships their parents faced and endured so that they would be able to enjoy these freedoms. So, while the younger generation maybe be more united than the older generations they still need to remember their history so that they can learn and grow from the experiences of the past. As a wise man once said, “You may not be able to change the past, but you can learn from it.”

The hardships that South Africans faced under apartheid are still apparent today partly because of the newness of the democracy. However, compared to the US Civil Rights movement, the US has put the issues of slavery on the back burner because it took place so long ago. Despite this, people say we need to forget and move on but the after effects of slavery are still apparent in the US especially when it comes to education. What can the US learn from South Africa to improve upon the difference in education in America between the African Americans and Whites?

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