Politically correct definitions of whom or what a person is have always been controversial and prone to changing on a whim for no apparent reason (in most cases). Nowhere is this more of an issue than in South Africa. The term Rainbow Nation is not just a colourful way to describe the new and much improved South Africa, it is in fact an accurate description of its population, which is indeed very diverse. Over the centuries all sorts of people thought the tip of Africa would be a good place to live including Europeans, Arabs, Indians, Asians and of course Africans themselves.
Coincidentally, the Bushmen or Khoi-San people were the lucky ones who got here first Рin Southern Africa and even the world if some archaeological research is to be trusted Рbut were pretty much kicked around by everybody that followed. Now only a few hundred remain scattered around the Kalahari area. The clich̩ of first-come-first-serve definitely did not apply to these people.
Anyway…While back in the good old days of migration, colonialism and bloodshed it was relatively easy to put a label on people (white, bossy types were obviously European; darker coloured people that ran all the shops were obviously Indian and people that kept bugging you about the direction of Mecca were of course Muslim), nowadays it is not as simple anymore. Calling a white South African a European is a good way of getting your teeth removed as is arguing that Zulu’s were colonialists from further north. In my opinion I would prefer it to call all those people with an African passport…guess…African! More accurately people should be identified by their home country, so somebody from South Africa is a South African regardless of colour. Makes things a lot simpler and, the magic word, more equal.
Coincidentally, the Bushmen or Khoi-San people were the lucky ones who got here first Рin Southern Africa and even the world if some archaeological research is to be trusted Рbut were pretty much kicked around by everybody that followed. Now only a few hundred remain scattered around the Kalahari area. The clich̩ of first-come-first-serve definitely did not apply to these people.
Anyway…While back in the good old days of migration, colonialism and bloodshed it was relatively easy to put a label on people (white, bossy types were obviously European; darker coloured people that ran all the shops were obviously Indian and people that kept bugging you about the direction of Mecca were of course Muslim), nowadays it is not as simple anymore. Calling a white South African a European is a good way of getting your teeth removed as is arguing that Zulu’s were colonialists from further north. In my opinion I would prefer it to call all those people with an African passport…guess…African! More accurately people should be identified by their home country, so somebody from South Africa is a South African regardless of colour. Makes things a lot simpler and, the magic word, more equal.
The South African government tends to agree with me on this – equality is key in this country after all. But (you felt that coming didn’t you?) this does not seem to apply to employment. In the employment game it is all about colour – where you’re from is irrelevant, skin is what matters! The apartheid regime left the majority of the population in complete poverty by making everything the “ previously disadvantaged” were given worth less: their education was severely under funded, work could only involve menial tasks and the land given to them by the government was the most infertile of all. When the democratic government finally replaced this farcical brotherhood these inequalities had to be mended naturally. Allowing people to live anywhere they wanted to and giving everybody a chance to have a career in any profession of their choosing was relatively easy – educating the previously disadvantaged is slightly more difficult since it takes more time, costs a lot and would need an army of competent teachers that did not exist.Try as you might, training and educating all the blacks, coloureds and Indians to a level where they can compete with the white population for jobs has to take time. There is not any quick fix, just patience and the knowledge that things will eventually even out, but the new government had other plans. Positive discrimination! Or as they put it: (black) empowerment. This implies that if a white man and a black man apply for the same post, be it as street cleaner or bank clerk, the black man will be preferred. Regardless of the fact that discrimination is a word that can only imply something negative, this type of preferential treatment undermines black people, white people and the education system itself. Many black people working in jobs previously reserved for whites are often regarded as incompetent because people suspect they only got their current job due to the colour of their skin; which, to be brutally honest, is sometimes indeed the case but negatively impacts those who worked hard to win their position through merit alone. White people on the other hand, aside from obviously being discriminated against, have become disenchanted with their new country since they no longer see any opportunities for themselves: they’re no longer the “corporate colour” and they know it. Often I have met white people who asked me why I came to their country, in a tone of voice that implies I must have some kind of mental problem because I cannot see that there is no future for young white men anymore. And finally the education system suffers as well. So much political weight and precious finances have been wasted on this empowerment scheme that could have gone a long way to adjusting persisting inequality in primary and secondary schools. Schools that have predominantly white pupils are still able to teach on a level not far removed from the highest standards in the developed world (for your information: this country is not a developed country…by conventional definitions anyway), whereas black or coloured schools are scraping by at such a pitiful pace that most are not even able to afford enough chairs, desks or basic teaching materials. Let alone organize a field trip, to a national park say, unless one government ministry or another subsidizes it. Once graduated the white kid moves overseas where he or she has a chance at getting decent employment and the black kid has to stay behind in a job he or she is not trained to do because of a poor education.
Getting an unequal start will most likely haunt you for the rest of your life unless you fight like hell to get somewhere where you can make a difference – at the very least offer your own children a better chance. Now this might be applicable to any country but in most it is first and foremost wealth that separates those who have a chance from those who do not – in South Africa, even after all this time, it is still your colour that decides where you will end up. For now.
