Race has been a major issue in 2000 it was a theme of President Thabo Mbeki’s speech at the opening of Parliament; the Human Rights Commission investigated race in the media and organised a conference on racism in South Africa. The politicians and the academics have been heard and read on the subject throughout the year. The people who might be able to bring change to the country the next generation have not had their chance to speak about how they will do better than their race-obsessed parents. A sampling of teenagers across South Africa were offered the opportunity to say how they will change the country. This is what they wrote:
Moses Malheolane
To me racism is a stereotypical South African problem. There is no doubt in my mind that racism has affected us all in South Africa. It is probably the reason for our country’s slow downfall. Racism is a blindfold that has covered the eyes of my fellow South Africans for many years.
Whenever something goes wrong it is blamed on the years of apartheid or on racism. What people do not want to comprehend is that we are working in the present and towards the future the past is of no relevance. I have grown to hate the word “racism” because it has destroyed what could probably have been South African social bliss.
We have to realise, especially as people in a country like this, that we need each other. Interaction is the only key to learning more about one another, and I want to believe that we have already begun.
Nowadays people have forgotten what racism really is. This is the reason why racism is still alive if people do not understand it then they cannot tackle it. If we can lose our belief that we are from different races and we are strangers to each other then we can take a decisive step in the right direction.
I am proud to be a young black South African who believes in his country and its people. We may be a country that is economically and socially weak compared to others, but we have a few things that other countries will never have and so we should be proud.
We live in a country that is blessed with so many different cultures, but our one problem is the inability to use this to our advantage. It is obvious that these cultures can never, and will never, be mixed to form one great culture. It is, however, not impossible for these cultures to work together to achieve the same goal, to work towards a brighter future for South Africa.
Another problem is fear, that has kept us segregated. This fear dwells among the different races and cultures of our country and will prevent us from reaching our goals. What these races fear is equality. If women had to fight to be equal to men, then why is it so hard for a man to fight to be equal to another man?
Everything now rests on the shoulders of the youth of this country. It is up to them to make a difference, to lead this country out of the ashes.
Our leaders have run out of words to say they either say the wrong things or repeat what has been said before. Our leaders pretend to be patriots yet their actions contradict this completely. They do not find solutions to problems but instead do the direct opposite.
Intolerance has become the major obstacle in our country. Many people hide behind the pathetic excuse that “they are human” but they forget that as humans we all have free will given by our creator and with this have the power to change our ways.
We may have different skin colours but we breathe the same air, have the same colour blood running through our veins and we all form part of the same cosmic cycle. No man is a god, we were all born to live and share the same final destiny death. Negativity is a waste of time and energy; unfortunately it has become an influence on many who spend their time criticising and judging the work of others instead of doing something useful and positive with their lives.
This intolerance has become a father-and-son, mother-and-daughter thing we cannot stand each other but we so desperately need one another. We do not have to love each other to live together, but to merely accept each other’s differences.
The solution to racism begins right here.
Sinikwe Mlagisi
I still remember those days when I was just a child. How we used to play together, splashing in the pool at my white friend’s house we were a mixture of different people from different walks of life. I remember how we played, not noticing what the colour of our skins were, never realising that we would one day enter a world of hatred because of what we look like.
I ask myself at what is supposed to be the beginning of a new era why some people still refer to black people as “kaffirs” or “mud people” and Indians as “coolies”. I ask myself why such behaviour is tolerated.
I know that when I walk out of the door anyone can say what he or she wants and I can’t do anything. I don’t want to feel the accelerating beat of my heart when I walk past a group of people. Why should I spend my life in fear of other people’s misconceptions of my race? Surely I wasn’t put on this earth to be a victim of people’s misunderstanding of who I am, or spend my days forever fighting to keep what sense of dignity I have left?
I won’t go to certain parts of town because I don’t want to be the butt of jokes about who or what I am. I feel this deprives me of my rights because now I must live in fear. I am made to feel of such low worth and I am given a status so low in society.
I wish I knew how to solve this problem, but I am just a simple 16-year-old girl. The only thing I know for certain is that I do not want to live in a country that is filled with so much hate.
The sad thing is that our lives will never change from those who came before us because we seem to keep on repeating the same mistakes they made. Everyone keeps on saying: “The past should remain in the past and we should learn from it.” But take a look around and tell me what you see? Exactly the same thing you saw yesterday.
People think and act the way they do because of a lack of understanding of other people’s cultures. A country like South Africa, which is filled with a wide diversity of people and cultures, should be proud of what it has. One has to look at the country’s history to try and figure out where all this hatred and confusion comes from. People fear what they do not understand.
Every single human being on this earth was blessed with the greatest gift of all life. I am only made of flesh, just like you. We walk down the same street, we breathe the same air, we drink the same water. But somehow you think you are better than I am. Why not, instead of being afraid of me, sit down with me and let me tell you who I am, and maybe then we’ll have a better understanding of one another.
A black person walks into a lift with two white people and guess what they do? They hold their handbags close to themselves like they are about to be robbed. People’s misconceptions of others needs to be cleared up. Just because some people do something wrong does not mean that everyone in their particular race is guilty.
Our generation needs to work together, to sit down and find out more about each other’s backgrounds and cultures. We need to find out what all the hating is about and get down to the real issues at hand. People should stop wearing facades and show who they really are whether they are racist or not.
Tamara Kleynhans
I am a Christian and try very hard to love everyone in every way, but I don’t always succeed to love people who throw away their lives, futures and families by abusing drugs and alcohol.
I love my country and strive to make it perfect, but unfortunately there are still a lot of unsolved issues that prevents it from achieving perfection.
I believe that if we obey God’s two greatest commandments there won’t be any problems in South Africa: “You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
Racism is still a huge problem in South Africa not just another issue to ignore. Racism didn’t end with apartheid in 1994. It is still a growing problem because we are feeding it daily.
Parents are still teaching vulgar, racist language to their children and think it is “cute” when the child uses offensive words. Some people hate certain races just because a spouse, sibling, friend or relative does. People also hate other races because a person who belongs to that race wronged him in some way. Then there are other people who hate other races because of their different culture, religion or economic circumstances.
These reasons, however convincing they might seem to the people using them, are lousy excuses for breaking God’s commandments.
Hating a race because someone else does is wrong because the Lord gave us a mind and a will of our own. Hating a person simply because of a wrong done to you by someone else is mind-blowing. How many people aren’t hurt or even killed by members of their own race each day? And shifting the blame for your own economic circumstances on to a race is childish and not facing the consequences of the weakened economy.
Racism should not be used by politicians to gain votes, for this contributes to more hatred among the public.
I believe the mistakes of the past should be examined to find the lesson we should learn from. After we learn that lesson we must move on and not repeat the mistake.
If you have a wound, surely it wouldn’t help if you kept scratching it open. It will only cause more pain and it will worsen the scar that it will leave. But if you disinfect it, put ointment on, it will heal eventually. In the meantime you must be patient and take care not to repeat the mistake that caused the wound, but luckily you will bear the scar to remind you.
Children have the right to inherit a beautiful, friendly country, but with that inheritance comes the responsibility to keep it that way.
Education starts at home, whether we accept it or not. If you teach your child to hate, he will end up hating you. Show us through your example how we should be, by loving, being proud of and building our rainbow nation.
Then, and only then, will we be able to say to other countries, “Welcome to South Africa, our perfectly beautiful country” … and only we will know how much truth lies behind the word “perfect”.
Tamlyn Wiehahn
I have very strong feelings about racism. It is an increasing and ongoing problem we face. South Africans are always looking at the racial views and not the realistic views.
Racism is not only a problem, it has become a habit. South Africa seems to be the most racist country in the world because every second person uses racist comments.
Why do we always have to ask questions about gender and race, why not just accept the fact that everyone is different in their own way? You will never find two people who are identical, it is not possible.
No matter what colour you are black, white, pink, yellow or even green we are all the same. Internally, we are alike, but not everyone has the same point of view as I do. I have found that most people judge you on your race and not the kind of person you are.
We need to do something to solve this growing problem. As they say, “charity begins at home”, therefore the fight against racism must start under our own roofs. If we teach our children not to judge people on race, they will grow up with the knowledge and power to stop the problem.
Racism can be stopped but hard work, dedication and lots of help are needed for this to happen.
Malebogo Mogatusi
It is unfortunate that when we look at a person in South Africa the first thing we see is colour. It is in our minds and hearts. We are still locked up in cocoons of colour both black and white people.
The most unfortunate thing is that racism goes with rage. Police will always choose a person of another race, culture, religion or colour to practice brutality.
The government encourages racial descriptions. In every application form you fill in you have to deal with race. People are not described as South African or in terms of their citizenship but a large emphasis is placed on colour.
Politicians still describe their opponents by their colour. As South Africa approached the municipal elections we read every day about one party calling its opponent a “white party”. Ironically, it is government officials who uphold the colour system.
We as children learn about racism at home because our parents talk race. When we argue and fight at school we do that for various reasons, and not because of race. But then our parents put the idea into our minds that we fight with each other because we belong to different race groups.
Parents must stop discussing race; it becomes a lifestyle. If race and racism is discouraged in the home we will get to understand it is not a good thing.
Churches must preach against racism and they must practice that by joining each other. If we all pray to the same God, why should we have a township church and a town church for people who belong to the same church? I sometimes wonder if there are two heavens or more where people from various races go.
Rachel Laureles
In the past racist behaviour was condoned. The government took measures to separate white from black and during the apartheid years black children knew nothing but violence from birth. As a result, blacks became irrevocably committed to the struggle for liberation.
Whites were insensitive and arrogant towards blacks. Racial stereotypes were acquired at home and reinforced in school.
Apartheid is in the past but it has left people with haunted memories and has turned South Africa into a divided society.
I am an 18-year-old female belonging to a minority group. I once lived in a village in Taung where I befriended only black children. At that time I had not yet acquired any racial awareness and I did not care whether our skin colour differed.
It was awkward as I grew older and I began realising that many things differed between me and my friends apart from our race. I had friends from all races by then and each one of them was an individual who had interesting customs and backgrounds. I was fascinated by their uniqueness and I was proud to belong to the only “multiracial gang” in the entire school.
After a few years realisation dawned and it saddened me to know that there was only one multiracial group. Why were others not as inviting towards people of different races? Apartheid lived in the past, this is now the present. I later learned that because of segregation, people did not learn to know and understand each other.
I feel that racism is alive in South Africa and I strongly believe this is a problem. What future does South Africa have if people can’t learn to accept one another?
An event in the past should not ruin what is to become South Africa’s future. My parents come from a foreign country, not very well known to many until recently, and because of this I am regarded as a “foreigner”. Does this title still apply even though I have been here all my life, can speak the languages and have become a part of this country? Or is it because of the colour of my skin and the way I talk?
The problem is that people are ignorant of who you really are and they don’t care or want to understand you. Why is it only now that whites are realising the pain they have caused the blacks in the past? Or how about the anger and resentment towards the whites because the blacks refuse to let go of their anger due to the haunted memories of the past?
Skin is a covering on the exterior and if it is removed we are all generally the same. Surely people know this? If parents are still haunted by the past they must not allow their children to be haunted too. Children are not merely appendages until they become adults we could start educating them against racism.
Msondezi Mkorwana
I am experiencing something similar to Holocaust denial. While I’m not placing it on the same scale, there is a tendency in this direction among millions of South Africans. It is a national amnesia.
Visitors to South Africa ask how apartheid happened because every white person they meet says they were not responsible for it. The fact is that the apartheid government was voted into office by the white electorate and they kept returning it to office. It is also a fact that the majority of South African businesses were happy with the apartheid government until it began affecting their profits.
A colour-blind society, although an attractive idea, is not what I talk about when I talk about racism. Non-racism is not denying differences and diversity, but the assertion and acceptance of them as something that enriches us, not causes conflict.
Racism was institutionalised in law for many years in South Africa. It led to the dehumanisation of people who were excluded because of their colour.
We need to take corrective measures. Many who were the beneficiaries of racism in the past now question the morality of affirmative action, saying that it is reracialising South African politics. That is totally wrong. We as children must be given running shoes so that we can compete equally with those who have them.
Zoleka Nkomonye
Racism is a belief that a particular race of people is better than others, and it is not a good thing at all. Like when you have an affair with someone from another race and people look at you like you did something wrong or murdered someone or you have a criminal record.
Your family won’t accept the guy you are involved with. And his family won’t accept you either, because in their minds there should be no relationships whatsoever between the two races. They’ll tell you to stop seeing that person. They’ll even bribe you to do what they want because they are so worried about the family name, about what people will say about their son or daughter dating someone from the white or coloured community.
Your parents don’t want to build a relationship with people from other races. All they do is judge and criticise them every time, saying they aren’t good enough for their children to have anything to do with them.
No matter how deep your feelings are for each other, it won’t mean a thing for your families.
And so what happens is that the youth can’t be free in their own world.
Natasha Magadla
I am a South African and I experience racism each and every day. I do not know where it comes from, all I know is that it is about being black or white.
Black and white are colours and nothing else but colours, but people use them to be racist.
I was expelled from school because I and my coloured friends did something wrong. Only I was expelled the others were suspended. I ask myself why? Is it because of the colour of my skin?
The other thing I’ve noticed is that racism does not occur in white people only, blacks are also racist. The only difference between blacks and whites are traditions.
Racism is destroying our country. We undermine each other and we do not respect each other. Other countries are laughing at us, saying we are all South Africans but we are saying bad things about each other.
The only way to fight this disease is to love each other. We have to be brave and stop racism and bias.