In an opinion poll conducted three weeks ago, 80% of the 1 000 people called said that they would not support the Declaration of Commitment signed by a group of prominent white South Africans.
Do we have a right to dismiss them as racists, as upholders of white privilege, not supportive of change and reconciliation? I think not even though some are.
The letters pages of the newspapers indicate that many people, unlike the apologists, have given sober thought to why they are refusing to say “sorry”. They are simply tired of the double standards that characterise our democracy. And these double standards are inherent in the declaration itself.
The declaration simplistically blames the deprivation experienced by most black people mainly on racist attitudes, internalised inferiority, and the failure of white people to take responsibility for the past. The apologists, therefore, call upon their white compatriots to seek absolution and contribute towards a fund that will help empower disadvantaged people.
If a development fund is of such concern to them, why have they been silent on the failure of government to spend its poverty alleviation fund? Why are they silent about the myriad corruption scandals that are draining the financial coffers of the state? Why have they been silent about the misappropriation of taxpayers’ money and actions that have exacerbated the problems of poverty and racial discrimination? Why should there be any confidence that yet another fund will be wisely spent, given that the lottery has yielded nothing thus far?
Secondly, to blame everything on race and racism is to fail to acknowledge that this government has done little for the development of black South Africa. To spend R44-billion on arms as a priority, when there are much more urgent developmental needs, is something this so-called concerned group should have been more vocal about. But this group does not want to be seen to be criticising this government as their access to power and resources is dependent on supporting the agenda of this government a perceptive point made by both Tony Holiday of the University of the Western Cape and Helen Zille, Western Cape MEC for Education, in recent newspaper columns.
Far be it from me to question the credentials of the signatories. Some of them are, indeed, very sincere. But the agenda of the instigators is nauseatingly transparent. They, least of all, need to say sorry because they were opposed to apartheid anyway.
I can only conclude that one of their concerns stems from the overwhelming vote the Democratic Alliance got in the recent elections. The timing of the declaration, its focus on the Western Cape and its campaign slogan, a “Home for All” as a counter to the implicit assumption that the Western Cape is not a home for all explain the disquiet of some who attended the ceremony in Cape Town’s St George’s Cathedral on December 16.
Instead of welcoming the DA’s advance as a sign of a vibrant and healthy democracy, the declaration is used to put whites on a guilt trip for having chosen to vote the way they did. Blaming the current disillusionment of blacks mainly on racism and racist attitudes is to feed into the racial stereotyping of whites and to absolve government of all responsibility.
If race and racism are of such a concern to this group, why did they not condemn the racist post-election utterances that came from senior African National Congress leaders? Where was the chair of the Human Rights Commission, Barney Pityana? Imagine the furore had Tony Leon and his cronies made similar utterances. By constantly targeting white South Africans, the underlying message seems to be: “Say sorry, be grateful and shut up.” Those who are guilty have no right to criticise.
The proponents of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, among them the adherents of the declaration, are implicitly acknowledging that the TRC amnesty process was deeply flawed. Reparations have failed. And the apartheid villains like PW Botha, FW de Klerk, the Wit Wolwe, the Civil Cooperation Bureau, Magnus Malan, Craig Kotze, Craig Williamson and others who should have said sorry have been released into the wilds to enjoy their retirement packages in the comfort of their own homes. The apologists are saying sorry on their behalf. Bizarre, is it not?
If only the drafters of this silly idea gave similar thought to what they were doing we would not now be sitting with yet another divisive fad that contributes nothing except further division. The events in Zimbabwe are instructive here. If we continue to stereotype whites, we effectively silence their right to democratic citizenship. Secondly, the declaration instils the idea that whites are to blame for the lack of economic growth and development.
We should not then be alarmed when they are driven out of this country should the government fail to deliver. This is exactly what Robert Mugabe has done with the support of his government. Supporters of the sorry industry may very well be sowing the seeds of their own destruction as legitimate citizens of this democracy by furthering this agenda.
We must learn to live with the gory side of the negotiations deal struck between the former oppressors and the ANC. Either we (meaning black and white) accept all the weaknesses of the compromises forged at Codesa and get on with our lives. Or we exclude whites from becoming part of this vibrant democratic civil society, and take responsibility for its consequences.