Apartheid

204
tax were required to work off their ‘debt’ to the state with forced labor on the farms. After the
National Party took power in 1948, white farmers could be seen queueing outside county jails
to pick up their de facto slave laborers, amounting to several tens of thousands of Africans
each year. 447
By limiting African economic development, South Africa’s market economy was
harmed as well, because domestic consumption was limited. 448 South Africa’s economy began
to rely more heavily on its exports, mainly to neighboring African countries because they
depended on South Africa’s oil and electricity supply. 449 In the 1960s, South Africa’s
economy flourished again. This partially depended on harsh repression of black labor. Once
the economy expanded, however, African wages improved. To a large extent, this was
brought about by nominally illegal, yet well-organized and relatively successful black trade
unions, and also by pressure from abroad . 450
In the 1970s, due to modernization and the development of technology (such as in the
gold mines), skilled laborers were needed to handle the more sophisticated equipment. The
industries could no longer rely on unskilled, cheap African labor. The traditional apartheid job
color bar had to be relaxed, giving some Blacks more skilled work and higher wages.
Agriculture remained traditional for a longer time. Cheap and unskilled African farm
labor continued in the 1970s. Therefore, the ruling National Party guaranteed support for
segregation and suppression of skilled black laborers in the countryside more than in the
cities. 451
In 1986, under immense international pressure, the government eliminated some of the
apartheid laws, such as the prohibition of interracial marriage and of interracial sexual
relations, and it opened business centers to black traders in the cities. Yet, many government
benefits still remained ‘White Only’, such as those in the welfare services. 452
The government continued removing African communities from their homes in the
1980s, especially from squatter areas around the cities. The Land Act in 1986 still excluded
Africans from owning land outside the Homelands and African townships. Africans were still
considered ‘visitors’ in the cities, requiring passes for entry. The 1986 Act also prohibited
Africans from sharing crops with the Whites, keeping their trade dependent on the white
farmers. 453
5.3. One Bad and One Good Thing about Globalization
In many industries, the Palestinians are paid less than Israelis for doing the same jobs,
creating power relationships not only between master and worker, but between the workers as
well. 454 This again, as with the problem in South Africa, leaves the indigenous Palestinians in
poorer living conditions than the Israelis because they cannot compete with the rising living
costs in the country.
The segregation initiated under the Oslo accords mirrors South Africa’s past,
particularly when one compares the Pass Laws forced upon people working in restricted areas.
As described earlier, Blacks in South Africa were required to carry passes to prove that they
worked in predominantly white areas. From the outset, Blacks were only given a few days to
find work in urban areas. If they failed, they were sent back to the reserves. Similarly,
Palestinians from the West Bank need to obtain passes to enter Israeli territory, where due to
the concentration of capital and commerce, most jobs available to Palestinians are to be found.
447
Ibid: 164; Mandela 2002 (1965): 27
448
Lester 1996: 156
449
Thompson 1990: 230
450
Lester 1996: 157
451
Ibid: 155
452
Ibid: 227
453
Thompson 1990: 228
454
Said: Intifada and Independence, 1989: 6-7