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POLITICS
South African shares views on apartheid
David BooontJrr, aSooih AMau,
fern that apartheid b a "Jevlulh-
By Eva Fc*U
Q: As a Htt/r growing up in South
Africa, how were you "conditioned"
to/ttt about apanhetd?
A: Human beings vc amazingly
adaptable and when people grow up
in a system, they very seldom qucslion
it. If they d) question it. ihcy
only question it in the most obviou*ly
unacceptable and odious form.
Using analogy, it's the wne sort
of problem in the women's tno\x~
ment...people arc trying to look Tor
any subtlety in language or attitude,
that almost hai become accepted.
like using the personal pronoun
"he" when one meant people in
general. They (feminists) become
very sensitive (o thcae thing*.
Those are uu sensitivities one
doesn't have in South Africa, and it
require* the equivalent of the
women's movement, an awareness
movement, lo make people aware of
*h»l*» happening.
"If country
has an economic
base and you
pull that
economic carpet
out from under
it, it's going to
stumble a bit. "
You can'l cipect jomeihing like
thai to happen out of the blue; it re*
quirts an internal corutructivc
movement.
And there'* tery little reason in a
country uich ai South Africa lo have
such a movement, because the
pressure ruv iw bem felt. Only
recently has there been cnou[h
BURLINGAME
FORD/ PEUGEOT
WING CHEW
preiture to increase this
.-. *w*rtrKu...ix>bod~cverconivio-JS-
| ly thought that when you went to •
• **«*. you didn't see black people;
[.you JUM didn't think about seeing
i black people on tic beach with you.
I'«K if someone asks you the qucs-
I tion, "Isn't it ttnngc ihat in • coun-
'W where, the ratio of blacks t»
whites is four to OM. you don't see
(any blacks on the beach with you?".
only then does it come to you.
| That'* tht way things happen...it's
certainly not malignant.
, h'% won a case of indifference and
apathy, which is certably not the
'prerogative of the South African
t saw ipanhctd as a way of life
one didn't question, until somebody
asked some intellectual questions
about it: "Is it right that...?" And
obviously the answer cannot be.
"Yes. it U right." The answer
could be. for instance, "Ye». ii'i
pragmaticaUy working." but in fad
it doesn't even work pugmatically.
There's no justification for it. if it
doesn't work in practice and if it's
not a natural policy in the Tint
place, then there's every reason for
it to change.
Q: How Jo South African schoolt
treat the subject vf apartheid?
A: The EnglUh tradition in South
Africa, which I grew up in. is
somewhat schizoid in the sense tfui
in theory they (the English) arc
liberal, but in practice, they are very
keen to look after their own interots.
There is no difference in the
curriculum of the English and
Afrikaan schools.
The difference was that we would
live discussions about ethic* and
Jcmocracy. and the English can talk
about the* thinjn in civics cl*».
hut thev Ain't jpply it I" the l.val
concept rjthcr trun a ciwwitt*: one
The English look *t ruuor> m J
very "hiitoncal" tontcst. «* uj*u»
the present day. So ihst's whetc
South African "civics" ended, and
so there were no embarrassing or
heated dweuwion* av you pcrrup%
should have in such a school.
There's also a strong fcclmp in
South Africa that potitics \hould tie
kept out of school,..it's rather like
keeping religion out of school, that
that's \omcthing >ou should do after
hours, 10 discuss and weigh and
debate. Certainly at the universities
there's totally free debate, eicept to
the extent that an>onc who suggest*
_ or ferments violent overthrow i*
silenced.
There's a concept of political banning
in South Afrira. and I found
out about this through the universities.
Certain people would become
political hotheads, and go too far in
terms of what the government was
prepared to accept.-one step short
of blowing up government
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buildings, for CJiampfr. And of
course they got put awiy, and thL
made one think about this tort of
thing.
Being put away means that one
has to report to the police once «
day. One can't leave the h.-wnc
district, and one can't hold meetings
with more than two or three people
at a lime...one loses all political
clout. So that's how I first became
aware of these deep political •indcrcurrenti.
they ceruinly weren't viuble
or .heard at school.
Q: How do you rtipond to the claim
that dhrstment Is a crucUt/brm of
grass roou praiur* on Jortign
policy?
A: I think that statement is true; the
question is what the effcett arc going
to be. If a country has an
economic base and you pull that
economic carpet out from under h.
it's going to stuntblc a bit. If we do
this, are we going to be in a befir*
position later lo change things, o.arc
we looking for a shon-term
solution?
My view is Urtctly economic.
While you have financial interest in
a company, you can go to a
shareholders meeting and make
material changes in thai company.
Selective divestment is a more intelligent
idea. If American owned
companies are not setting a good e»ample,
then the money ii "tainted."
and there is good reason to divcM.
There is ore point 1 would like to
stress. There is no model in the rot
of the world t.*r taking an electorate
of a country i in this case, 20 perccnl
of the population) and expecting
them to vott themselves out of office...
it's cruy< The pressures in
thii country for them to do thrt arc
unrealistic, and tantamount to wanting
an ovcmig.it revolution.
Q: What is your opinion about
apartheid?
A: My opinion is that it U a temporary
solution to any problem to
separate the groups concciscd. To
the extent (hat the black people in
South Africa never had total rights
within their so-called designated
areas, that policy failed, and I can't
say I ever «w much good come out
of it. But as tt was originally construed.
I couldn't have taken isuie
with it. because ii seemed u. be a
solution to a real problem.
In rctn»pcct. it rus failed in the
same way that partition of Ireland
failed, although it seemed like a
good idea at the lime. I draw that
"/ he °.sty believe that it was construed
u a Christian and deeply
religious „ hition to the problem, not
a malicious solution, in its first conception.
"
by exerting tubilc prcwures. While
[here iv money (Arncrican n»ne>)
in South Africa, they (America"S)
are in a unique pmition "> chanpi*
ihittj:*. (•> oiler j pivxj c*-"nplc M
S*njth Alnun n.ijirunw:v.
SctooJ, liom J praptiutn.'* |»>«m
uf view, monc} ttginni; ti>p' where
there's a good return tin ii, jnd
bu\irm\ in South Africa ru» hecn
incredibly lucrative. If America
withdraws thai money. I feel quite
turc the money will be invcMcd b>
European*.
\ MAHINA ASSOCIATES
:i5l 731-4824
Marina Devoulin
President
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(KVUllJt A\ people 111 I (it II I* - it't
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