The saddest part of this movie, and others like it, is that to the people of the World, South Africans are now portrayed as either being oppressors or oppressed. This is not true.
I am 33 years old and had no part in the decisions that started the Apartheid-struggle. As a matter of fact, I was one of the White South Africans that voted to end Apartheid in 1992. I didn't known much about the politics but realized that any system that is so retarded as to use race a measure of one's worth, must be stopped.
Today, if you are a White South African, you are labelled as a racist by people in and out of SA. To imply something based solely on a person's colour is racism. Thus everyone who thinks I am a racist based on my colour is actually a racist themselves.
A friend of mine, S, is a Black South African. He is known as a previously disadvantaged South African. By the nature of his status he has more opportunities than a white citizen. However, he has never known poverty or being poor. He grew up in a wealthy family and attended a private school. Unlike me, he has been on vacation to tropical islands and been abroad more than anyone I know. So, to label him a poor oppressed Black South African is totally ridiculous.
A man that works for me, PK, is also a Black South African. He is a totally different story. He lives in a small room in a house in one of the townships (ghettos) of SA. He earns a minimum wage for unskilled work he does for me and my family as a gardener. He has to look after several family members on his small wage.
Obivously PK needs Government/public assitance whereas my rich friend S, doesn't. The problem is that my friend S and other people like him are getting every kind of scholarships, job-opportunities etc and PK is not. The rich gets richer . . . you know the rest. Government approved new salary increases for the cabinet of around 50%. The rest of the Government employees have to be happy with 6%.
Our country's leadership is more concerned with spending millions on changing names that offend them, rather than building houses for the millions of struggling people in my land. Everywhere in South Africa, street names, city names etc is being changed from 'apartheid' names to 'indigenous' names. I asked PK what is more important to him, to live in a house or to live in a street with a name that he can relate to. He didn't hesitate for a second! The problem is that the people changing the names live in mansions and have no feeling for the people on the street.
One name changed recently is of a street in a coastal town. The name was changed to a 'freedom-fighter' who planted a bomb in shopping centre which killed and maimed hundreds of people. The street is in the area where the bomb was planted. Imagine living in the street named after someone who killed your wife! A personal friend of mine's father-in-law lost both his legs in the terrorist attack. Talk about rubbing salt in a wound.
The leader of Russia(Mr.Putin) mentioned a time ago that one nation's 'freedom-fighter' is another's 'terrorist'. This so true that I couldn't believe someone in his position would say it in public. That statement must have hurt our leaders and of course the leaders of the other 'freedom-fighters' out there.
South Africa has probably the biggest potential of the developing nations of the world. We need to forget the past and concentrate on the future and the things that really matter.
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pricer-1
17 years ago
Your insight is both profound, enlightening, and well taken. Indeed, not all Afrikaaners are racist. However, the rich get richer while the poor stagnate or worse around the world. Even in the land of 'opportunity' this is the sad state of affairs. This indeed is the cruel way of things, especially in purely capitalist systems where the social welfare infrastructure is nonexistent or dilapidated. I greatly hope that PK's situation improves, 'Cry the Beloved Country' was written specifically to highlight his struggle, not S. Unfortunately, for every S there are exponentially more PK's. Take care of yourself Johan.
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