A History of Apartheid

Arm in Arm in Africa: A Reflection from earlier this Week

Jeff and Rita Nohner have volunteered to act as scribe and shutterbug for this journey to South Africa. Jeff is also the designer of the www.ArmInArmInAfrica.org website which we encourage you to visit.

Editor's Note: The following story, a view of Apartheid, was written during the first week of the trip while in Capetown. We include it now because our travelers are in areas without good Internet access. Look forward to hearing about those more remote experiences in a day or so.

Understanding the South African experience requires that we explain the current environment which supports the culture. When you think about it, there are many similarities with the United States. Within 100 years of our history we saw the relocation of Native American Indians, a Civil War, the abolishment of slavery, emancipation of women and the start of the human rights movement. South Africa is undergoing a significant change as well. Whereever our group goes, we see the struggles with change.

The country of South Africa as we know it was created in 1910 when Britain signed a constitutional deal to give white settlers the right to govern and shape the new nation. The Union of South African was formed, creating a government of non-native people who began to form a new nation. This also started the apartheid era, where cities were declared for whites only, and blacks were excluded from participation in government plans. Laws were passed to control the native population. The first township in Cape Town was established in 1901 when bubonic plague hit the city and Native Africans were identified as a “health hazard.” Settlers forcibly removed black people from their homes and relocated them to a place called Ndabeni, a township created to house blacks. In 1913, the Land Act allocated 13% of the most infertile land in South Africa to native peoples, expecting 80% of the population to live in those areas. In 1918 when a flu epidemic caused another wave of fear, the Africans were moved farther away to Langa, which remains as the oldest Cape Town township. In 1923, the Native Urban Areas Act was passed which forced all African people to carry permits called “passes” at all times. This allowed some blacks to work in the cities, but only with special controls. Anyone found without a pass, was arrested immediately and sent to a rural area or imprisoned.

This week we visited Stellenbosch University, where Jan Du Toit teaches Industrial Psychology and where Rev. Spiwo Xapile received his Ph.D. in Theology. Today it looks like any college, with young people moving about the campus. It is difficult to imagine that this peaceful University was the birthplace of apartheid. Stellenbosch was established based on the principles found in Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The Nazis’ concentration camps were actually based on the camps developed in South Africa during this early apartheid era. Where Hitler’s pursuit of a nation of “pure race” whites failed, the policy of apartheid made that idea reality here in South Africa.

In 1948 the Nationalist Party came to power and legalized apartheid. Control of Africans became stronger and more brutal. Blacks were not allowed in parks or beaches… buses, trains and bridges were segregated. 1949 saw passing of the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, making it illegal to marry across the color line and outlawing existing marriages. In 1950 the Group Areas Act removed “non-Europeans” from white areas and the Prohibition of Illegal Squatting Act provided governments power to destroy squatter communities. It was in the 50’s that the painful efforts for change began.

As people were forced into separated communities, it became increasingly more difficult to support families. Although all blacks traveling through communities were required to carry a pass, people continued to flock to the cities in search of work. Police constantly carried out “pass” raids, arresting people and sending them to prison or back to their respective townships. In 1955 hundreds of thousands of women took to the streets led by the ANC (African National Congress) Women’s League to protest the pass laws. What followed was months of protests, retaliations, police baton marches, negotiations, killings, barricades and finally, a government state of emergency with more people imprisoned (this time, for treasonous activities). Still, more people were being segregated into townships. Guguletu was established in 1958, the year before I was born.

The 60’s saw the continued rise of opposition to apartheid, with the ANC and Pan-African National Congress (PNC) leadership organizing against pass laws. This led to imprisonment of black leaders like Sobukwe and Mandela. In the 70’s, the Black Consciousness Movement emerged under the leadership of Steven Biko, and international pressures began. South Africa was expelled from the African Commonwealth, and the United Nations Organization began applying sanctions. Despite the South African government’s attempt at creating the appearance of resolution, unrest continued. For example, the 1976 decision to make Africaans (the language of white South Africans) the one language of instruction in secondary schools, led to student unrest. Many students were killed or injured while others were arrested and held in detention without trial. Thousands left the country to join the PAC and ANC military. With international economic sanctions and workers joining the protest, the economy of the region began to suffer… but activism continued.

In Cape Town, the story of the Guguletu Seven is one of the most brutal examples of security force operations. In 1986, seven young activists were being driven to a job interview when their mini-bus was stopped by police at a roadblock. The police opened fire, killing all seven, and planted guns at the scene to report that “terrorists” had attacked them. Undaunted, resistance continued. In 1990 the liberation organizations were un-banned and negotiations toward the first democratic election began. It resulted in the release of political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, who was later elected President in 1994.

Today’s phrase is Mayibuye I’Africka!, which means, the struggle for a new nation. The sentiment toward equality and reconciliation continues to be strong. Earlier in the week, we visited Robben Island, where many of the people opposed to the oppression of apartheid were imprisoned. Our tour guide was a man who had been jailed there for more than 25 years. As he strolled through cells and walled courtyards, he helped the group on tour (about 30 of us) to understand that the single most important thing prisoners thought of was reconciliation. As he explained, “promoting fear does not remove fear, being hateful will not remove hate, being violent cannot eliminate violence, making war does not stop war… only understanding, acceptance and reconciliation can do this.” Wow! Powerful words, that influenced all of us. Americans know from our history that it takes much time to make and accept change. Sometimes, it also feels like we have forgotten some of the difficult lessons we’ve learned.