SOUTH AFRICA - Race attacks leave many dead and shatter the myth of the "rainbow nation"

SOUTH AFRICA - Race attacks leave many dead and shatter the myth of the "rainbow nation"


The old South Africa was blighted by racial politics and the African National Congress was meant to usher in a new dawn. However, current events clearly show that instead of a new dawn you have mass hatred of different foreign nationals. Of course if these deaths had been done by the Boers, then the world would have said that it was predictable. However, this is black South African nationalism, therefore, the world appears to be in shock. So what went wrong in the new South Africa?

Firstly, these inter ethnic disputes are not unique to South Africa because we have seen similar events throughout Africa. For example you have major ethnic tensions in Algeria, Burundi, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, and other nations in Africa. Therefore, the current death total is small when we compare this with recent events in Kenya, or if we look further back to Rwanda.

However, the new South Africa was meant to be colour blind but clearly it isn`t, is it? Therefore, mass immigration from nations like Zimbabwe have upset the applecart too much and ethnic disputes are clearly potent. So why did the South African government get it wrong? Or were they too naive to notice the changing face of society?

Maybe the current leaders of South Africa are more focused on power politics rather than bread and butter issues? But these killings are based on bread and butter issues and many South Africans are fed up with the current economic situation. Therefore, grinding poverty, inequality, a breakdown in certain sectors, alongside mass immigration, is a very potent mix and sadly it proved to be too potent.

Given this, the rainbow country, like it was dubbed, is not so much a rainbow but more like a patchwork of different ethnic groups and these ethnic groups do not pander to easy sayings based on so-called unity. Instead, the majority of South Africans want to share the apple pie, however, the apple pie is being cut open by a small ruling elite. Therefore, social tensions are based on isolation, poverty, and growing discontent.

President Thabo Mbeki called recent attacks "a disgrace" but the real disgrace is the failure of his own political party. He, and other members of the ruling party, allowed mass immigration while doing little about crime, povery, inequality, and offering hope. So while these attacks may be "a disgrace" this should not cloudy the real reasons behind these massacres.
Therefore, recent events are a clear reminder that ethnic politics must not be ignored and "the rainbow nation" is nothing more than "a society based on inequality."

Until the leaders of South Africa admit this, then little will change. Also, once ethnic hatred turns into major bloodshed then it is hard to contain forces which have been unleashed. Yes, these troubles may lie dormant for a while, however, you can never turn the clock back and this is the problem. So how will the leaders respond to their own failure and to these massacres?

Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA

http://journals.aol.com/leejaywalker/uk/