c



  
 
I am going to talk about µhealing wounds of the past¶. The wounds I am referring to are not
other than those that were inflicted by the effects of a type of racism called apartheid.
Apartheid having had been segregation of races of the highest order meaning that races
where put in a hierarchical order with white being supreme and followed by Indians,
coloureds and lastly black people. The segregation as we all know meant that the groups
that were in the lowest order were di sadvantaged in terms of opportunities, services,
exposure,

 
 
   

Because entrenched in racism is the belief that one race is better than another. That one
race is more supreme than another.




Racism is the unfair treatment of, or outright hatred of, individuals of a certain race.

Racism may be practiced to benefit one race, or simply because one or more other r aces
are thought to be inferior. T he wounds of our history of slavery and segregation have not yet
healed.

Racism, also widely known as racial discrimination, is still exhibited in societies across the
world and sadly still persists in the United Kingdom. Though there are laws that protect the
rights of all individuals, regardless of race, there are also still individuals and organisations
that prefer to believe some races are inferior and to treat individuals of these races in a
second-class, if not worse, manner.

Many individuals in the United Kingdom understand that to treat individuals differently on
account of their race or skin colour is unfair, but not everyone can see the big picture. Below
are some basic answers to frequently asked questions about racism and racial
discrimination.

c
   



 
p

Racism is expressed in very many forms: For example:


 ± attitudes with the workplace, services

c
  ± making inflammatory and derogatory statements about other races


   ± Stephen Lawrence ± an 18 year boy that was stabbed in a
completely unprovoked racial incident in London.

       


Although South Africa's human rights situation has been greatly improved over the past
seven years, the fledgling democracy still faces numerous challenges in dealing with the
apartheid past and defining the new road to a society free of racism.
Historically, we all know that after the African National Congress came into power in 1994,
the first democratic government was led by former president Nelson Mandela . This
government dedicated most of its vigo ur to drawing up and putting into effect the new
constitution, which is mo ulded by the experiences of the apartheid past and the hopes for
the future. It enshrines and defends equality among different races and tribes in South
Africa, and prohibits any racist act against human dignity.

Furthermore, in order to build a non -racial new South Africa, the following were set up:

a) The Constitutional Court to guarantee freedom

b) the Public Protector to protect individuals from all kinds of human rights abuse,
c) the Youth Commission to promote the interests of the young people who are the
majority of the South African population,
d) the Commission on Gender Equality to ensure that old discriminatory habits and
practices are eradicated through education, and the Sout h African Human Rights
Commission to protect and promote all human rights in the country.

In addition to that, the Employment Equity Act and the Promotion of Equality and
Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act were also passed by the National Assembly t o
ensure that all South Africans, especially the black people, are not discriminated when
they are engaged in business and social activities.

Since the introduction of the new constitution and related anti - racism laws, South
Africans' living condition s have been generally improved but have things really changed?

   

Yes - income disparities between the previously disadvantaged and the advantaged
may have narrowed. The previously disadvantaged by legal definition being, the
designated groups who are to be advanced in society include all people of color, white
women, people with disabilities, and people from rural areas.

Yes - the combination of affirmative action and increased employment of the

disadvantaged may have significantly increased em ployment opportunities for the
previously disadvantaged.

Yes ± the government has made education more accessible to all but can we safely say
that the dream of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela has been fully realised.
Borrowing from Martin Luther Ki ng, can we say hand on heart that

South Africa can rise up and live out the true meaning of the creed that µwe hold
these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal

Can all races sit down together at a table of brotherhood?

Are our children able to live in South Africa without them being judged by the
colour of their skin and not by the content of their character?

Has South Africa been transformed into a situation where children from all races
walk hand in hand together as sisters an d brothers?

Have the wounds of the past, the injustices, the pain, the anguish, the blatant
disadvantage now been forgotten? Or are we masking the wounds with
bandages and plasters and underneath the wounds are festering?

You know a country is being libera ted from racism when you see boundaries between races
being broken. For example: interracial marriages.


  
  

In general, racism is still lingering in South Africa. As what South African Justice Minister
Penuell Maduna confessed on March 21 this year to mark the Human Rights Day: "We still
have a long distance to traverse to create the society envisaged in our constitution.

I have been about 12 months and my experiences so far are as follows:

Segregation continues albeit at another level. It is not overt like it used to be before but it is
there. It is thick in the air.

The disadvantages are still there. They are now more subtle and sophisticated
because racism is outlawed

The economic power rests in few.

Personal progress, am sure, is also limited depending on the colour of one¶s skin

You go to the gym and you see racial groups sticking to one another. I have made a
lot of non black friends and race time and again becomes an issue . I hear remarks
such as µyou are different and therefore...¶

There are still some areas where some races will not really want to live and let alone
go to.

There is an attempt to deal with the situation by passing laws etc but more
community and individual effort is required.

    





  
  

 

Now I am going to talk about my experiences abroad and in particular the United Kingdom,
where I have lived since a formative age.

I would not for one moment stand here and say there is no form of racism practised in the
United Kingdom. That would be a lie. What I will tell you as someone who has lived, worked
and still has a family there is that a lot of changes have taken place. The United Kingdom is
now such a fantastic place to live.


 

 

  



  


There have been laws to counter racisms such as:

the Race Relations Act 1965 which outlaw ed public discrimination, and established
the Race Relations Board .

Further Acts in 1968 and 1976 outlawed di scrimination in employment, housing and
social services, and replaced the Race Relations Board with Commission for Racial
Equality.

The Human Rights Act 1999 made organisations in Britain, including public
authorities, subject to the European Convention on Human Rights .

The Race Relations Act 2000 extends existing legislation for the public sector to the
police force, and requires public authorities to promote equality.

Furthermore, there have been other laws enacted which treat racial hate crime very
seriously. These laws have, in effect, criminalised racism.

If the police find out that a crime is motivated by racial hatred, they will treat the incident very
seriously and any sentence will be more severe than one for a similar crim e without a racist
motive.





  

Race crime doesn't just mean when someone becomes a victim because of the colour of
their skin. It also includes nationality, culture and language.

Any racial hate crime that is reported to the police is treated seriously, even if it could be
classed as a minor incident, because of the fear that racist crime can create within
communities.

 
  

Any crime committed against someone because of their race is classed as a 'racially
aggravated' or 'racially motivated' offence. For example, someone may be threatened
with violence or assaulted because of their race.

You do not have to be physically attacked or injured to be a victim of a race hate
crime. You may be subjected to abuse t hat you find offensive;

It is also illegal for anyone to use threatening and abusive language or hand out
flyers or leaflets that could lead other people to commit a criminal act against
someone because of their race.

If it is proven that the offender's main motivation was based on prejudice or their
hatred of another race, then the sentence can be more severe than for the same
offence without a racial motivation.


!  


  


"
  #

Ñ  
    
 
 ± black, white and all have rallied
together and in my life as a lawyer, I have seen white testify against white for making
racist remarks. Look at what happened to the leader a right wing group called British
Nationalist Party last year. It was his own people that pelted him with rotten egg s
and tomatoes when he tried to hold a press conference outside Parliament.

Racially discriminatory attitudes of the heart cannot be changed by public laws and
political rhetoric alone. There is a perspective, a grass root perspective. A personal
and community angle that is required to put this evil to bed.

 

     
 " There are very heavy punitive measures
and penalties for discriminatory activities and possibly jail for racial hatred. If my
neighbour makes a racist statement to me now and I walk into a police station, they
will be arrested on the spot.

- 
   

    
 $

" You have
to be very careful in how you call people. Terms like µPaki¶ for Indians or µBlackie¶ are
considered offensive and you could be jailed for saying these type of words.

-  
      


#   " They will exercise
them if needs be. For instance people know that they will have help from the law if
they are discriminated against or hated because of the colour of their skin.

-  
   


  
 ± people are more pro active
and united when dealing with racism. There are many organisations that will
challenge on a pro bono any signs of discrimination . This is why people of all races
must indeed work together to find economic and educational answers, not race -
based answers, to the needs that exist, in part, because of our segregational history.
If we do not work together as citizens, regardless of our racial and ethnic distinctives,
to find these answers, then we will indeed be ignoring or consciously carrying forward
South Africa¶s racist legacy to our own destruction.

    
± To say that England is multicultural is an understatement.
England has learnt to be very tolerant of different cultures that are expressed and
exhibited on her island .

 

 




 
   
  

" People do not
stare at you as if you are from Mars when you walk down the street with someone
who has a different skin colour. Bridges have been crossed. Fences have been
mended.

 
%



I would like to share 5 ways of the way forward. Of the way to heal the wounds of

%  ± we need to let go of the past in as much as it is painful . We cannot
undo the past but we can remake our future. We have to let bygones be bygones.

- 
   ± we must take personal responsibility to allow this
transformation to take place. Each one of us here is important to the cause. We
must stand up and be counted and take an antiracism stance. It starts with you and I
for a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. To advance this cause,
you and I must get involved.

 
 ± we need to tolerate one another . Yes, we are different and we are
unique. Yes we have different cultural backgrounds. Yes we may eat different foods
but in the eyes of God we are one. We have the same colour blood coursing through
our veins. We were created to work together to achieve purposes in life. We were
created that we might be independent but definitely interdependent. For united we
stand and do much more and divided, we truly fall.

Ñ
 
 ± we need to change the way we see things . Unless we make up
our minds to change, change will not come to South Africa

$

± we need to teach our children to see things differently. We need to
build another generation of leaders. A children who will grow up untainted and
unaffected from the effects of this evil.

 ± we need to work together to get rid of this evil stance. Apathy and
indifference will not make it go away. We need to be proactive. We need to say
µenough is enough¶. We need to say µthis far and not beyond¶.

We need to call a new beginning and a new day unto South Africa . If we are fighting
with different forms of racism such as xenophobia ± how on earth can we fight the
bigger devil? If the people, the races of South Africa are still struggling to get
together and see themselves as one i.e Xhosas, Venda, Tswana still see themselves
as separate entities then how on earth can we rally together and fight again st an evil
as big as this?

Only then shall South Africa be completely free and we can say that the dream that Martin
Luther King had of America has been translated to this country. That dream was not just for
America. It was a dream that there will be r acial harmony throughout the world. For all men
are equal.

The challenge is will you stand up and be counted?

Will you put your hand to the plough and help root out this evil or are you just going to be a
spectator?
Will you contribute towards what has no w become an inner war, an inner struggle so that
South Africa can be completely free and all races will walk together as one.