South Africa is a simmering storm of frustrated, cynical, indignant, disappointed and angry South Africans of all colors. They are anything but united.
Outside this storm lives a privileged class that has built a sort of economic stockade. They own very fine homes, command the business world and continue to accumulate wealth. There is a TV series called "Top Billing" that spends an hour each week saturating the viewers with stories of the privileged, the beautiful people who live in 30,000 Sq.ft. homes overlooking the ocean. We get to see their kitchens, their bedrooms, their horses, their artwork, their architects and their "fans". These folks may as well be on another planet, so insulated they are.
By contrast, most people live near or under the poverty level. Many are losing hope. Last week, a fire broke out in a shack settlement located in the shadow of South Africa's crown jewel and tourist magnet, Cape Town. The fire spread in the brisk winds and left 4,000 people homeless.
The vision of a "rainbow nation" that delivers social justice, a better way of life, a color blind government, and the promise of peace and prosperity is fading. The fabric holding the country together is splitting, leaving enclaves of discontent.
These problems arise out of a long, difficult history. Millions of South Africans have lived lives of bare subsistence for generations. They are mostly simple folks, uneducated in basic life skills. Fellow Americans, deeply infused with the Protestant work ethic, would ask why black South Africans don't just work harder or get more training. It's a reasonable question in highly developed countries. Here, though, there is a series of deep ruts in the road the rainbow.
These include a history of tribal conflicts that still remain. Several hundred years of colonialism took away the land of the indigenous people, followed by apartheid that broke their will. Though the end of apartheid liberated black people in many ways, the ruts and the scars of their history have not healed. Very suddenly, black people were set free but without the knowhow or skills to survive in a growing industrial economy.
For a couple of hundred years black Africans were ordered to do specific tasks, and only those tasks, leaving little room for improvisation, initiative or a sense of value as an individual. There was no reason to think big thoughts. Consequently, showing initiative, going beyond what is required, and working hard to better oneself is rare. For many, the "freedom" is an illusion.
The government is looked to for answers, but few come. The ANC was one of the main moving forces that brought apartheid to an end. It has controlled the government since 1994. However, many high ranking members of the ANC, along with favored contractors for government contracts, are now very wealthy while ordinary people have seen little evidence of a better life in a post-apartheid country.
"The ANC leadership has failed to improve unemployment, housing, poverty and inequality during its 18 years at the helm of the South African government. To some extent the ANC, with its connections to big business, it's bloated salaries to party favorites and it's corruption in playing nice with friendly contractors, has become part of the establishment." ("Rage By Miners Points to Shift in South Africa"; New York Times, Aug., 2012.)
Complicating this are cultural differences that stubbornly resist change. Here's an example:
Superstition exists even among our seminarians. Just before exams last November, some of them went home to their own witch doctors or sangomas (local healers) for pieces of trees, plants roots, bark and other stuff. They came back to their apartments and boiled the concoction in water. He or she then created a sort of "tent" in which to breath in the steam. It's a kind of Vick's Vapor Rub for improving the odds. All this is done on the belief that it would help the seminarians be successful in their exams. If you are wondering why people training for the Christian ministry would eschew prayer for this, so are we.
Another roadblock is found in the Zulu culture. A person who tries harder, goes the extra mile and improves his life, is not rewarded by his community. On the contrary he is considered disloyal because of the belief that all wealth should be shared equally. There are no honors for being outstanding. Instead of individual thinking, we see a kind of "group-think". As a result, individual responsibility is lacking. All this, of course, ends in mediocrity. It's a tough nut to crack.
What happens in South next is unpredictable. Just how rigid are the traditional customs? Can they be adapted to this century? Will the people rise up and decry the corruption in all levels of government, or will they tacitly accept it as other African countries have?
After 18 years hopeful years of waiting to see how the new government would work out, most of our acquaintances are deeply troubled by the current state of affairs. They have not yet given up even though the trajectory is not good. Some have confessed that they already have an "exit strategy". Others lack the resources to leave.
The level and frequency of problems has spawned a combination of defeatism, apathy and frustration. This has serious implications outside of South Africa. As the people continue to lose heart, the country is vulnerable to radical shifts such as demands to nationalize the mines and "taking back" the land of the ancestors. If South Africa, Africa's most developed countryand the hope for the continent, begins to wane, it could trigger a domino effect. For the last 20-25 years, the neighboring countries have looked at South Africa as the model for the future. If it collapses, the other, smaller countries become vulnerable. A new wave of economic colonialism could emerge, or other countries, fearing the worst, may pull out altogether.
In my next piece, I will try to tie all this to what we have been doing these last months to help arrest and reverse the tide. Recently, we've seen a couple of "green shoots" that might be a sign of correcting the course.
