South Africa’s Integration Crisis

To attenuate the forces that aim at polarizing South Africa’s community without engaging in a proper channel of dialogue and debate in our nation - we need to face the political rhetoric of the past that has propelled the forces of hatred that has marginalized our nation without compromise. Instigating forces that have directly searched for ways to augment racial tension and division; to deaden efforts of the majority in our nation that aim at reconciling past indiscretions that were carried out by the minority within our population.

In the wake of an unfortunate death of AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche, who was the greatest polarizer in our nation by far - preaching white Afrikaner supremacy and badly beating, and mocking black people with his hate speech and violent actions, in his unworthy quest to polarize our nation farther - an antagonizing factor that was unnecessary in the process of healing our nation.

South Africans must be wary of inflaming violent acts instead of debating the problems that are a crisis in our country. Elements that need to be addressed unequivocally are the elements that aid racial separation in this country, which does include ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s rendition of Apartheid reminiscing song, ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer’. In the context of today’s Democratic society, the rendition does, according to our Constitution incite violence and inflame the hearts of Black Youth that are still entwined with bad sporadic treatments from their white counterparts.

The call for a united South Africa can never be met with the machiavellianist militant tactics that are presented by the ANC Youth League president – his heart and intentions maybe in a good place, however it is a paradox to what the African National Congress (ANC) stand for today (unless there are hidden agendas within the ANC, unbeknown to South Africans) . We can never have a cohesive, peaceful society without addressing the fundamental basics that had formed sections of our society who deem themselves superior than the rest of South Africa’s diverse society. The unjust prism of our ‘Rainbow Nation’ that is mangled by political dogma and corruption, will never be resolved; when the eyes of our politicians and society still see color, rather than humans coexisting with other humans.

The South African government needs to erase ambiguous puppetry systems that aim at pinning down developmental efforts for the blacks in our country that have been a consistent isolating element in our nation. The honorable President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet; need to stop dillydallying around important issues that have not been resolved since the introduction of our inaugural Democratic state – key being, service delivery and unemployment in our nation.

We can never deny that South Africa, particularly black South Africa needs economic and emotional healing from the indiscretions of the past, for as long as hateful images of the past that are still being carried-out by a few hateful minorities in some parts of South Africa continues. Our nation is still reeling from hateful treatment of black natives from agrarian fields to corporate boardrooms by those who do not believe in an integrated South African community that is governed by our Constitution.

South Africa is not yet fully emancipated from the shackles of the past - as a new Democratic country with issues of racial tension and service deliveries that are moving at a snail’s pace. We should not instigate violence in any form but rather point out unremitting hateful dogmatic attitudes that seek to polarize our nation; thus making it ungovernable.

In our nation building efforts polarizing instigators, have no place in our society – Integration is the only mechanism that will strengthen ties within the polarity factions between blacks and whites in our socially, linguistically, traditionally diverse nation. Without dialogue, South Africans shall endure a tenuous foreseeable future of civil war and genocide that has crippled many countries in Africa. We need to consolidate our efforts as a nation, and move forward in dialogue/debate through the South African Institute of Race Relation and identify critical areas that need hard work towards resolving the safety, wellbeing and prosperity of South Africans in South Africa.

WORD TO A NEW SOUTH AFRICAN REVOLUTION

By Linda Sakazi Thwala