Thread: My mind drifted, momentarily

Apartheid, came and went
on the back of an all conquering power
the good old British Empire
filled then, more with greed
than racial prejudice
and it (Apartheid) dissolved in a way few seem to know
By vote, a referendum
in which only "white" people were allowed to participate

I remember when the colony,
South Africa, became a republic
I remember how glum we English school kids were
and how joyously the Afrikaans nation celebrated
We were each given a "Republic Medallion"
and a miniature "Republic Flag"
The English version of South African history was banned
and we (English) burned our miniature republic flags

"Don't let them see you do that!" said Mother,
"They come in the night and people disappear."
Yes, a police state had been born
and it fed upon hate and fear
"Die swart gevaar" means, "The black danger"
Fear was everywhere
The Afrikaans nation had trekked more than a thousand miles, in ox wagons,
to find their "promised land"

They had almost been obliterated by African warrior tribes
and when that crumpled nation survived, they made a covenant with God
and when Britain handed the country to them
they declared a public holiday, "The Day Of The Covenant"
to always remember how they were delivered from "Die swart gevaar"
For generations they had suffered prejudice under British rule
Now, they were free to make this land their own
To make it "safe" and to make certain no one could ever take it away from them

Apartheid was born, they called it "separate development"
By whatever name, it was evil and cruel
The Afrikaans Nationalist Party ruled with an iron fist
and at its core, organisations like, "Die Ossewa Brandwag"
Like Nazis, many of its members had once supported Adolf Hitler
Like Nazis, they helped spread hatred and fear
With "Laager mentality" they introduced "group areas"
Just another name for racial segregation, removals and more cruelty

Whites in the middle, Coloureds around the whites and Indians in the outer ring
just like the circles of wagons, the "laagers" they made during their great trek
when they came under attack from either the British or Zulus
No one, it seems, could see the other "laager" drawing ever tighter
The shadowy circle of demons closing around the entire land
The circle of hate and fear, fear and hate, and sometimes just pure hate
It gets to you. One way or another it gets to you.
Steve Biko and others died trying to fight it

In 1969 I was called up for compulsory national military service
The armed forces, including the air force which I was in,
were controlled by hard-line Afrikaans nationalists
and we, because we were English, were hated and scorned.
Privately, we declared ourselves "prisoners of war" and it was our duty to escape
which we did quite often, and quite easily
Brutish nationalists are not the brightest pixies you'll ever meet
and we were quite determined, despite rough punishment

The hate got us. Well it got me and a lot of my friends
On manoeuvres, the brutes acted as terrorists and we had to defend our camp
This was serious business and not exactly playful
Our boys captured one of "them" and dragged him for miles, tied behind a Landrover
They left him for dead near his beloved "Oranje Rivier", the Orange river.
The battle manoeuvre had escalated and we had only blanks in our 303s
No problem, throw away the blanks and use "blue pointers" (wooden bullets) from the Brens.
They got us in the end and as you can imagine, all hell broke loose

And yet, that was nothing compared to what my friends on border patrols went through
The killing they did, the atrocities they saw, many were never the same again
I've seen human fingers kept as trophies in bottles
and I've seen snapshots of slaughtered villages, slaughtered not by the army but by militant tribes
Pregnant women with babies hacked from the womb, and butchered, my mates had to bury them
Who's to blame? When will it end? Today there is a rape every three seconds,
in South Africa.
Crime and violence is rife and yesterday, a pleasant fellow asked, "What made you come to England, not the weather I trust?"

...he chortled, and so did I.

Well, the swallows are nesting in our garage again and my mind drifted, momentarily
At the end of our summer here, these tiny birds will fly all the way back,
to South Africa
They know nothing of man's doings, at least I don't think they do
Blessed are the meek, there's more but perhaps I've said enough
Perhaps another day on some cold winter's night beside a warm fire?
Perhaps it's all best forgotten
Hope I haven't bored you, as I said, my mind just drifted, momentarily.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS AND REFS:

It is not my intention to suggest that the Afrikaans people were to blame for Apartheid.

Racial prejudice and abuse were rife long before South Africa became a republic and there are many wonderful, kind and loving Afrikaans people just as there are in every nation.

Nevertheless, Afrikaaners were the power base of the Nationalist (apartheid) government.

If anyone feels offended by my ramble, I can delete this topic.


The new national anthem of South Africa is a prayer, "Nkosi Sikilele" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8iZ8jIqrQo

My favourite anti-apartheid song is Weeping - by Bright Blue. No1 HIT written by Dan Heymann - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeecXiqNzWA

My favourite anti-apartheid book is "Cry The Beloved Country" by Alan Paton


If you have read this far I thank you

Perhaps it's all best forgotten? Absolutely not. Forget it and it all happens again. Perhaps it will anyway, but every time sanity gains an inch we are that much closer to putting the insanity behind us.

I've been in harm's way numerous times, never armed with anything more deadly than a camera, notebook, and pencil, but if the world is ever to change it will be changed by images and words, not by bullets.

I know one good story from those troubled transition days. I have a friend who is a friend of Thabo Mbeki and a frequent visitor to the Mbeki household. He told me how once he was at an important meeting at Mbeki's house and one of the people attending brought a VHS tape that he wanted the others to see. The tv and tape deck were turned on, the tape was put in, buttons were pushed, but nothing happened. This was a room full of highly educated adults, but none could get the tape to play. Finally Mrs. Mbeki went upstairs and returned with a five-year-old, mostly asleep. 'He watches movies all the time,' she explained. The kid ejected the tape, looked at it, pushed it back in, pressed a couple of buttons, and headed back upstairs as the tape began playing.

Ian
Wow. I asked you to write and you did.
Of course, what you have written is an eye opener for those of us who were living whilst Sth Africa was remaking itself.
We were not told. We rarely are.
Probably we did not want to know.
Apologies.
But now you live a different life.
Heal please.

Dv
PS And write more.

Ian,
It seems to me that you have some powerful reasons to write. You also have the skill and the inclination. There are no clues for me to guess at what you do to earn a living but if as yet you do not earn from your writing then perhaps it is because you have not found the outlet or have not tried to be published. There is a story to tell.

For me there are some distinctive subject headings:
Living today in South Africa and explaining in part how it got to be that way.
Deciding to emigrate and choosing Britain
& Living amongst the British and how you see you and your family’s future.

I suspect your writing would have an appeal to the press especially for the magazines ie Times, Telegraph etc. Interestingly it was Garza who has replied to you. He also is a citizen of a country, Belize, which was once a British Colony. He is a professional writer and will comment on my suggestions I am sure.

As a Englishman of many generations who was born before WW2 and who is still alive in the twenty first century I, from the viewpoint of being a British Citizen, can bring to the table some of the thinking behind the significant changes in policy which the British Government has brought about during my lifetime. I view things from the other side of a thorny fence as compared with yourself. I remember Empirical Britain and I live now in Polyglot Britain, two very different societies.

Your writing is understandably accompanied by disclaimers. This particular Forum might give you the opportunity to test the reaction to your writing before you attempt to go for publication. It might also help a little with style, content, matters technical etc. Even as a relative newcomer, I will confirm that we are a friendly bunch. I’ll watch out for more of your writing .
DV

Hi Garza,

Takes a very special kind of person to do what you do. Truly admire your bravery and dedication.

Anecdote about the VHS tape is priceless. Laughed and cried but my tears were not tears of joy.

Father to one of my school friends, was Irishman "Mad Major Mike Hoare" although I never spoke to him. He was never there!

"Brazzaville", "Kenya Mau Mau", "Northern Rhodesia copper belt", "Mozambique", "Angola", "Southern Rhodesia", you can imagine how the Apartheid government used all that to support its "swart gevaar" propaganda and to "justify" its crimes against humanity.

They controlled education and they censored all news from radio to newsreels and even newspapers. You had to pinch yourself every now and then to remember who the bad guys were and I honestly don't blame those who believed the bullsh*t, it was that powerful.

Some say, "Africa Addio" and yes, the people have temporarily lost control and there will be more turmoil, but when the new Africa finally emerges, I believe it will be magnificent and I will be happy to admire it from another magnificent place, England!

Yours,

Ian

Hi Divus,

You are most kind and I am keeping your ideas and thoughts very close.

Living through WWII is something I could not even imagine. Dad signed up (under-age) and fought in Burma with the Dogra Regiment where he was promoted to (wartime rank) Major and nearly died from malaria and dysentery.

Currently working as a (self taught) computer programmer and yes, very different life. Wonderful wife and son suppress urges to go do crazy stuff! LOL

...and gathering material for semi-humorous book on "life after smokes".

Really appreciate your kind words DV.

Ian

Ian - What I did for years required luck and a firm belief in my own immortality. When I passed my 70th birthday in August I realised I'm probably not immortal after all, just very fortunate.

I mentioned in another thread today about a doctor from Ghana who kept me from being a cripple after I messed up my back.(Years of taking pictures and taking notes while people shot at one another all around me and it took falling off a bicycle in peaceful Belmopan to do myself any serious injury.) The doctor is a neurosurgeon who divides his time between work at an upscale clinic in New York and a hospital in Belize. Do African nations have the problem that developing nations elsewhere have, that once a person gets out and gets an advanced education they stay out and use their skills elsewhere? I've had discussions about this with my friend who is a friend of Mbeki, but he is a lifelong dedicated ANC (still Mbeki's friend, despite all.). What are your thoughts?

When you say 'but when the new Africa finally emerges' are you speaking of all of sub-Saharan Africa, or just of South Africa?

Sorry. Lifelong habit of the nosy reporter.

Hi Garza,

Yes, South Africa did have a "brain drain", during and after Apartheid. Probably still does? Also many work here (UK) and send money back home (SA) where it is needed.

The big South African cities (and wealthy suburbs) also drew talent away from the poor townships and rural areas, with many Doctors (understandably) not wanting to risk their lives and livelihoods. Having said that, there were also many brave samaritans including my own dear Mother who wrote for, and taught at, "Tree", a charity run college for training "black" pre-school teachers.

Throughout the apartheid era our local Dr. Lional Savage ran a free clinic for the poor "black" folk. The authorities made it difficult for him but he kept going until he was too old to work. Another true hero!

If you will permit, in the words of Madiba:- http://race.eserver.org/mandela-nobel.html

We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be born.

This must be a world of democracy and respect for human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger, deprivation and ignorance, relieved of the threat and the scourge of civil wars and external aggression and unburdened of the great tragedy of millions forced to become refugees.

The processes in which South Africa and Southern Africa as a whole are engaged, beckon and urge us all that we take this tide at the flood and make of this region a living example of what all people of conscience would like the world to be.

---

Garza, I believe South Africa can do it. Don't know how or when but I see their spirit, I know their talent and I feel their resolve.

Hmmm, should have said "Sub-Saharan" or maybe even "Southern" based on the fact that even during Apartheid there was more synergy than mere geography.

Such an optimist, almost said "world!" LOL

Speaking of "world!" "Wikileaks" retaliation! Communications phenomenon with mobile phones and the internet! People all over the world begin to unite! War-lords and greed-merchants find it increasingly difficult to sell their covert bullsh*t!

WOOO HOOO! ...don't start the revolution without me! Well, as long as it's peaceful. (smile)

Best,

Ian

PS: Anyone wanna see the border between 1st and 3rd world? Just go google maps. Here is the boundary (courtesy Google Maps) as it runs through Beunos Aires, bothersome swimming pools on one side and lovely shacks on the other...

When I moved to Belmopan at the end of 1998 I found the kind of situation that makes you wonder why revolutions don't break out every day.

Belmopan was planned after Hurricane Hattie nearly destroyed Belize City in 1961. The then Premier George Price insisted that a new capital had to be built inland. A large cattle ranch in the centre of the country was bought and British architects and engineers were brought in to design and build a new capital city. The city was chartered and designated the new capital in August of 1970 with all the amenities of modern life - electricity, an efficient water and sewerage system complete with well designed storm drains that take advantage of the natural terrain, a good telecommunications system that provided the best telephone service in Central America, fax, paging service,all that was then expected, and later of course Internet. You may have read something about that company in the British press. It has been largely controlled for some time now by Michael Ashcroft

In the 1980s the United Nations encouraged Belize to accept refugees from the civil wars going on around them. A Salvadoran settlement was established on the edge of Belmopan and named Salvapan, a community with no paved streets, no electricity, no running water, no sewerage system, no telephones. Crossing Ring Road on the east side of Belmopan took you out of the 20th century into a rural Salvadoran village such as might have existed a hundred or two hundred years ago. Even the school had no electricity, and was said to be the dumping ground for teachers no other schools wanted. I know one young man, the son of a former guerrilla fighter, who started at the school at the age of four. He spoke not a word of English. His teacher spoke not a word of Spanish, and would whip any child who spoke Spanish in the school or who made a mistake in speaking English.

So what I found in '98 was a modern small town, despite its charter name 'City of Belmopan', where kids did their homework on computers, and a few hundred yards away a primitive village where kids did their homework by kerosene lamp.

Some of that has changed now. Salvapan and the other refugee settlements in and around Belmopan have electricity and telephones, but the contrast continues to be sharp enough to make you wonder why there are not more revolutions.

Mr Ashcroft is reputed to be very influential in the British Conservative Party.

But the casual observer is not sure what role he actually plays in British politics.