Berig in Saturday Argus oor "jammer se"

'I benefited from apartheid'
By Thabiso Thakali

Horrified by the racist video made by four white students at the University of the Free State and then humbled by the Australian government's apology to the Aboriginal people, Karl Gostner, 35, has started an online blog to encourage white South Africans to acknowledge the horrors of the past.The blog, the apartheid apology, seeks to be a public record of a gesture of contrition by thousands of white South Africans willing to "say sorry for apartheid and contribute to the healing of the nation". According to Gostner, a similar site has also been established on social networking blog Facebook."This is something I thought of for a number of years now, but after several racial incidents, including the video made by four white students, I decided this would become a public record of white South Africans acknowledging the horrors of the past and their commitment to the future of the country," explained Gostner, a Cape Town radio manager.

'Leave that to the guilty parties'

He said it had been remarkable for him to realise how many white South Africans squirmed from acknowledging that they benefited from apartheid.Despite taking no part in apartheid atrocities, Gostner has offered his own apology on the blog because he believes he benefited from the system. "There is no doubt that I benefited from apartheid," he said. "I went to a well-funded school. I never had policemen raiding my home, arresting my parents, teargassing my classroom or anything else that constituted the teenage years of many black South Africans who are my peers. The fact that I have a successful life today is because I did not experience the violence of apartheid."In the three weeks since the blog was launched, Gostner has received a mixed bag of messages from individuals and organisations that "feel very strongly about doing something to acknowledge the wrongs of the past" and those who believe the idea is patronising.

'The book needs to be closed now'

"You can only apologise if you are responsible for some action or inaction. In your case the ANC was unbanned and you weren't even of maturity age," wrote an anonymous contributor to the blog."You benefited from apartheid, which is something you should acknowledge, but it is illogical that you apologise for something you had no active part in and were too young to play an active part in opposing. Leave that to the guilty parties.

"The Freedom Front Plus said it believed the exercise of asking people to apologise was unnecessary because it would be impossible to judge who needed to apologise and who did not."Our view is that an apology and forgiveness is a once-off event, that is according to the Christian tradition. South Africa has gone through the very traumatic truth and reconciliation process of the 1990s. Many apologies were made and noted."The book needs to be closed now. We should leave the past behind us and learn from it," said FF+ spokesperson Willie Spies.

Spies questioned how far back apologies would have to go if people were to consider British atrocities against Boer women and children in concentration camps, and the wars fought by King Shaka and King Mzilikazi against the Sotho and Tswana speakers' forefathers."We need to learn to adopt an inclination towards the future. A repeated focus on the past creates a culture of non-accountability - a culture that blames all present failures and neglects on the past and on external factors."This is a self-destructive culture and, as South Africans, we should learn to overcome it," he said.Spies said an incident such as the racist video at UFS took place despite the main Afrikaans- speaking churches and Afrikaner political leaders having apologised for the wrongs of the past. It was not apologies that would change attitudes, but rather a change of heart.

Meanwhile, the UFS management is yet to decide on the future of the Reitz hostel where the video was made. The hostel is expected to be closed after the university council gave a mandate to management to consider its future following the racism furore. University spokesperson Lacea Loader said management was still considering the future of the hostel and an announcement would be made soon.

Partnerships needed to save education

Education Minister Naledi Pandor should engage parents, school governing bodies and communities as partners and not as enemies if she wants to save South Africa from its current education crisis.

This was the reaction of the FF Plus’ parliamentary spokesperson on education, Willie Spies to the publication of a report by the financial weekly Finweek, which reveals that South Africa is facing an education crisis.

The report revealed a fundamental crisis in the education system which is sorely lacking resources to equip a nation adequately for future growth. Some startling statistics and findings published in the report include the following:

During the past two years, 535 000 people were ejected from school without any passing certificate and a very uncertain future

At this time, citizens between the ages of 20 and 24 represent 14% of the labour force, but are already over-represented among the unemployed, accounting for roughly 27% of that number.

Of the 564 775 matriculants who wrote the year-end exam last year, more than 200 000 failed.

The decline in pass rate and a lack of skills, says the report, are creating a slippery slope for further economic growth.

Between 1999 and 2004, an average of only 4,4% of matriculants achieved mathematics passes adequate for gaining entry into university to study natural sciences.

In 1999 only half of the country's maths and science teachers had tertiary qualifications in these subjects.

For the past 16 years, fewer than 7% of Senior Certificate candidates passed higher-grade maths, according to a 2007 Centre for Development Enterprises survey on maths and science in schools.

In 2006, only 4,8% of matriculants passed higher-grade maths, and only 5,7% passed higher-grade science.

When the class of 2010 (now in grade 10) was in grade three in 2001, the national survey of performance showed that 30% did not achieve the required standard in numeracy, and 54% did not achieve the required standard in literacy.

For the class of 2011, the 2005 grade-six evaluation showed that only 28% performed at the required standard in numeracy. For literacy, it was only 38%.

In addition to the education crisis, South Africa is losing skilled professionals to other countries that use South Africa as a hunting ground for recruitment. A study recently found that the loss of one skilled professional in South Africa costs up to 10 unskilled jobs.

It is clear that the ANC government will have to re-orientate itself to save the country from more crises caused by skill shortages and inferior education. Unfortunately the present approach by Ms Naledi Pandor and her provincial education departments to target and victimize the few successful schools such as the Ermelo High School with political activism and court action, while the bulk of the education system remains unchanged, spells nothing good for the future.

Lig in die tonnel

Vandag was ek verstom om in die winkel te kom en by 'n gewone ou oom te verneem van sy (en ek glo duisende ander soos hy se ongetemde woede oor die kragonderbrekings. Ek sal die goed wat hy kwytgeraak het nie herhaal nie, maar hy was kwaad.

Ek verneem van plekke wat reeds drie dae na mekaar byna voldag sonder krag was. Wat mense nog moedeloser maak is die feit dat daar geen einde in sig is vir die ellende wat deur die beterweterige bewindshebbers se wanbestuur veroorsaak is nie.

Die Oom in die winkel druk met sy wysvinger op die voorbladfoto op Beeld van treine wat deur gefrustreerde pendelaars aan die brand gesteek is en se: "sien jy, hulle maak alles tot niet. Hulle het die krag opgeneuk en nou dink hulle hulle gaan die probleem oplos deur die trein te vernietig. Wat gaan in hulle koppe aan?!"

Die vryskutjoernalis en energiekenner, Andrew Kenny skryf nou die dag vir my die enigste manier waarop Suid-Afrika die 2010 Wereldbeker kan aanpak is met die toepassing van drastiese beurtkragmaatreels. Die stede waar wedstryde gespeel gaan word gaan krag he, maar die res van die land gaan in donker gehul wees.

Dit kan tog nie daar gelos word nie. Ons moet iets doen. Ons land is ryp vir verandering.

Ek gesels bietjie met die Oom en eintlik het ek nie antwoorde nie. Dit help nie om hom te herinner dat ek onlangs Jan Heunis se boek "die Binnekring" gelees het en dat ek uit die perd se bek gehoor het dat die "onderhandelaars" vir 'n nuwe grondwet 15 jaar terug nie 'n vinger verroer het om iets vir die mense wat hulle daar gekry het, te onderhandel nie. En dat wat ons nou beleef net die logiese uiteinde van daardie proses is nie.

Ek noem toe maar vir die Oom dat die toekoms nie in die hande van die huidige bewindhebbers is nie, maar die die hande van Een wat groter as ons almal is. Soos die koloniale bewind in Suid-Afrika sy einde gehad het, so het ook die apartheidsbewind sy Moses teegekom, maar helaas, so sal ook die huidige bewind ook op sy tyd tot niet gaan. Ons moet ons net met die regte dinge besig hou, aanhou werk, aanhou droom en die geloof behou - daar is hoop op uitkoms.

Die Oom se blik versag en sy vrou langs hom stem heftig saam. Ons groet mekaar en ek se vir die Oom hy moet moed hou. Hy glimlag vir die eerste keer: "ou maat onthou, voor in die wapad brand 'n lig, ne?.."

Ja Oom, daardie Lig brand en geen mens kan dit uitdoof nie.