Day 7

Be the change you wish the see the world Sunday Visiting the Apartheid Museum, Meeting with studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute, JASA and the Zimbabwe Solidarity Trust Noel Hatch, Compass Youth As someone said earlier on the week, it may look like we're playing on different football fields in the struggle for freedom, democracy and equality, but what links us all together is that wherever we are, history is repeated, from the oppression in South Africa in the apartheid years to that of Zimbabwe and Swaziland today. So in our 24/7 lifestyle, it may seem like a struggle to think for a moment, let alone take action in solidarity with our friends in this region - but that struggle is nothing compared to the struggle that they endure on a daily basis. And so our experiences on Sunday 15th June, the day before Youth Day in South Africa, gave us an inspirational reminder of this. We started the day entering the Apartheid Museum split from each other, one group with "whites only" tickets and the other with "non-whites". While the Afrikaner regime used psychology to take away any dignity black people had left - putting a pencil on their heads to see if it would fall, faking a punch to see how they would be react - such tests were called scientific - the Northern Sotho tribe used humour to ridicule the ineptness of the colonialists to undermine their authority and going on the journey from colonial invasion of South Africa to the apartheid era, we were reminded of the proverb "metjheka seduba ha a se rive" (he who digs a well does not drink from it) and "if you're thoughts go skin deep, you're mental development goes skin deep" (Marcus Garvey). It was also fitting that the ANC Youth League's "Programme of Action" in 1962 provided the impetus for the start of the "defiance campaign" which eventually led to Mandela and the Rivonia triallists imprisonment, while internationally the defiance was symbolised through boycotts of companies working in South Africa and of their sports teams "if you could see their national sport, you might be less keen to see their cricket". The tour of the museum concluded with a showcase of the release of Nelson Mandela and first free elections in 1994, where I then went to buy a tshirt of Steve Biko. It was young people like him who campaigned in the face of oppression and eventual death for a more just society and they deserve to be remembered as much as those that survived. Studies on Poverty and Inequality Institute Inequality strikes at the heart of the South African struggle, from the racist and sexist apartheid years to the widening gap between poor and rich. We had witnessed in the starkest fashion travelling across a roundabout which separated whites, blacks and coloured settlements - even today. Before entering the hotel room where we were to meet the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII), I feared we might meet researchers distanced from the reality on the ground that we had witnessed with our very own eyes. However, the two hosts from the SPII - Isobel and Glen - candidly described the situation in which not only South Africa finds itself today, but a sharp analysis of the strategies used by the different players. They agreed that the Constitution had enshrined socio-economic rights - the right to access to health, water and housing - in a way few other countries have done - and that the economy enjoyed successful growth. In reality it seemed that in the Rainbow Nation, the majority were still experiencing the aftermath of the storm and lightening of the apartheid era (townships with no access to water and electricity, around 15% of people of working age with no visible forms of income, 20% with mental health problems) and the minority had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with the opening of the economy to the rest of the world. It seemed from the discussion that the relationship between the state and the citizen had obviously dramatically changed since the defeat of apartheid. The symbol of the casspir police truck had been replaced by the shop signs for back street abortions and orphan centres isolated from the community. From the apartheid state demhunisaing people by taking away their civil liberties and dignity to that to the rainbow nation state leaving the scramble for the informal economy to the multinationals and NGOS, while being massaged by global financial institutions and big business shareholders. The SPII were concerned about the impact of the divide between rich and poor on the population's well being on the stability of the society - the feeling that for many, the effects of apartheid have survived in the gap in inequality. They acknowledged that as long as there isn't a crisis, the top 10% of society won't care, which is why the recent xenophobic attacks may send out a message that there is a social crisis. The SPII are working towards establishing a poverty line - which would then enable to establish a minimum income needed to have an adequate standard of living. Indeed, the lack of solid statistics and coherence in policy by the government in tackling poverty are its achilles heel - the lack of an official definition of poverty, the paradox that children are defined as under 18 years old and yet can work from the age of 15 1/2 despite child labour being illegal. They argue for a social compact which would embed the strength of the civil society and balance the power between those organisations who have a historic influence on the ANC run government and the many single issue-focused groups who endure sweat, blood and tears in tackling very deep-rooted and problems which need to be tackled holistically. However, they made me aware of the paradox of empowerment. The irony that even though this was at the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle, the benefits of emancipation (epitomised by the Black Economic Empowerment policy) doesn't touch those who cannot access even the most fundamental needs, such as water, healthcare and housing. Meeting with Zimabwe youth leaders We then met youth leaders from Zimbabwe. At first sight, it was like being at a students conference talking about free education and student governance - wanting to be the vanguard of society, never again wanting to be in the same situation as now . But when this was overshadowed by the arrests and torture that young activists face on an almost daily basis, I felt humbled by seeing their world through their eyes and gaining a much deeper insight into the issues surrounding Zimbabwe, such as when one comrade explained that after its independence, Zimbabwe failed to put any checks and balances on the power over its people. Those that have been forced to flee the country travel crocodile-infested waters to cross the border to South Africa, and even when they find refuge in the countries they flee to - are exposed to destitution as they have lost everything. While SADC and the international community's credibility, the youth organisers are organising "get out the vote" rallies, going individually to mobilise neighbours in local communities. Neighbours that are faced with famine as the ruling party ZANU-PF tell them that if they don't vote for them, they won't get any food. Neighbours who tell democracy activists that "whatever happens, we are dying", where a loaf of bread for voting for ZANU-PF is important to survive the day than voting for MDC under the threat of torture or death. But the young people we met are going into the elections to give Zimbabweans another fighting chance. They warned that as important as showing international solidarity was, it was critical to listen to the Zimbabwean organisations working on the ground before taking action and not to declare to the rest of the world as George Bush did that "we are working with the MDC" as this only serves to play into Mugabe's anti-Western liberation rhetoric. Similarly, people considering military intervention would be well advised to learn from the mistakes of previous invasions of other countries. If there was a change of government, they argued that this should not be a transfer of power, but changing the role of the state and it's relationship with its people. However, we do need to challenge the policy of conditionality of international aid by many governments and hold those companies still involved in the Zimbabwean economy, as by doing so, they are indirectly funding the guns and torture chambers used by Mugabe to oppress his people. If there is one message that brings together the different stories throughout the day, from the journey through apartheid, the struggle for inequality in the new South African democracy to the fight against oppression and torture in Zimbabwe, it is that we can humbly follow the example of our comrades - "Young people are capable, when aroused of bringing down the towers of repression and raising the banners of freedom" (Nelson Mandela).