Race Relations in South Africa

Americans are super-duper sensitive with their politically correct this and that. It’s at a point where you can’t say much without offending someone somewhere about something.

Laughing at ourselves dispels the one-sidededness of our perspectives - and there is usually another perspective.

Hard to comment on race relations in South Africa when you’re in the country for a few weeks. I just hope life is more equitable for Blacks who have been exposed to the brunt of discrimination in that part of the world, as well as the U.S. where they were forcibly (sometimes with the help of their own people) taken from their homes and shipped by boat in dismal conditions to the land of the free and the mighty.

Yeah its hard to get under the skin of a place in a few weeks, you’d hope the race thing was getting better, but I bet there are a lot of people at the bottom of the ladder in the townships who think being black is what’s keeping them there.

Maybe I’m wrong but I thought the ‘Cape Coloureds’ were of mixed race and spoke the Afrikkans language.
I’ve never been there so this could just be my confused thinking.

Chris - u r right - the Cape coloureds are mixed and speak Afrikkans. Sorry if I made that sound confusing.

I have interview a bunch of people since I wrote this and asked them about Apartied, the aftermath and what they think now - very interesting

There are numerous African tribes in South Africa and there are now 11 OFFICIAL languages , of which 9 are African. The coloured people were classified because they were either a mixture of black and white or were descendents of Malay and Indonesian settlers years ago. They are mainly Muslim and live in the Cape province and in other Provinces. There is an indiginous Indian population mainly in Kwa Zulu Natal ( Durban area ) and they have been in South Africa for centuries - mainly Hindu , but some Muslim. Most of the coloured people in the Cape speak Afrikaans as they do in other more northerly provinces . Indians would NOT normally speak Afrikaans other than at school- White Afrikaans speakers are found in ALL provinces of South Africa. English speakers are mainly white , Indian and some coloured people in the Johannesburg area.Indians are found in most cities in SA and operate very successful businesses.There is a lot of hostility between blacks and coloureds and between Zulus and Xhosas which has been a problem for centuries, like the Catholics and Protestants and they will never be able to live in harmony. The same is applicable in most African countries with the ethnic tribes always fighting for supremacy .It is also a severe problem politically and is the route cause of most of Africa’s problems.

There is no major racial hostility between blacks and coloureds, most of the hostility is economically and hence politically motivated. The problem is that under the Apartheid Govt. coloureds weren`t white enough and now in practice under affirmative action coloureds are not black enough, or so it is said……

i would like to study abroad in cape town at the university of cape town in the spring of 2005. my mom however, is very concerned with my safety. how do south africans feel about americans and african americans particularly? what kinds of tension can i expect to encounter? any comments are welcome. thanks.

I am a coloured- and you dont have to worry about any tension against you, you will just have to adjust to the different kinds of people you will come across-Kiva…Im am busy studing in Atlanta Georgia and had to adjust and i am doing fine,but also discovered that some Americans have a warped understanding of life in South Africa i hope that you go and see for yourself you will not be sorry…especially Cape Town, it is one of the most beautiful places to visit
Werner you are absolutely right with the comment that you made… coloureds do feel as if they are once again stuck in the middle, but we need to realise that we are a people with a culture to embrace and stop blaming blacks and whites for keeping us in the middle. Each individual needs to rise above whatever circumstance they may find themselves in. The only reason why people are prejudist towards others is because they would not take the time to get to know them-they will be surprised how their presuppositions will change towards people when they get to know them better personally or even just about their history.

Hey Kiva. I am a 21yr old studying at the University of Cape Town. Besides South Africans, we have students from 81 countries around the world on our campuses. The various American accents are a common occurence at UCT. We also have a number of Americans who are lecturers in residence at UCT. Many of our South African prof’s have also been Fulbright scholars. You don’t need to worry about being American or black or whatever. Just be yourself. Arthur is right. People just need to get to know each other. Lots of people, whatever they look like will want to get to know you. The only thing people don’t appreciatre, and I’m sorry to say this, is what is reffered to by some as American arrogance, especially with the current international situation. Otherwise all will be well. As to your safety, the usual precautions you would take most major US cities applies. Hope you make your way to our beautiful university, agaimst the southside of Table Mountain slopes.