Where would we all be had apartheid not existed...?

Show all answers

sins

Good question, Innocentia. I suppose that my dream would have been better education for everybody, South Africans are known as hard workers, if we had the education to go with it, we could have been really on top of the world. As it is, not that many people can afford to go to university etc. Secondly - a LOT less crime. Once again, SA is an amazingly beautiful country, if we could promote tourism with a clean conscience, that could have been a top destination, obviously bringing in a lot of money.

Although I love our diverse cultures, for me to really support it, all cruelty to animals must be remove from that. I don't think it slightly entertaining when animals get slaughtered slowly and in a lot of pain because of some tradition. But luckily that is only a very small part of it all. Many people may see blacks as one, but the different cultures within that group is astonishing. I always loved it when my dad explained to me all these little things, like why some black men walk in front of their woman, or sit in view of the door, but don't knock, etc. etc. There are just so much we can learn from each other.

Poepies and smiley... this is Innocentia's dream. How can you criticize her for that? That is the way she see things, and I actually think it will benefit all of us to learn more languages, even if you don't speak it perfectly, at least you are able to communicate with that many more people? I think your comments were unfair.

Brad Morris 8

Apartheid was an evil akin to Nazism, and, let's face facts, it's the root cause of a great deal of the turmoil in South Africa now. That's no excuse, mind you, one has to live in the present for the future.

Interesting question. Let's not forget, at the time it was instituted, all Western countries, USA included, had some form of apartheid, which is what the civil rights movement in America was about.
Had the NP not come into power in 1948 and started their campaign of forced removals, Group Areas etc... I think we would have seen something quite unique in the world.
Because of the mix of cultures, with the technology and industrial innovations brought by white settlers and the sheer weight of numbers of the blacks already here, it would have been in everone's interests to create an alliance.
I think South Africa could quite possibly have led the world in the breaking down of cultural barriers and inevitable integration.
There is no such thing as 'separate but equal.'
With the mineral wealth at South Africa's disposal, the country could quite possibly have developed into a superpower, on a footing with the USA.

Great question.

John M

You sure can, and it's a beautiful dream. I can't answer your question but I can say that apartheid, the evil and the terror it was, failed miserably to destroy your dream. Dream on because the world needs your optimism. I wish yahoo had more contributors like you.

Vango

Dumela ma. Alas, in a perfect world...
We as black and white Africans have more in common than we think.
While being an overland safari guide, I took groups of foreigners, mostly Europeans and North Americans, deep into the Okavango in northern Botswana, with the assistance of local men and women. At night the locals made a separate camp and fire about 30 meters from the foreigners' camp (by their own choice). I often felt the need to spend time at my fellow Africans' (me - Afrikaner; they - Hambukushu) fire than at the cacophony of first world ignorance where my clients were.
Do those who judge our Africanism on skin colour alone, realise these things?
Thanks for another fine question, Inno.
Lekker dag!

SAgirl

My brother is now 14years old and he can speak both Zulu and sotho and you know what is the funny thing i have notice is that when he talks to the sotho's in Zulu they cant understand a word and the other way around.
I think that blacks should also do some effort to try and learn the Afrikaans language the black people have this attitude that now that they rule the country they dont have to learn other languages.
If you do yourself a favor go and do some research and you will see that all farmers men, woman and children is able to speak one of the african languages which is not true in the bigger cities. In the farming communities the black people can also talk afrikaans and yet again in the bigger cities the black people cant. I think that everyone that lives in the big cities can learn something from the farm communities
And the other thing is that whites stays with their culture black people are struggling to do that, and i think that is the reason why so many young children gets in to crime etc because they dont have their roots any more
I living my dream in South Africa although I live in fear everyday. South Africa is the place where i want to be.

jack daniels

Smiley i just can't work you out, can't understand why you are so bitter and twisted, for goodness sake get a life.

Inno by the way great question, this country would have been a world leader in many fields, sadly it never happened but there is still hope with the next generation.

DolphinLami

Peopies, wake up!! Are you taking lessons from alf now?

Wow!! What a question Innocentia!! Well, hon, I can only see South Africa ruling the whole continent, (even Nigeria's oil would have been under our control, he he he). On the real though, my mother, father and most of my family and myself wouldn't be where we are now or taken the businesses we are in now. But we would probably have made it much better and easier had it not been for the hardship we all had to go through trying to get financial independence. But can you imagine growing up in living with Indians, whites and coloureds. Playing '3 tin' and 'shumpu' and 'ari-gogo' on the drive way together? Those are ball games played by girls in KZN by the way. Wow!!! That would surely be something wouldn't? You've got me dreaming now...

General Proud

i personally think things would have been much better. perhaps we would not be in the crime ridden cesspool we are in right now.

also, may i have permission to slap watzzzup?

Bull III

I think everyone in the country except for idiots such as Watzzup who I believe is actually nothing other than a bitter ex Zimbabwean, wish we could all have a future together in peace with equal sharing of wealth and opportunities, what frustrates most of us is the fact that those desires don't seem to be shared by the ruling ANC.
I agree that white people should make more of an effort to learn a black language, I was schooled in Rustenburg and learnt Tswana for 5 years, I unfortunately dont remember any of my lessons.

Bull: I can't believe you - five years down the drain! But maybe you should start afresh

To the asker - I don't think I would be where I'm now - I mean geographically. Maybe we would have ctreated a greater country where all lived prosperously and interacted freely without prejudice. It would haven't taken me to leave Joburg to come to the Western Cape before I could make sense of Afrikaans as a language. Maybe I could have been Brad's business partner. Maybe all our people could have lived in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities. Maybe black people would be having the aparthedi scars and white people wouldn't be feeling discriminate against as is now.

Maybe there wouldn't be the ANC, DA, ID, IFP etc as they are now. Maybe we wouldn't have learned from other nations, during exile days, on being a generally humble nation we are.

Maybe we would have won soccer world cup, and be counted amongst the great football nations. Maybe we would have won the cricket and not suffer pains eveytime we play against the Ausies.

Maybe we would now be one of the most hated nation by other nations of the world as we could be playing world police. There are so many maybe.

And, hey, thanks for bringing some lightness in this section. We are two tense here. People see rabbits under every tree!

Me!

Sawubona Sisi!

Thanks for your question -- very interesting!!Where would we be if Apartheid didn't exist?? Who knows!! But it DID happen, and it happened for a reason (that's what i always say!) People, especially the blacks went through such tough times and i wish we could just get past it all. In my opinion, apartheid does still exist in some areas (like on my campus where i study)... the whites hang out by the canteen and the blacks by the library and it's like a 'rule' not to mix. Whatever!!! It's really sad. I'm studying to be a teacher and have had black and white kids in my class. I love it because kids don't see colour. It's amazing to watch. I always say i learn something new from these kids every day... that was one which i think about all the time! Ah... i don't know. That is a really cool dream, and i back you up 100%!

Don't let poepies get to you!

Sala hantle
P.S. Stick around! Peace!

london.oval

now Innocenta

This is a dream I can subscribe to - as white as I am I would like for my skin color not to matter, actually for any skin color not to matter and for every last child to have an education, to the highest he or she can reach, to all be working at jobs they love and for everyone to get on.

Think about a beach braai (I'm Capetonian - sorry) where every race, creed and color came together to share food, enjoy the tranquility of the place and watch the sun set together - now that would be paradise and it could happen. I would like to dream that it could happen.

Good notion girl !!!!!!!!!!

pulachild

I like your dream and think you must hang onto it. Positive dreams are needed to get over the divisions of the past. Those that cling to to those divisions will be left behind as the world becomes more homogenous.
I noticed you mention you speak seTswana. Botswana's first president, Sir Seretse Khama, married a white woman who was accepted by his tribe as queen. Now that's what I call gracious and civilised - the acceptance of a foreigner as one of their own.
So to answer your question .... we would be a lot further down the road of acceptance had apartheid not occurred. Ho hum, I guess there's lot of catching up to do.

pete

I much better place - every position in government and commerce would have been filled with a person qualified to do the job - no matter the skin colour. I might have family called Bongani or Tanzile

I have to admit if there is one thing that I wished they implemented when I was still at school it would be the addition of the local language that is currently in place.

Not that it is to late, anyone interested in teaching me Zulu?

P.S. I wouldn't mind keeping a couple of sheep and a cow in my back yard either!!

watzzzup

Sounds good.Too bad the devil stopped by and stayed.

Smiley

I'm a bit dissapointed in you Innocentia. I don't like your so-called dream at all. I know for a fact that English is the official language in this country. Why must we (the whities) learn to speak some of your languages eg. zulu, xhosa etc.? We live in SOUTH Africa and not in some uncivilized African country. I'm sorry but if you want to dream that way, then you are in the wrong country and then rather go and live in Zimbabwe where there's only black people and where they only speak your favourite languages. Every race has its own culture and we like it that way. I don't want to learn about your culture. I'm not interested at all. My only dream is to live in a civilized country with no savages around to irritate the crap out of me. Oh and to get back to your question. I think if apartheid did not exist then there wouldn't have been so many angry, arrogant and revengeful people today.

poepies

OK, I thought I'd say we'd all live in Paradise, seen as we live in such a pretty country, until I read your "dream"...

Funny how your dream starts with the word "WHITES"

Now I'd say, my dream is: No huts, no low cost housing and no shacks, people who can actually speak with out an e-e-e and a mmm mmm eish!!! No taxis, no rude woman in clothing shops where you spend thousands of Rands each month (which helps paying her salary by the way). All people could actually be descent, eat with knives and forks, wear descent clothes and do not breastfeed in a public place.... How about I dream about blacks becoming white, hey then at least you can't babble about learning a language to communicate with tourists, so hey, guess what, most tourist are white, which means.... you're a clever black women, figure it out for yourself....

In a previous mail I said I hope that every black man and women could be like you and Diesel, unfortunately I think I made a mistake regarding you....

***edit***

Oh babes, look at your question, kinda racist if you ask me, and oh, the more I read your questions and answers the more you make me a racist. So there, no PMS, no wrong side out of the bed, just plain truth! I'm sick of the "I am black and a victim of life attitude"!!!

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: