Unmasking the enduring legacies of apartheid in South Africa through Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Malesela Edward Montle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
The Political ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Past ◽  
Racial Tension ◽  
Apartheid Regime

Prior to the dispensation of democracy in South Africa, the country was presided by a system of apartheid that perpetuated colonial policies that discriminated against non-white (South) Africans. Nevertheless, the democratic jurisdiction dethroned and succeeded the apartheid regime in 1994. This galvanised South Africa to undergo a political transition from segregation (autocracy) to peace, equality and unity (democracy). The political emancipation engineered a shift of identity and also made a clarion call for South Africans to subscribe to a democratic identity branded by oneness and harmony. However, as South Africa sought to redress herself, it unearthed appalling remnants of the apartheid past. Twenty-seven years since democracy took reigns in South Africa, the country is still haunted by the horrors of the past. It is the apartheid government that has bred hegemonic delinquencies that encumber the South African society from extricating herself from discriminatory identities such as racial tension, division, inequality and socio-economic crises. This qualitative study sought to scrutinise the vestiges of apartheid in South Africa. It has hinged on the literary appreciation of Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow, which reflects on the menace that the enduring legacies of apartheid pose to livelihoods in the democratic period. Mpe’s post-apartheid novel is chosen for this study by virtue of its exposure and protest against apartheid influence in the newly reconstructed democratic South African society. Scholarly attention has been satisfactorily paid to the implementation of socio-economic transformation in the country, however, there seems to be an inadequate scholarship to explore the pretexts or the genesis of socio-economic transformation setbacks, which this study aims to unmask.

Afrikaanse gereformeerde kerke in die sleurgang van die tydgees

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-78
Author(s):  
Pieter Kruger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The Political ◽  
African Society ◽  
Pluralistic Society ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of

During the past nearly 30 years the epochs of democratisation and globalisation became intertwined with the South African society, determining its spirit of the age. The democratisation of South African since 1994 has its own history of radical rather than evolutionary transformative measures which brought about constructive changes to the political and social fibre of a secularised South Africa. In conjunction, globalisation as dominant worldview became evident in the transposition of South Africa into a secular, liberal, capitalistic, pluralistic society. Over this period the Afrikaans-speaking churches of reformed tradition were not immune to these influences, channelled via their members’ experiences of and responses to their changing social and economic setup. These churches have since also changed. Their influence on society and social matters has dwindled. The contexts of their congregations changed. Their traditional collective forms of institutionalised religion are changing due to the influence of a plurality of different personal, religious beliefs and practices. These developments challenge these churches to rethink their denominational identities and consider the way in which they approach society and what they can contribute to the ecumenical church.

scholarly journals MARIKANA, A PAST NEVER TRULY ESCAPED: A CRITIQUE ON THE COMMODIFICATION OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn Rajah
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
African Society ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
History Of

This article demonstrates that the Marikana tragedy was not a departure from the norm, but a continuation of state and corporate behaviour that has oppressed black South Africans for hundreds of years. This will be done through an analysis of the historically discriminatory socio-economic patterns of South African society, and how they subjugate the poor by limiting their access to legal and physical protection. These trends portray a history of commodification of the legal system. I discuss a notable documentary on the massacre, Miners Shot Down, and examine its depiction of the causes and effects of the events. The film provides no mention of the historical context of the killings, nor does it comment on many of the factors contributing to the massacre. Despite this, it succeeded in bringing the events to the attention of the broader public. I analyse the notions of justice, the rule of law and their application in South Africa as well as norms in the nation’s legal culture. Additionally, I examine the Farlam Commission, and how its procedures and conclusions hindered the course of justice in the context of our democracy. Ultimately, I demonstrate how the Marikana massacre was not a change in dynamic, but a reminder of a past we have never truly escaped.

Remembering in times of misery: can older people in South Africa ‘get through’?

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELS VAN DONGEN
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Older People ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
South African ◽  
Social History ◽  
Opposite Effect ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of

This paper reports a study of the situations of disadvantaged older people in contemporary South African townships. It draws from their own accounts that were collected through ethnographic research in day centres and care homes. Most of the informants had experienced a succession of serious material, psychological, social and cultural losses. Their lives had been characterised by violence, inequality, disruption and poverty. A dominant theme in their accounts is that they can hardly ‘get through’ their lives. Their thankless, even alienated, situations are not only a function of personal losses but also have much to do with the recent political and social history of South Africa. The colonial and Apartheid eras have by and large been excluded from the country's collective memory, with the result that older people's experiences of those times are not valued as affirmational reminiscence or for shaping a kin group's common identity. Expressed recollections have acquired a different function, of being a means of articulating moral judgements on the present. The result is that memories, rather than bringing the generations together, have the opposite effect and widen the gap in understanding between the older and younger generations. This in turn has serious effects on older people's wellbeing. The silencing of memories reflects the society's radical break with the past, which has made it difficult for younger people to mourn or sympathise with older people's losses. While far from helpless victims, many of the older township residents lack meaningful frames by which to locate themselves in contemporary South African society.

From Apartheid to the New Dispensation: Evangelicals and the Democratization of South Africa1

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Balcomb
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The Political ◽  
African Society ◽  
Third Way ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The Third ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Alternative Community

AbstractIn this article, I attempt to distinguish between five responses to the political situation in South Africa made by evangelicals before and after the end of apartheid in April 1994. I characterize the adherents of these positions as the conservatives, the pragmatists, the protagonists of the Third Way, the protagonists of the 'alternative' community and the liberationists. I then attempt to demonstrate their influence in the transformation of South African society towards democracy by undertaking a series of typological case studies of prominent representatives of these positions. In the process, I attempt to unpack some of the theological and political thinking that underlies and explains each position.

scholarly journals South Africa’s foreign and migration policies missteps: fuels of xenophobic eruptions?

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mpedi Madue
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
African Society ◽  
The South ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
Migration Policies ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
And Migration

South Africa plays a crucial role in the development of the African continent, especially in the South African Development Community. Hence, South Africa’s foreign and migration policies shape the perceptions of both its citizens and those of neighbouring states. Since 1994, South Africa has continued to attract the highest number of migrants in the region. The widespread perceptions among South Africans that there are “floods” of illegal immigrants, stealing their jobs and depleting social and economic resources, is a course for concern. Undoubtedly, the South African society is under pressure to effectively respond to the sporadic eruptions of xenophobic attacks on African foreign nationals. This article argues that the missteps of South Africa’s foreign and migration policies partially contribute towards fuelling xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals. The findings of this article suggest that South Africa is not as committed to rooting out xenophobia as it would have us believe.

Suicidal Behavior in Black South Africans

Crisis ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourens Schlebusch ◽  
Naseema B.M. Vawda ◽  
Brenda A. Bosch
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
To Come

Summary: In the past suicidal behavior among Black South Africans has been largely underresearched. Earlier studies among the other main ethnic groups in the country showed suicidal behavior in those groups to be a serious problem. This article briefly reviews some of the more recent research on suicidal behavior in Black South Africans. The results indicate an apparent increase in suicidal behavior in this group. Several explanations are offered for the change in suicidal behavior in the reported clinical populations. This includes past difficulties for all South Africans to access health care facilities in the Apartheid (legal racial separation) era, and present difficulties of post-Apartheid transformation the South African society is undergoing, as the people struggle to come to terms with the deleterious effects of the former South African racial policies, related socio-cultural, socio-economic, and other pressures.

Why English dominates the central economy

2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Wright
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
African Society ◽  
World Language ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Economic Basis ◽  
State Of Affairs

This paper sets out to formulate some of the economic reasons for the continuing dominance of English in the boardrooms, government forums, parastatals and laboratories of South Africa, to consider whether this situation is likely to change, and to assess the extent to which such a state of affairs is at odds with South Africa’s new language policy. The historical reasons for the dominance of English in this sphere are well known: the language’s imperial history, its status as a world language, its role as a medium for political opposition during the apartheid conflict, and the accumulation of capital and economic influence by English-speakers from the mid-nineteenth century onward. However, the day-to-day economic basis for the continuing dominance of English at the apex of South African society has hardly been considered.

scholarly journals Between separation and celebration: Perspectives on the ethical-political preaching of Desmond Tutu

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Cilliers
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
African Film ◽  
Desmond Tutu

Recognising the complexity of a pluralistic South African society, this article attempts to identify four ethical movements in preaching in the past, as well as the present. These movements are from silence to struggle, from eparation to celebration, from lamenting to longing, and from shaming to playing. In this regard, cognisance is taken in particular of the sermons, speeches, and letters of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The paper concludes with a discussion of a classic South African film from 1976, entitled <em>e’Lollipop</em>.

scholarly journals Sense (Scents) of South Africa

1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-5
Author(s):  
Katherine F. Shepard
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
South African ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Speech Pathology ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
The University ◽  
Physiotherapy Education

This paper presents a brief description of some of the author’s perceptions of the land, of physiotherapy education and practice and of the struggle of the nation of South Africa acquired during a 4 week visit in late spring 1997. One week was spent in Cape Town participating in several venues at the International Congress of the South African Society of Physiotherapy. Three weeks were spent at the University of the Witswatersrand in Johannesburg presenting a course in qualitative research to health care colleagues representing the disciplines of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and occupational health. During the time in Johannesburg several health care facilities were visited including Baragwanath Hospital, Natal Hospital and the Wits Rural Facility and Tinswalo Hospital at Acornhoek.

scholarly journals History, memory and reconciliation: Njabulo Ndebele’s The cry of Winnie Mandela and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela’s A human being died that night

Literator ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
R. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Human Being ◽  
African History ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
Ethical Complexity ◽  
Narrative Techniques

This article deals with two texts written during the process of transition in South Africa, using them to explore the cultural and ethical complexity of that process. Both Njabulo Ndebele’s “The cry of Winnie Mandela” and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela’s “A human being died that night” deal with controversial public figures, Winnie Mandela and Eugene de Kock respectively, whose role in South African history has made them part of the national iconography. Ndebele and Gobodo-Madikizela employ narrative techniques that expose and exploit faultlines in the popular representations of these figures. The two texts offer radical ways of understanding the communal and individual suffering caused by apartheid, challenging readers to respond to the past in ways that will promote healing rather than perpetuate a spirit of revenge. The part played by official histories is implicitly questioned and the role of individual stories is shown to be crucial. Forgiveness and reconciliation are seen as dependent on an awareness of the complex circumstances and the humanity of those who are labelled as offenders. This requirement applies especially to the case of “A human being died that night”, a text that insists that the overt acknowledgement of the humanity of people like Eugene de Kock is an important way of healing South African society.

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