Kathrada speaks out against racism
Struggle icon Ahmed Kathrada has relived the racial tensions he experienced while growing up during apartheid.
|||Cape Town - Anti-apartheid activist and Struggle icon Ahmed Kathrada has relived the racial tensions he experienced while growing up, saying the time is right for dialogue on racism which is evident in society on Wednesday.
Kathrada spoke on the second day of the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (NAP) dialogue at the Century City Convention Centre on Tuesday.
“Whether it’s media, whether it’s individuals, whether it’s organisations or government, every little action against racism is important.
“Everyone, every action, every speech is important against racism.
“Children don’t know racism, so we grew up with little white kids as our neighbours and black kids and Indians kids – so we didn’t know what racism was as children.”
However, that all changed when it was time for Kathrada to go school because he couldn’t go to a “black school” or a “white school” – and there were no Indian schools.
“At the age of eight, I had to be sent away 200 miles to Joburg for school. In Johannesburg, for the first time, I saw these boards outside lavatories, restaurants and lifts – Europeans only, Non-Europeans and dogs not allowed. As a child, you can’t understand these things.”
He contrasted the time of his childhood with that as a young man in Europe, explaining it was the first time he experienced non-racialism. “I could, for the first time in my life, go into a restaurant, a hotel, a library, a theatre – not in my own country, but in London and Europe.”
The two-day seminar signalled the start of the public consultation phase, in which all sectors of society will be allowed to consult on the NAP after the cabinet’s approval in December.
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development director-general Nonkululeko Sindane said on Monday: “We are doing this to ensure we rid South Africa of these ills and ensure we create a cohesive society bound by the rule of law that is a reflection of what our constitution demands.”
It was a sentiment shared by Kathrada, who agreed the time was right for such a cause. “The race incidents are still fresh in our minds. We must not regard this as the beginning and the end.
“This is the beginning. Much more has to be done on every level of society.”
Tuesday’s keynote speaker, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development John Jeffery highlighted the importance of acceptance and communication. “The choice we have today is whether to argue, like some people do, that the rainbow nation is a myth, or possibly never really existed. Or we could choose to accept that our country is like a zebra – you cannot injure the black part without the white part suffering and vice versa.”
Jeffery explained it was not the government’s or civil society’s NAP, but that ownership should reside with the people.
theolin.thembo@inl.co.za
Cape Argus