When Injustice is Reversed

Africans have endured slavery and colonization because their oppressors believed they were inferior and they deserved to be subjected to humiliation. This has resulted in Africans being left behind economically and politically even after independence. The independence is also marred by a lot of injustices due to controls by powers from without based on economic and political might. Most Africa nations are captives of the Western world through institutions like the World Bank and the International monetary fund (IMF).

But what would happen if this trend was reversed? Today in South Africa, there are white people who are experiencing what Africans have endured throughout History. They are lining up to receive hand outs because they are poor. Some are homeless and suddenly they cannot fend for themselves because the system no longer favors them because of the color of their skin.  Before discussing what this means it is important to have a brief look at South African History.

South Africa is an African nation colonized by the British and the Dutch in the 17th century. The Dutch descendants were known as Boers or Afrikaners. At one time the English dominated the Boers which led the Boers to establish the new colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal. Around 1900 diamond was discovered in the Boer colonies which led to an English invasion of the Boer states which started the Boer war. Later the two formed a power sharing coalition until the 1940’s, when the Afrikaner National Party gained a strong majority. This is when those in the party decided to formulate the Apartheid system to solidify their control economically, politically and socially. 

Apartheid originally aimed at cementing white domination and control of the indigent Africans but this was later extended in the 1960’s to include racial separation.  The “Grand Apartheid” was thus formulated which emphasized territorial separation and justified or legalized police repression of the indigent people. The group areas Act of 1950 assigned different races where they could live or do business. The lands Act of 1954 and 1955 further curtailed and restricted land ownership by indigent Africans in their own land. These laws ensured that the minority Whites could now own over 80% of South African land.  The kind of education each race received was also decided by the whites in power. The Africans were only allowed education limited to them serving their white masters as labourers and house servants.