A Short Walk in a Long Journey Read online

  Our driver came and warned that we had to leave or we would be on the road at night. We reasoned that we should stay because there were so many people still in line and arriving. Katrina never seemed to express fear. Yvonne, as far as I know, was a constant force orchestrating the shuttling of people in from the ballotless countryside all day without concern for any possible repercussions. As dusk approached our driver reminded us that it may not be safe to travel in the dark and in retrospect perhaps it was unfair for us to impose upon him risk of life and limb. So into the beat up car we left as night approached. It was a massive full moon that night and all of the countryside was aglow. No other cars were on the road. An hour passed. Katrina fell asleep. As we coursed through some rolling low hills, I wondered if there might be a roadblock ahead or where might armed attackers emerge and then, it happened. As I took in the visage of the moonlit countryside and the silhouette of these acacia looking trees atop a hill we were rounding, I felt the voice of God saying, “Job, well done”, and knew that we would be okay.

  The following days entailed observing and helping where we could at different Voting Station locations in the Transkei. In one town I encountered a shoeless teenage boy, about 16 years old, and he asked me what part of Africa I came from. I told him that I was from the U.S. He was shocked that we had come from so far to play a role in their election. He then asked me about tribalism in the U.S. I explained that we didn’t have “tribalism” in the U.S., at least not in the same way that it existed in South Africa. He then asked me about Black/White relations in the U.S. Do Black people have the right to vote? Why isn’t there a Black president in the U.S.? That discussion led him to ask me about my outlook for the 21st century. We then discussed education and Christianity’s role in the world. I couldn’t believe that a 16 year old in a small town, with limited resources and information, could ask such thought provoking questions.

  I also met another person who used to be with a paramilitary group and explained to me how he was motivated and came to murder ANC members. He described what it was like to be hungry and for someone to offer you maize, guns, and a narrative- however implausible- justifying any action imaginable. Hunger can be a potent motivator.

  Back to Jo’burg

  Upon returning to Jo’burg, Loretta, David, Miguel, and I compared stories with those who worked in other areas of South Africa. The newspapers ran headlines quoting certain American and other internationally well known figures stating that the election was “free and fair”. It was impressive to read such proclamations, particularly when they were attributed to people who only left their luxury hotels with their armed guards to go to select Voting Stations for their photo shoots. As a scientist, my observations were not open to such interpretations of the facts, as there were clear discrepancies. The ANC won more of the vote than the 62% they were accorded. There were boxes that were never counted as they were tampered with before arriving at the counting stations. The boxes were opened, as indicated by the broken candle wax seals. Perhaps this wasn’t widespread but it did occur. Also, through trickery and threat many didn’t get to vote. In any event, the results were convenient for various factions within the country. The ANC “won” 62.65%; the National Party “won” 24.39%, and the Inkatha Freedom Party “won” 10.54%. This is significant because the election results would dictate the governing body by the proportion of the votes that were won and then this governing body would craft the permanent constitution.

  On the evening that the results were coming in and it became clear that the ANC were the winners, people began to celebrate. I had found myself in the lobby of one of the nice hotels in Jo’burg, with jewelry stores and restaurants on the first floor, and they were showing the results and speeches on screens in different banquet rooms. Very well dressed people were drinking champagne and enjoying the moment. I stepped outside and I don’t remember why I did but in the distance there were people streaming in one direction. I asked one of the hotel staff what was going on over there and he didn’t know. I wondered if they were being chased and as I slowly walked over I could hear drums in the distance. I waded into the current of people and encountered groups who were toi toing, a traditional dance, in group circles but were still heading in the common direction. I joined in with them. They chanted songs, some familiar some not. The drums got louder as we got closer and closer, or further and further. Block after block we jogged, mostly young men, and I certainly did not know where I was or where I was going. Our wave merged with another wave from another direction and that wave came in wave upon wave into the tens of thousands we surged towards some theretofore unbeknownst. Right turn and many of us scatter a little as the appearance of some sort of military personnel carrier with mounted gun and soldiers afoot break the hypnosis. I wondered if that vehicle was one of the infamous “hippos” we often saw in the news footage of unrest in apartheid South Africa. Their eyes exclaimed so much . . . frustration, defeat, sort of a conflicted impotence. The hypnotic tide of people continued and not much further we reached the hotel where Mandela could be found. The streets were full, beyond full, and massive rhythms of people could be seen converging onto the area. Gasping over palpitations every time a new wave of people converged into what could have been potentially catastrophic but each time the rhythms blended perfectly and the collective came alive as one dancing- lion. Sound systems, some from cars, blasted that soulful house music that normally only exists in London, New York, or Chicago. People danced. People smoked. Groups of men chanted their traditional warrior songs. Mandela appeared in the window. An American spotted me and invited me inside. I declined and I thought that Mandela probably wished that he was outside with the people as well. A photographer from the U.S. press asked a group of us to look up at the mirror underneath the marquee of the hotel to pose for a shot and captured the moment.

  It was dawn by time I tried to find my way back. The city looked quite different and luckily I found some helpful local person that was going in my direction. He warned me that it wasn’t safe and told me that he was safe because he had a gun, which he pulled out of his pocket. He was actually right. One of the people that I had met during the short stay in London was mugged pretty violently that night. I don’t recall how many stitches he received but it was serious. The next day I was invited to stay for the inauguration later that month but I was also asked to escort the mugging victim to London to get to his connecting flight in the U.S., as he was heavily drugged in order to manage the pain. It was a pity because he was one of the few people who was there truly for the righteousness of the cause and not some business deal, like most. I had heard about how hard he had worked in areas where help was most needed.

  Leaving South Africa

  Before we left I met some people from the South African Rastafarian community. I had been approached by them on several occasions. They gave me some traditional South African gifts, which I still have. I picked up several copies of the Reconstruction and Development Programme that the ANC had published. Walking along the streets and stepping over the homeless teenage boys, who stretched perpendicularly along the sidewalks in Jo’burg was emotionally heavy and I remember Mandela stating distinctly that one of the first things they would do is get those young boys off of the street.

  Oft times we forget that it was the women and the youth who forced South Africa forward. The honor and respect that South Africa owes the women and youth can’t be overstated. Without a doubt, the women were the outstanding characters in my experience of the election and it is well documented how women have been the driving force, for decades, in the movement to bring South Africa to a point of democracy for everyone.

  South Africa Today (Data from Goldman Sachs and UBS country reports)

  Nelson Mandela passed away on the 5th of December, 2013 at the age of 95, 19 years after he was elected the first Black president of South Africa, having won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and widely recognized as one of the most influential personalities of our age. Today the popular depiction
in the international media of South Africa is full of contradictions. South Africa has the strongest economy in Africa yet labor crises abound. All ethnic categories are represented in decision-making positions in government, finance, industry, and civil work yet Black impoverishment is rampant. The crime is amongst the worst in the world, particularly and ironically against women. However, it must be noted that South Africa has come a very long way and is on a trajectory to go much further.

  According to the 1996 and 2011 census reports, the Black population is the fastest growing community in South Africa, now representing 79% (of the 51 million population) of the total. This makes the role of the Black population a critical determinant to the future of the economy and government. During this same time, GDP has grown almost 3x to $400 billion (from $136 billion). Unemployment has grown by 900,000 but employment has grown by 4.1 million. Essentially, employment has grown at an insufficient rate to bring the aggregate % unemployed down. There have been direct cash and non-cash governmental support in the form of providing public sector goods and services in education (functional illiteracy dropping from 34% to 19%); access to electricity (improving from 58% to 85%); and access to water and adequate sanitation (reaching an additional 13% of the population). Social welfare monthly cash payments is provided for over 16 million people in need (from 2.4 million in 1994), which corresponds to the population living on less than $2/day at a cost of $10 billion annually. Tax receipts have gone from $11.4 billion to $81.4 billion (1.7 million to 13.7 million people). This social net, comparable to the social welfare systems found in some European countries, is a vital cushion for the poor that supports their ability to acquire their basic needs. There is a growing middle class and the professionals of South Africa are highly competitive in finance, medicine, management, research & development (although South Africa lags most countries in R&D expenditures at 0.9% of GDP), and manufacturing. Inflation between 1980 and 1994 was 14% whereas between 1994 and 2011 it has been 6% (wages have grown at a faster rate of inflation since 1994). The Black middle-class has more than doubled from 7% to 14%. Over the same period the White middle-class decreased from 4.2 to 3.0 million people due to the fact that many Whites (500,000) graduated to the upper class income and 700,000 immigrated away. In absolute terms, the Black population dominates the middle class (consumer segment) and of the White population who stayed became wealthier. There is still a long way to go as 85% of Africans remain poor. The majority, 87%, of the White population are in the middle to upper class.

  There are still some serious challenges that threaten South Africa’s future, including labor issues, which while under Mandela’s presidency was stable but has since witnessed some unrest. Youth unemployment is the biggest vulnerability (70% of unemployed are under 34 years old). Life expectancy has decreased from 60 to 50 years of age, primarily due to HIV/AIDS. South Africa’s triple challenge or Cerebus, the 3-headed mythical monster of antiquity, are HIV prevalence (4.6 million); unemployment; and the population living below the poverty line. If South Africa is to prove itself up for this Herculean task and subdue this beast, as in the Labours of Hercules, South Africa will be able to unleash the economic Lion that leads the entire continent and beyond to a more stable and prosperous future. Amandle!