ON March 21, 1960, the apartheid regime in South Africa ordered its police to open fire on a group of black Africans protesting against the country’s ‘pass laws’.
Sixty-nine Africans were killed, most of them shot in the back as they fled from the police onslaught.
Later, black protesters at Langa and Nyanga were given the same “turkey shoot” treatment as they too stopped their protests and ran when the apartheid police did what they knew best to do.
Black Africa was enraged. At the UN and other international forums, loud voices were raised against the apartheid regime. “Expel them from the international community!” was the African cry of pain; a cry that manifested itself in ACTION across the board against South Africa.
Many Africans in independent African states were killed as those close to South Africa -Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and other “Frontline States” (including Tanzania) provided arms and military training to black South African freedom fighters.
Some countries (like Angola) suffered severe destabilisation as the apartheid trained and launched terrorist campaigns against them òn their own territories. It wasn’t till the cost of fighting Black Africa– and sympathetic countries like Cuba) proved too high for the apartheid regime that it sued for peace.
It did this by releasing Nelson Mandela from prison (After keeping him locked up for 27 years!).
In 1994, this peace was cemented with the first free democratic election in South Africa.
South Africa became free and the world rejoiced with the former pariah state.
But after 26 years of democracy what do we hear from South Africa?
It is this: the black populace is being incited to ‘March! March!’ against, and even kill, the few black Africans who are working in South Africa!
It is unbelievable! It is an accursed eventuality. But it is true.
There is no doubt that underground, hidden hands are exploiting the frustration many South African blacks feel at the failure of the ANC Government to give them jobs and improve living conditions for them. And yes– the ANC has left white wealth largely untouched through the Constitution it agreed with the white minority.
But African migrant workers are NOT responsible for the ANC ‘s failures are they?
As they survey the continuing landscape of black poverty –despite many migrants being forced to leave for fear of death and injury — black South Africans should remember how the tactic of vilify and kill was unleashed on THEMSELVES through what was called ” black-on black violence”.!
Educated Blacks should make it their mission to explain the situation clearly to their less well-informed compatriots.
A rift between ‘Them’ and ‘Us’ will only benefit those who have never loved South Africa but only sought to enjoy the resources of the country, to the exclusion of the Black Majority. In other words, they are using the Blacks to crucify other Blacks. This strategy was responsible for the ugly Transatlantic Slave Trade and the internal slavery Africa suffered through Colonialism.
Shall we never learn?
BY CAMERON DUODU