Visiting the apartheid museum today, I caught a
glimpse into South Africa's moment in history. It was fascinating to see
Mandela's roots. Before the articulate, matured product of his twilight years,
he was a radical, fiery young man who went the distance for his beliefs.
Other parts of the museum, however, were
heartbreaking. Video footage of 1994 Soweto conjured an exact reflection of
2013 Soweto; not much has changed. Sure, some parts have improved, and Bara's
volume is less than it used to be (hard to imagine that), but not much else can
be shown for the last twenty years. Driving to Bara, there is a large billboard
that reads “Soweto, you've come far but you've got a long way to go.” This
rings true.
I sense that black South Africans have
forgotten the price of opportunity. A young educated white couple (MBAs)
explained to me a “backlash of entitlement” among the blacks, a reasonable
response to so many years of being deprived. Policies like the BBBE have
aggressively redistributed jobs and income, creating bitterness among young
educated whites (as well as some educated blacks who decry the crutch). But
these handouts have not been accompanied by sustainable economic or educational
opportunities. Said differently, the government has given plenty of fish but
not taught many to fish.
At Chaf Posi yesterday, I noticed an unusual sight:
a large group of young blacks amidst the usual sea of whites (the only place
you will find whites en masse in Soweto). I started chatting with them, sharing
some of my thoughts. They were lucky ones – they had good paying jobs and could
afford to go out. I remarked how they seemed to be a privileged minority, and
what his generation – young, educated and empowered blacks – were doing about
the state of the nation. “Yeah it is bad, but we are not really doing anything.
We just come out and party.” It was disheartening.
For some reason, his words reminded me of the
apathy sometims seen in 3rd generation (Asian-American) immigrants.
Having never known the struggles of the generations before them, they often are
less ambitious, less successful. They have forgotten the price paid by those
who paved the way for them.
