Lesley’s Perspective: The language of racism

I grew up rather sheltered from racism. Strange to say that living in SA, but children can be wonderfully oblivious to the worries of adults.

I learnt about Apartheid in history class and I was appalled by what had taken place but racism did not factor in my daily life. From before pre-school I had friends with skins that were a different colour to mine. But racism is not just about skin colour.

I had no idea that racism existed between the English and Afrikaners. After leaving school I attended Youth With A Mission (YWAM) missionary bible college where there were pupils from 30 different nations. Six months into the course my Afrikaans group leader confessed his struggle with my Englishness. I was completely blindsided.

He had grown up in a town where the Boer Wars were still being fought and Afrikaans and English children threw rocks at one another in the street. I was shocked but grateful that our friendship had given him the opportunity to confront his own prejudices.

When I brought home an Afrikaner boyfriend (now my husband) some years later both our families had to face down some internal demons that come with the unknown.

Racism is less about the colour of your skin and more about the condition of your heart.

If we are honest with ourselves, if you live in this country you probably have some racist beliefs hiding somewhere in your heart. Even if it’s just something unconscious that makes you reel at the idea of your son or daughter marrying ‘across the colour line’.

When we don’t spend time with and befriend people who are different from ourselves they remain foreign, the ‘other’, ‘them’.

Our many languages can be a big obstacle in this regard. But they can also be a bridge that brings people together. President Nelson Mandela once said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to the heart”.

Which is why we are making a concerted effort to ensure our boys grow up multilingual. They are learning English and Afrikaans at home but I want them to be fluent in Zulu too. Being multilingual is a key survival strategy in a country like ours, fractured by so much misunderstanding and unhealed hurts.

The case of Hoërskool Overvaal has certainly highlighted the issue of language in our schooling system.

Every year the crisis of not enough schools, or not enough quality schools, arises as parents vie to get their children into their school of choice.

It is sad but an inescapable reality that politicians will use race to divert attention from the real issues at hand. The elephant in the room being that there are simply not enough schools being built to accommodate the growing population, and the schools that we have are underfunded and understaffed.

The select few outstanding public schools are oversubscribed while some schools stand almost empty because nobody wants a second-grade education.

In our neck of the woods Umhlali Prep is a great example of this. I had to put our boys’ names down when they were born just to secure their spot.

In the case of Hoërskool Overvaal it was too easy to play the race card. How could an Afrikaans school refuse entry to 55 black ‘English speaking’ children? It was clearly Apartheid all over again. That the school was full and that two neighbouring English schools that had capacity had offered the children places were just minor details.

In fact, the Gauteng Education department was found to have intimidated the headmasters of the two above mentioned schools to withdraw their original affidavits that they had ample space for the 55 pupils.

Like a magician uses sleight of hand and distraction to fool his audience, so politicians gleefully throw wood into the fire that already exists in men’s hearts. They choose to further fracture our already divided communities and foster hate and prejudice over promoting a culture of tolerance.

But let us not forget that each of us is responsible for our own actions. Will we let the likes of the Malema tear this country apart? Or will we reach out to our fellow citizens in friendship and choose to learn to embrace difference and diversity. Certainly it will open our eyes to worlds we did not know existed.

The day before school started last week Daniël and I went out looking for a new school bag (he chose Spiderman) and I was ‘lus’ for a waffle.

Last year David Hoehler wrote an article on meals under R30, which included a waffle at Piccadeli Cafe. We headed there to try it out and boy, was I impressed!

It was so delicious it has to rank up there among the best waffles I have ever eaten.

The waffle was perfectly crisp and so thick. Dusted with cinnamon sugar and three scoops of vanilla ice cream. Heaven on a plate.

>>  Ready to say ‘I Do’ on the Dolphin Coast? Meet the team ready to advise, help and deliver on your big day.

>>  Visit our Education feature for a collection of all the best schools, tutoring systems, and even some colleges and training facilities on the North Coast.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram