[Voir en français ; Kyk na hierdie artikel in Afrikaans]
Teaching Staff At Former Model C Schools Are "becoming 100 percent black" (due to Government's "transformation" policies) and white principals are not happy with this.- says Sadtu's Ronald Nyathi,
According to the Star: speaking of just one incident, where a 59 year old white teacher is repotedly living in his car, and has claimed he was dismissed, and forced out of the school he was teaching at: based on the colour of his skin. Shockingly also: the principal of the school reportedly has hired bodyguards to protect his person also: as he was allegedly attacked and intimidated by members of the SA Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU):
"The Gauteng Department of Education has denied the problem at Bedfordview [the school in this incident] was race-based.
Sadtu's Ronald Nyathi said some white principals opposed transformation. He said former Model C schools were "becoming 100 percent black" and white principals were not happy with this.
"What we have observed is that white principals have a general reluctance towards affirmative action. Teachers see them as racist, and a white principal cannot work with black teachers."
He said he was not aware of intimidation at that school." [our emphasis]
(IOL (Seuclar; Indepdendent; South African) 04 / 09 | September / 2009))
Context of this latest round of race issues
The incident of Brandon Huntley, a white man: who has been granted refugee status by the Canadian government, has recently highlighted policies in South Africa, which enforce legislated discrimination against whites in the workplace. Many black (Ethnic African) South Africans, during the Apartheid era, when they and not white South Africans were legally confined to being second class citizens, were granted refugee status in similar cases: by Canada. Comments by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, about English speaking whites, as well as other incidents against Caucasian South Africans, involving high ranking ANC (African National Congress) government officials have however not caught much foreign attention.
Whites Economically- Have One hand Tied Behind Their Backs
The South African government has policies in place, so that national government companies look into whether owners of a company are black or white, or their ratio of black and white, as well as how many employees are of what ethnicity, before considering tenders. Businesses are additionally encouraged to do business with businesses with more black owners over those which are owned by too many Caucasian ("Ethnic European") South Africans, and are encouraged to hire black South Africans over Caucasians: failure to adhere to what is known as BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) incurs penalties and fines. Huntley is alleged to have suffered 7 racially motivated attacks against him, three of which were allegedly stabbings, and was granted refugee status by Canada's independent: Immigration and Refugee Board. A release by the board notes its independence, and its judicial function, whereby it decides each case, according to a policy which, it says: bases itself: on the evidence at hand.
International and National Media
In the news: Reuters, seemed to quote facts out of context, mentioning unemployment rates among white South Africans, as compared to Black South Africans- excluding the hundreds of thousands of white South Africans who have left the country, due to inability to find work, often despite having skills in high demand. Reuters also writes, seemingly: in a very opinionated manner in relation to this issue. Canada's: The Globe and Mail, has also written an article seemingly biased on the side of the South African government, on the Huntley issue- something they have previously done involving the NHI (National Health Insurance) plans of the government, which were locally criticized as impossible to implement due to cited lack of resources, and considered as dangerous to South Africans, by the Hospital Association of South Africa (HASA).
A local paper, called- the Times, not unexpectantly, instantly opposed the Canadian decision. Our service has previously highlighted the way Christians are portrayed in the Times (And Sunday Times), making their stance on the side of the government not unexpected to our service.
The BBC, has seemed to cover the Huntley issue in a much more independent manner, while the UK Telegraph seemed to take the side of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, on the Huntly issue.
That government based discrimination against a people, leads to discrimination against them by average citizens is a well documented fact. While Huntley may be correct or incorrect in his claims, and the independent findings of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, that South Africa is racist against Caucasians, may be correct or wrong, it is not a case to dismiss out of hand.
Editorially
I have previously seemingly seen odd discrepencies between what eye witnesses told police at an accident, and the way cars were situated, and what was seemingly recorded by police- in an incident between a black and white driver.
The claims by Huntley, that he feared the police, are also not to be laughed at. Similar claims have been made in relation to the Witch hunts, in which ANC activists allegedly (according to information from the University of the Witswatersrand) insured, that women and children were burnt as "witches", at the same time as "traitors" were being burnt alive in the townships. Allegedly, the police believed the claims against the "witches", and were not much help to victims' families. In a country where Xenophobia just recently broke out: resulting in the murder of foreigners, race and nationality has to be seen as an issue. The police, and government are members of the population and could be infected by the same bias as the population.
Statements by important ANC figures against white South Africans, and similar incidences, certainly do not lend towards the claims of Huntley being as completely unthinkable, as the Department of Home Affairs claims they are. It may be noted that this is a Department which is attempting to get the ruling granting Huntley Refugee Status ...overruled.
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