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As the United States is about to enter
into another national election, I thought I would share something
about my experiences in South Africa. It's hard to believe that
12 years have passed since South Africa held it's first democratic
election. Many of us thought this would never happen in our lifetime.
Serving as an international observer in those elections in 1994
was almost a surreal experience.
So many memories are invoked as I think about it all. Involvement
in the anti-apartheid movement in years prior to the election
gave resonance to this experience. One of our mentors in the
movement in Atlanta, and in the U.S. generally, was Tandi Gcabashe
who was exiled in the United States for decades. She was the
daughter of the great Chief Albert Luthuli who was head of the
African National Congress (ANC), the first African Nobel Peace
Prize winner, in 1961, for his part in the anti-Apartheid struggle,
and who was killed mysteriously in 1967 in Natal, South Africa.
I remember how, in the 1980's, Tandi would challenge us relentlessly
to act and to organize! Once when we were planning one of our
many demonstrations, it was raining and miserable. I told Tandi
I didn't think folks would be coming out for the event so perhaps
it should be cancelled. She reprimanded me by saying, "Heather,
South Africans continue to be oppressed whether it rains or shines.
The least we can do is demonstrate in bad weather." Indeed!
We demonstrated!
I recall when Tandi wanted to go back to South Africa in the
late 1980's to visit her ailing mother and that she couldn't
obtain a visa from the South African government. Finally, after
a white South African came to her aide, she received a visa from
the South African consulate in Houston, Texas. It was a long
time coming. Later, Tandi told me she saw the files of her activities
in the United States that were in the South African consulate.
"They were huge," she said. "They included even
speeches I had written but never given." Everyone knew the
South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS) was everywhere.
Its violence was renowned, from letter bombings to harassment
and other oppressive chilling activities all over the world.
This was clearly a concrete demonstration of its thorough work.
I recall when Neo Mnumzana, head of the ANC observer mission
at the United Nations, spoke at an event in Atlanta in which
South African and non-South African white panelists told him
what they thought should be the goals of the freedom movement.
I listened in amazement and disbelief at it all as they challenged
his opinions. Neo told me later that whites, "Never want
us to be truly free or make our own decisions." Regarding
Black Americans, Neo also told me that many of them think they
are free because they have cars, live in suburbs and have the
appearance of independence. But, he said, "No matter how
much you turn the slave cabin into a palace, or plait the chains
of slavery with gold, you will never be free if you don't have
the right of self-determination."
Many of my ANC friends had expected that if the South African
apartheid government fell, the U.S. would engage in a "contra-like"
invasion similar to Ronald Reagan's tragic contra war against
the Nicaraguan revolution. Some also told me that if a change
is to take place, it had best happen while the Democrats are
in power. In fact, under George Bush I in the late 1980's, there
were questionable rehabilitation activities in airbases in Zaire,
which some thought might be in preparation for a U.S. invasion.
The U.S. government and the right-wing, with the likes of Reverend
Pat Robertson, had, after-all, been supportive of the anti-freedom
efforts in southern Africa for years. Examples are abundant of
course, but Angola is a striking and painful one. The U.S. had
supported and supplied thousands of land mines (left over from
the Vietnam War) to forces in Angola opposed to the revolutionary
government that had wrenched itself from Portuguese colonial
rule in 1975. These mines still plague the Angolan people. Angola
used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa. Now, when farmers
go into the fields, there is still a threat of being blown to
bits or losing limbs from land mines. Angola has held the record
for having the largest number of amputees per capita in the world.
In Atlanta, for a while, living in my house was David Ndaba,
his wife Thabi and one year old son Suku. David, as a young South
African student in Soweto, had participated in the 1976 Soweto
Student Uprising that resulted in the tragic harassment and death
of students by the South African police. The students were protesting
the apartheid government's plans to teach only in Afrikaans -
the language of the oppressor. A brilliant math student, David
was forced to leave South Africa and his plans for a medical
degree. Finally, after spending time at the ANC Observer Mission
at the United Nations, he was accepted into the Morehouse Medical
School in the 1980's. He ultimately became the personal physician
of Mandela's successor, the current South African President Thabo
Mbeki.
And so here it was, in 1994, with Democrat Bill Clinton in the
White House, that many of us ventured to observe the election
of ANC leader Nelson Mandela as he became the president of a
new democratic South Africa. Many from the U.S. chose not to
come to South Africa because there had been violence prior to
the election and more was thought to be in the offing.
I was there with an Atlanta group of activists under the auspices
of the U.S. based Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
We first gathered in Johannesburg before we went to our various
locations to observe. While there I asked my ANC friends if I
could meet the person in the ANC most involved with land issues.
They promptly introduced me to Derrick Hanekom who, that very
day, had been appointed by Mandela to serve as his Minister of
Land Affairs. With Hanekom and others, I learned about the land
movement in South Africa, how challenging it had been (and continues
to be, of course) and about the imprisonment of almost all these
folks, including Hanekom, as they fought for land reform and
freedom during the apartheid years.
I recall how, in Johannesburg, a representative of the U.S. Embassy
tried to warn us that some of us might not live through the South
African elections. He was booed from the stage and out of the
room. One observer stood to tell him "We have been working
for this auspicious election for most of our adult lives in America
and in our support of the South African freedom struggle. We
will not allow you to destroy this moment for us!" The effort
could be dangerous, however, and most of us knew that.
That same evening, the representative from the Lawyers Committee
told us, tongue in cheek, that "We know we have observers
here from Chicago. We doubt, however, how Chicago voters can
contribute to a fair and free election in South Africa!"
Everyone in the room burst into laughter, especially the Chicago
group including, the course, the renowned organizer and anti-apartheid
activist Prexy Nesbitt--everyone knew that Chicagoans have been
famous for voting early and often.
Prexy tells me that at the
orientation that evening when the US Embassy representative
got booed off the stage, "the late and wonderful African
American lawyer, Haywood Burns, walked up to me upon learning
that I was going to be observing in violence-ridden Natal Province,embraced
me and said, 'Prexy, I've known you too many years. Don't let
your crazy-ass self get hurt over that in Buthelezi territory!!'
How ironic and sad that that same wonderful man would a few years
later be killed in a Cape Town traffic accident while doing legal
solidarity work in the country!Like so many other internationals
he left a great legacy for not only South Africans but for all
the world to grow upon." (Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi
was the head of the Inkatha Freedom Party in opposition to the
Mandela and the African National Congress.)
The organizing prior to the election was impressive. There were
people of all races working together to ensure a successful and
inclusive election. We in the United States could learn considerably
from the South Africans.
As it was recognized that many South Africans could neither read
nor write, the paper ballot lended itself to an inclusive process.
One line was devoted to each party. On the line there was the
name of the party (i.e. African National Congress), the logo
of the party, the initial of the party (ANC) and the photo of
the leader of the party (Mandela). Voters selected the political
party of their choice by placing a mark on the line of the party
they wanted.
I went with some in my group to observe the election in Cape
Town. When we arrived the city was rather a ghost town. Many
white South Africans had left as they feared the possible eruption
of violence and tourists were non-existent. From my hotel I could
see Robben Island where Mandela had been imprisoned. We went
to political rallies a few days before the election that included
the Democratic Party, the ANC, the Pan African Congress Party
and the National Party of the incumbent president F. W. DeKlerk.
While taking a break from the rallies and having tea in a café,
we heard sirens and looked up to see DeKlerk walking down the
street. Suddenly there was a throng of defiant and jubilant ANC
supporters following him while shouting chants and dancing the
famous and invigorating "toi toi". They shouted "One
Mandela--One president". I found myself caught in the throng
and took countless pictures, while holding up my tape recorder.
On April 26 the first voters I observed were in Polsmoor Prison
where Mandela had once been imprisoned before he was moved to
Robben Island. We were shown his cell. We observed prisoners
voting in the minimum, medium, and maximum-security areas of
the prison. It was one of my most memorable experiences. After
one maximum-security prisoner voted he lifted his arms and shouted
"Yes". Many of us wondered what we in the United States
do to help prisoners to vote.
The ANC had wanted all prisoners to vote. The day before the
election, however, the National Party government forced a compromise
that all prisoners could vote, except those accused of murder.
The prisoners revolted because of this ruling and, as we drove
to the prison, hanging from many of the windows were burned mattresses
as a profound symbol of discontent.
All over Cape Town there were huge long lines of voters. Many
stood in the heat for hours. People were scurrying around to
help the elders and bring them to the front of the line. Everyone
seemed anxious to vote. There was electricity and excitement
in the air. I met whites who were voting for the first time as
well--some had refused to vote during the apartheid era.
In one "colored" area of Cape Town we encountered potential
violence between two rival groups of ANC and Democratic Party
supporters. (In South Africa there was a tiered hierarchy of
whites, colored and blacks with rights being accorded based on
color. Blacks were given the least rights of all, in their own
country no less!). As the tension rose with yelling and screaming
from both sides of the street, I found myself along with others
falling on the ground for protection. Two South African anti-personnel
carriers suddenly appeared. The tension was dispelled. As in
the United States, the hierarchy of status based on color is
almost always divisive, with the classic divide and rule scenario
as a result.
We went to a hospital where organizers were assisting patients
to vote. It was impressive. If patients could not walk to the
voting booth, the booth was brought to their room. I talked to
one young white organizer who was helping black patients to vote.
He said, "We will do everything we can to help people vote."
After the election, we observed the counting of the vote. It
was perhaps one of the most explicit examples of successful electoral
democracy at work. The ballot boxes were brought in trucks to
the City Hall in Cape Town. As the ballot boxes were taken off
the truck we were there. Each box was sealed. We recorded the
province the box came from, the Box number and the seal number.
For example, in my notebook the first box I recorded was from
Station AO512, the Box Number was 049053, and the Seal Number
was 260991. I recorded 63 boxes altogether.
Then came the counting. The hall was filled with tables. At each
table there were representatives of the various parties as the
ballots were counted. When each ballot was taken from the box,
the voter's choice was verbally announced and then it was written
in the tally sheets. If there was a dispute about what the voter
intended, all parties at the table made the determination on
the spot about what to do with the ballot. With numerous witnesses,
that included representatives of various parties, there appeared
to be a level of confidence in the counting. Something we in
the United States seem to be lacking at present.
The election process was with the direct involvement of the people.
It was the people themselves being responsible for their election
and the counting of the ballots. It did not include a computer,
not a touch screen instrument of questionable integrity, but
people, warm bodies, making collective decisions and counting
the ballots. I was in awe and wondered why those in the United
States can't seem to do this.
I stayed for Nelson Mandela's inauguration that took place in
Pretoria and what a celebration it was. Tandi Gcabashe and her
mother were on the stage. Tandi told me that she mentioned to
her ANC colleagues that the South African whites were probably
helping the ANC with the protocol of what to do with all the
international dignitaries who came to the ceremony. She was told,
however, that the whites were clueless, as for years they had
been ostracized by world governments and hadn't experienced anything
like this. A new day had come to be sure.
I shared the feelings of many when I presented the following
in prose to Tandi in Johannesburg before she left for Natal to
observe the elections, "The generosity, beauty, wisdom
and humility are Tandi, but more than that...It is the richness
of her African soul which has emanated and profoundly touched
her countless sisters and brothers on both continents. As our
mentor and learned teacher she has drawn us to Africa. Tandi,
we are honored to hold your hand in the land of your ancestors.
This moment, this day, this year are yours and that of your people(we)
thank you for allowing us the privilege of sharing this unprecedented
historical moment with you."
Tandi, who now lives in South
Africa, embodies the African philosophy of "umbuntu"
(people being connected to one another,"an injury to one
is an injury to all") that is consistently promoted by the
South African leader Bishop Tutu.
There are, today, enormous challenges in South Africa. It will
take years for South Africans to turn around the mess created
by Europeans in that beautiful country. And the election process
in 1994 was not perfect--is it ever? But, oh, what a thrill and
privilege it was to be there!
Heather Gray produces "Just Peace" on
WRFG-Atlanta 89.3 FM covering local, regional, national and international
news. She can be reached at hmcgray@earthlink.net.
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