Mbongeni Ngema’s song ‘AmaNdiya’ has elicited a wide range of reactions that are indicative of a polarized and divided society. The outpouring of vitriolic emotions on either side of the Indian-African divide should signal to us the urgent need to address the racial and ethnic divisions that continue to plague our country. Amidst all the accusations and counter accusations of racism, we should not lose sight of the big picture of a democratic non-racial South Africa that we are all striving for.

We are still a society in transition from the apartheid era of racial domination and exclusion based on the myth of the superiority of one race over the other, where social, political and economic privileges were allocated on the basis of the colour of one’s skin. Even among the black majority, apartheid created yet more divisions and imposed hierarchies of privilege. There is still a tendency for the different groups that make up our society to see themselves according to the hierarchical social identities of the past, where one group sees the other as inferior or superior. These perceptions lie at the heart of the furore ignited by Ngema’s song. Alongside these perceptions is the reality of the vast economic disparities resulting from past policies. The legacy of this past continues to live on. A sad and regrettable consequence of this legacy shows up when victims of apartheid fight among themselves.

It is in this context that we remind the nation of the message from President Mbeki in his first State of the Nation Address to mark the official opening of Parliament in February 2000. He urged the citizens of this country to begin engaging in dialogue in order to move us faster towards the goal of a non-racial, democratic society. The challenge is for each of us in this country to be an active participant in moving us towards that common goal. In redressing the wrongs of the past, our focus has largely been on the black-white divide. The different interpretations of Mbongeni Ngema’s lyrics show that we have not given as much attention to ethnic and other important divisions. These have in turn generated their own forms of discrimination and intolerance which we are now witnessing; Indians against Africans and dangerously negative attitudes among Africans based on ethnic distinctions.

In order to combat the scourge of racism and related intolerance in our society, we have to seriously engage in public debate that takes its cue from the preamble of our Constitution: ‘ We the People of South Africa, Recognize the injustices of the past, Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, United in our diversity”. This preamble recognizes the central task of uniting a country torn apart by artificial divisions. The Constitution establishes the new values of equality, justice and human dignity at broad societal level. But it would be naïve to expect the deep racial and ethnic divisions to disappear on their own. The debate that we need to engage in requires that we take these values to community and personal levels, which means changing our attitudes towards those seen as belonging to other groups. This means understanding each one of the rights enshrined in our Constitution and living up to them. The first of these, the right to equality refers to the very basic idea that we are all equals. Understanding this right, observing it and respecting it in our actions and relationships with others will take a major shift in our attitudes and worldview.

An important tool in this process is the Millennium Statement and Programme of Action that came out of the National Conference on Racism. Adopted by the about 1,000 delegates from across all sectors of SA society, the Millennium Statement proposed that Government and Parliament should declare 2001-2010 as the Decade for National Mobilization against Racism. This is an essential element in the reconciliation process necessary to build our nation. The Statement further proposed that the SAHRC should develop and adopt a National Action Plan and Strategy to Combat Racism. The SAHRC has indeed begun work on such a plan. The main aim is an integrated and systematic national strategy made up of sustained and coordinated measures to be undertaken by the country as a whole. The SAHRC intends to give priority to the implementation of this plan. In the light of reactions to the lyrics of ‘AmaNdiya’, emphasis should especially be given to respecting the diversity of our cultures. The first step though is to provide support to communities threatened by the emergence of serious communication barriers such as we see developing in KZN.

In response to lyrics of ‘AmaNdiya’, the Commission appeals to all South Africans, musicians included, to find more constructive ways of raising and addressing social issues such as racism and this should be in line with one of our founding constitutional values of our country-‘respect and promotion of human dignity’. This is a challenge for all of us including Mr Ngema and his song.

Finally, it is important to emphasize that we as a country.

And a people, have the courage to raise and address difficult and painful issues such as racism, gender discrimination, poverty and other inequalities that affect most of our people and that deprives them of a meaningful enjoyment of their human rights.

ISSUED BY: THE SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION PHONE: 011 484 8300

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