INLSA

Jackie Loos

Older readers will remember the hateful propaganda the Nationalist government employed to convey the apartheid message to white voters and the world at large.

Fifty-five years ago, the Nats had been in power for almost nine years and prime ministers DF Malan and JG Strijdom had introduced a raft of discriminatory legislation designed to exclude 11 million people of colour from the political, social and economic mainstream, which was geared to serve the needs of about 3 million whites.

They preached their gospel of inequality in churches, schools and Parliament and contorted truth and logic in publications like the annual State of the Union Year-book, which was meant to impress potential foreign investors.

The compilers of the 1957 edition took no notice of the meeting of the Congress of the People in Kliptown in June 1955, where 20 000 participants of all races had called for a multi-racial democracy and the protection of all before the law.

These demands were published in a Freedom Charter which was adopted by the ANC the following year.

Instead, readers were told that, unlike other colonisers, the Dutch had been under orders to maintain friendly relations with the indigenous people of the Cape and not exterminate them, a policy which had guided the country’s rulers ever since settlement in 1652.

“Under the benevolent care of their white rulers, the non-Whites not only survived the impact of White civilisation, but began to increase to such an extent that they outnumber the Whites nearly 5:1.

“In consequence, a complicated racial pattern has developed, which brought in train delicate political and social problems (that) few other countries have had to face.”

These “delicate problems” were briefly discussed under the heading “Co-existence of Black and White”, which included the following mind-boggling delusions:

l “At no time did European settlers exterminate Bantu tribes or rob them of their lands.”

l “Being devout Christians, White South Africans have always approached the racial question in a spirit of tolerance. White rule has brought peace to the Bantu.”

l “If the Whites had allowed the Bantu to continue their old barbarous way of life, the ratio between Black and White would, in all probability, be much more favourable to the latter, and many problems emanating from the multi-racial composition of the population would be easy of solution.”

l The Bantu have had ample opportunity to demonstrate their abilities by developing their own reserves. These fertile lands, however, have remained the most backward areas in the country.

l “Being born imitators, the Bantu might adopt the outward forms of western civilisation (if they were granted democratic rights) but this new civilisation would remain Bantu in essence, and the Western World would have no guarantee that South Africa, with all its riches, would remain within the western orbit.

“White leadership is the only way of keeping South Africa a member of the free world.”

Segregation was mooted as the best way to protect what the whites had achieved, without doing injustice to blacks or stunting their progress.

Millions of pounds would be spent annually to develop blacks in their reserves and townships.

“Segregation protects the Bantu no less than the Whites. It is not a repressive measure which will delay their advancement. Full partnership with the Whites would probably create a feeling of frustration in the Black people because… the masses of the Bantu are not capable of holding their own against the superior knowledge and experience of the Whites.”

And so the sorry charade continued. Church and mission schools which catered for black pupils were accused of turning them into unemployable Europeans instead of “good Bantu”, and the introduction of the despised Bantu Education system in the mid-1950s was described as “an attempt to arouse the pride of the Bantu in all that was good in their past, while preparing them for life in a civilised society”.

Newly-built segregated townships were said to be provided with schools, playgrounds, community halls, cinemas and churches.

“Though houses are standardised, monotony is avoided by curving the streets and planting trees. Small as the house may be, each house has its own garden, an amenity which few workmen in Europe can call their own.”

Overseas visitors were apparently eager to inspect South Africa’s low-cost housing projects, despite the “inefficiency” of black building workers, some of whom were said to be unable to master the concept of a straight line.

“Their tribal huts having always been round, they have become accustomed to circles and they have not the eye for seeing whether a wall is straight or not.”

Nevertheless, the compilers ventured to suggest that building houses might well resolve the nation’s political difficulties.

“Though much remains to be done, there is hope for the Bantu. Solving the housing problem will solve many other problems arising from South Africa’s multi-racial society.”

Viva 1994, viva.