After ‘Freeing the Beaches’ it’s time to ‘Free our Minds’

Holidaymakers enjoying themselves at the beach during the December break. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/Independent Media

Holidaymakers enjoying themselves at the beach during the December break. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/Independent Media

Published Jan 3, 2017

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Freeing our minds is the key to creating a non-racial, non-sexist democracy, writes Michael Sutcliffe.

New Year’s Eve and Day are, for me, two of the most refreshing and reinvigorating days in the year.

Refreshing, because the weather is usually good, and re-invigorating because it is the one place and the one time that the real fruits of democracy are obvious.

I grew up in Warner Beach, and we often used to act in an arrogant way towards the “Vaalies” - white people who descended on “our” shores for their Christmas break.

Of course, most black South Africans could not afford to have a holiday at the sea, but if they could, they were confined to visit the single resort at uMgababa, or a few places in Durban that were reserved for black occupation.

Black South Africans could not go to even the cheapest of accommodation rooms at hotels or boarding houses along the coast. Almost all of the developed beaches were not accessible to the majority of South Africans.

At the same time, the majority of the whites holidaying then at the coast were working class, spending their hard-earned money on their only real holiday of the year.

Year after year they visited the coast. I remember meeting some who had never seen the sea before. They often stayed on the beach until late at night.

They loved that their beach holiday helped to get them refreshed and ready for the year ahead.

They did not think of apartheid, or probably even understand what it meant for the majority of South Africans.

Even when they went to the beaches and entered the “white” entrances, they did not realise that the only black people on the majority of beaches were servants looking after white children or workers.

Mike Sutcliffe is a former eThekwini mayor.

Most white people I have spoken to did not even realise that separate entrances for whites and blacks existed on these beaches.

Every year, the changing and improving economic status of these white South Africans was evidenced as they moved from staying in caravan parks and tents through to boarding houses and then to hotels.

The costumes they wore on the beaches reflected this too, together with all the paraphernalia associated with experiencing the beachfront in different ways, from scuba diving to surfing to belly-boarding.

When 1994 came about, these same South Africans moved on to places further north of Durban such as uMhlanga and Zimbali, and then on to Mozambique. Others moved on to Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay.

For black South Africans, and particularly working-class people, their choices were much more limited. As a result, in the late 1980s, when our liberation movement led by the ANC started dismantling apartheid, we focused on all public facilities, freeing hospitals, parks and the like.

The UDF affiliate that I chaired - the Durban Democratic Association - was given the task of “Freeing the Beaches”, and this we did.

We arranged a march in 1989 to do so, but even though we had thousands of non-racial marchers marching from Addington Beach, the apartheid regime had an equal number of police, soldiers, dogs and all their brutal paraphernalia to stop us. However, we marched peacefully and freed the beaches.

Whilst from that day onwards all South Africans could enjoy the beach, our task was not complete.

We had to make the space ­inviting and amenable to all. We did not want the public space to be privatised.

In Durban, we built the eThekwini beachfront promenade and destroyed as many of these apartheid monstrosities as we could. We took out the exotic trees which hid criminals and created a walkway that was open to all.

We encouraged access, and we now see working-class people spending their hard-earned money to enjoy themselves.

Informal traders have a field day, beach staff are overworked, but each year we find improvements and, personally, there is no place I would rather be on New Year’s Eve than at the Durban beachfront.

I love the fact that some people now arrive with tents and enjoy the beach with their whole, extended family arriving to enjoy it with them.

I love that fact that now young people can jive and enjoy their music without someone telling them to stop. I love the fact that I feel so safe walking in these crowds.

I marvel at people singing as they wade in the waves. I love seeing families having a great time, surrounded by people, relaxing and enjoying such a wonderful space.

Today, when I walked along the promenade, I loved having young black South Africans interpreting the public announcements made in isiZulu, telling me to be wary of criminals who want to steal things.

Safety lies in all of us understanding that our best strategy to improve security is to increase access, knock down the walls and communicate with each other.

The freedom we are working towards requires us to continue with the democratic project, to understand it and be part of it.

I wish that those whose minds are still formed by the past, and even leaders of mine who spend their lives in five-star comfort, would next year spend a day on the beach, my beach, or other places where working-class South Africans now enjoy at least one day of happiness.

Maybe that will help us to cleanse our minds as we continue creating that non-racial, non-sexist democracy for which we are striving.

* Michael Sutcliffe is the former municipal manager of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

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