The Black Sash, Vol. 34, No. 3

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Page 1 of 54 Alternative title The Black SashThe Black Sash Author/Creator The Black Sash (Cape Town) Publisher The Black Sash (Cape Town) Date 1992-01 Resource type Journals (Periodicals) Language Afrikaans, English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1991 Source Digital Imaging South Africa (DISA) Relation The Black Sash (1956-1969); continued by Sash (1969-1994) Rights By kind permission of Black Sash. Format extent 52 page(s) (length/size)

Page 2 of 54 Volume 34 Number 3 January 1992THE LAND QUESTIONAPARTHEID'S EARTH LEGACYLAND OWNERSHIP AND THE RIGHT TO SHELTERTHE DAY THE BLACK SASH TOOK ON BOPTHE TAXI WAR AS A TACTIC

Page 3 of 54 SASH .1 y, I)-'Above:Living in Oukasie, a reprieved townshipoutside Brits, Western Transvaal.Opposite:Threatened with removal but makingscones in Machakaneng.Volume 34 Number 3 January 1992SASHcontentseditorial rural womenJanet Small and Mamlydia Kompereport on a growing force5the right to privateproperty or the rightto shelter?Sheena Duncan presents anargument which appeals to an innatesense of justice8apartheid's earthlegacyA scarce resource is deeplydamaged, says Lesley Lawson13goedgevonden: acase studyGeoffrey Budlender details a case ofunfinished business15the day the blacksash took on bopPat Tucker's response to four daysof dire straits in bophuthatswana -with humour

Page 4 of 54 January 1992 SASH17 36human rights land reform: amonitor, I presume? question of prioritiesFirst and Third World tensions Theresa Fleming takes a cool look atoutlined by Mary Burton land-policy issues19 international network:peace and the police38land tenure out ofafricaMignonne Breier examines thecurrent state of violence225 Long Street, 7700 Mowbray, SouthAfrica. Local subscriptions per yeartaxi war as a tactic 41 (postage included):A regional case study reveals themes three tributes South Africa: R15,00of national significance, Ros Bush To Aung San Suu Kyi, Nadine External subscriptions per year (air-argues Gordimer and Mama Zihlangu26 mail postage):Botswana, Malawi, Zambia andZimbabwe: R30,00in community UK and Europe: R37,0042 United States and Canada: R45,00Photo essay by Gill de vlieg reviews Australia and-Zealand: R50,00NB: If making payment from outside30 South Africa please add R10,00 tothe language struggle 46 cover bank charges (cheque payable toThe Black Sash).Gudrun Oberprieler introduces a letters Black Sash Officestopic of major future importance Headquarters: 5 Long Street,48 7700 Mowbray, South Africa685-351333 Telephone: (021)1ax: (021)685-7510news-stripanother betrayalThe story of the KobusPienaar Mfengu byLala Steyn focuses on lessons fromAfircan experenceSASH magazineSASH magazine is the official journal ofthe Black Sash. It is published threetimes a year under a system of rotatingeditors. While editorials and editorialpolicy adhere broadly to the policies ofthe Black Sash, the views and opinionsexpressed in other material do not nec-essarily reflect the opinions of theBlack Sash.All political comment in this issue,except where otherwise stated, is byPat Tucker, 5 Long Street, 7700Mowbray.The contents of this magazine areprotected by copyright. Application forpermission to reproduce may be ob-tained from the Black Sash, 5 LongStreet, 7700 Mowbray; telephone(021) 685 3513, facsimile (021) 6857510. in the USA permission should besought from the Fund for Free Expres-sion, 485 Fifth Avenue, NewYork~N Y, 0017-6104.Published by the Black Sash, 5 LongStreet, 7700 MowbrayPrinted by Clyson Printers (Pty) LtdDesktop publishing by birga thomasSA ISSN 0030-4843Subscriptions

Page 5 of 54 4 SASH Januan 1992EDITORIAL COMMITTEECoordinating editorSarah Anne RaynhamEditor ,fbr this issuePat TuckerProofreading, layout and designSally AndersonBetty DavenportRos EmmanuelDomini LewisCandy MalherbeSarah-Anne Raynhambirga thomasShauna WestcottReviews editorNancy GordonArchive and distributionAnn MoldanLou ShawRegional representatives:AlbanyGlenda MorganBorderMarietjie MyburgCape EasternCathy HicksTransraulPat TuckerNatal CoastalAnn ColvinNatal MidlandsJenny ClarenceNorthern TransvaalIsie PretoriisSouthern CapeCarol Elphickeditorial`Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but in the seventh youshall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, andwhat they leave let the wild beasts eat ...'(Exodus 23.10 and 1 l )`Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyardand gather in the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath ofcomplete rest, a sabbath of the Lord ...'(Leviticus 25.2-4)T message is thousands of years old and rooted in caring-for the environmenthnd for those, human and animal, rich and poor, who inhabit it. It is as relevantnow as it was then but it is increasingly ignored by people who lay claim to`civilisation' but who, in the pursuit of greed, use latter-day laws and sophisticatedtechnology to disinherit their compatriots and destroy their heritage.Much of this issue focuses on what, in these transitional times, has become oneof the crucial debates - the question of land, its allocation, its preservation and itsrestoration to those who, through the long, eroding and corrupting apartheid years,have been deprived of what was theirs.We focus on the plight of communities who have been robbed of their inheri-tance; on the plight of land leeched beyond endurance by the overpopulationinduced by homeland and influx control legislation, by poverty, ignorance anddeprivation. We look at issues of priorities in land reform and the vexed questionof whether property interests should be enshrined in a bill of rights.No conclusions are reached. The intention is simply to throw some light on thedebate and raise some questions in the minds of those who are moving towards andthinking about a new dispensation.And in the process of examining our relation to the land, we should consider thatthe notion of ownership of the land has not always been a given. As she looks atthe question of property rights, Sheena Duncan quotes Leviticus (25.23-24) in thisregard: `... the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you arebut strangers resident with Me. Throughout the land that you hold, you must providefor the redemption of the land.'

Page 6 of 54 lanuurv 1992 SASH rJThe understanding that human beings arestewards rather than owners of the landmay be the basis for a creative solutionto the redistribution debate. In this firstof the articles on the land issue preparedby the Transvaal region of the BlackSash, Sheena Duncan examines thecontentious issue of property rightsthe right toprivate propertyor the rightto shelter?`The inevitable clash will occur over property rights, and itcannot be expected that either side will back down withouta fight. Vested property interests - like those of the monar-chy, nobility and clerics of revolutionary France - will at-tempt to thwart the ambitions of the newly enfranchisedpopulation as far as possible. One of their principal weap-ons of defence will be the bill of rights, and the variouscourts of law which will be called upon to enforce it.'[Donald Leyshon, Leadership, vol. 9, Dec./Jan. 1990/91]Approximately seven million South Africans are with-out adequate shelter - `adequate' being defined onlyas protection from the elements and security of tenure.This is not the consequence of the lifting of influxcontrol but is the result of the freeze on the provision offamily accommodation for black people in the urban areasand the rigid enforcement of the migrant-labour system,both of which were intensified by the National Partygovernment in 1968.`... use of the land for the production of food for family,community and nation'16th century scene from A Book of Diverse Devices

Page 7 of 54 SASH January 1992`Should anyperson beallowed theconstitutionalprotection ofownership ofproperty withwas unjustlytaken awayfromothers ...?'Over 86 per cent of the land area of SouthAfrica is owned by 25 per cent of the popula-tion, most of them white - private individuals,large corporations and the state. Most of the 14per cent set aside for occupation by the blackpopulation is also owned by the state withownership vested in the homeland governments.The repeal of the land acts and the GroupAreas Act will enable some wealthy people whoare black to acquire property, but will not makeany difference to the dispossessed in the fore-seeable future.Much of the land owned by white interests isnot used. It was purchased with a view to futureprofits and lies fallow around the cities and inrural areas as an easy means of enrichment inthe future, or as a tax advantage in the present.The dispossession of black people has been apattern throughout the 340 years of whitecolonial occupation of South Africa. In the 20years between 1960 and 1980, more than threemillion people were removed in terms of thegovernment's resettlement policies and theGroup Areas Act, from land and property whichthey owned, or occupied and used.To enshrine the right to private property,subject only to the concept of `faircompensation' in the event of expropriation, ina constitutional bill of rights will, in the presentsituation in South Africa, enshrine and perpetu-ate injustice - an exceedingly dangerous thingto do. A bill of rights which seeks to entrenchthe status quo will inevitably be ignored andoverthrown however valuable its provisionsmay be.What, for instance, would constitute `faircompensation'?Is it what the purchaser paid for the propertyat the time of purchase - with or without anadjustment for inflation?Is it what the person or community whichwas dispossessed was paid in compensation- if they were paid at all?Is it current market prices - grossly distorted0ZaarUas they are by the fact that land has been heldunused for long periods and, in consequence,market forces have been manipulated to en-sure a shortage of a finite resource?Has any person the right to own land whichhe or she does not use and to seek constitutionalprotection to keep those in need of land forshelter or food production from making use ofit?Should any person be allowed the constitu-tional protection of ownership of propertywhich was unjustly taken away from others (inthe absence of any recognition of human rightsor their constitutional protection) to the exclu-sion of claims for restoration, restitution or, atthe very least, reparation?Surely the debate must begin with the priorright - the right of people to basic protectionfrom rain, wind and heat, the right to privacyand security of tenure, the right to the use ofland for the production of food for family,community and nation.Only if these factors are taken into consider-ation can we start to construct a bill of rightswhich will enable these needs to be met in thefuture.To take as the point of departure the enshrin-ing of the consequence of past injustice is toperpetuate that injustice and to make it almostcertain that a future democratically electedgovernment will be unable to fulfil the aspira-tions and demands of the deprived majority.That will, in turn, lead to the collapse of allorder, and bloody revolution.So, we cannot protect the rights of existingproperty owners at the present time in SouthAfrica. Those rights are in direct conflict withthe right of the homeless and landless to shelterand the means of production.We can, however, look for creative ways inwhich we can address the problems of bringinginto being a just social order. These solutions donot have to entail nationalisation which isexpensive to introduce and non-productive in itslong-term results.We must recognise the difference between`ownership' and usage. Ownership as defined inlaws inherited from Europe is a concept foreignto the people of Africa who understand land asbeing something given in trust into the steward-ship of the present generation by the ancestorsfor the benefit of future generations. It is to beused and preserved to that end and for no otherpurpose.This understanding is exactly the same as thebiblical understanding of land in relation tosociety and is the common inheritance of allthose brought up in the Judeo/Islamic/Christiantraditions:`Your land must not be sold on a permanentbasis, because you do not own it; it belongs toGod, and you are like foreigners who areallowed to make use of it.' (Leviticus 25:23)

Page 8 of 54 11 an-, 1992 SASH 7We need to note that the people we call`squatters' rarely move on to land that is beingused. The land they occupy is land that isindeed `owned' but is not being used in anyvisible way. It is `empty', just as the historybooks have taught our children through theyears of apartheid and before that the landappropriated by white settlers and trekkers was`empty'.Ironically, perhaps the way forward for us isthat designed by the private sector, through theefforts of the Urban Foundation, when theypersuaded the government to introduce the99-year leasehold system in 111.That, of course, did not affect land ownedprivately but led to a form of secure tenure onland owned by the state and its various agents inblack urban townships - the administrationboards, later development boards, and still laterblack local authorities.This is an absolutely secure form of tenurewhich begins the 99-year cycle again at eachtransfer of a house through sale or inheritance.The land itself remains the property of the statewhich can be translated as `the people' or, God'according to one's own interpretation of wordsand ideologies.What if that concept were to be enshrined ina bill of rights extended to all owners of unusedland? Some legal instrument needs to be de-vised which would compel all owners of unusedland to confer a secure leasehold title on thosewho will use the land for shelter or production.Existing rights of ownership would not beviolated and rules could be legislated to ensurethat if the owners needed to terminate theleasehold agreement for purposes in the publicinterest, they would have to prove the necessityin the courts and offer just compensation tothose who would have to be moved.That would be a more appropriate way ofprotecting the rights of ordinary people againstthe powers of the rich or the powers ofgovernment. It would approximate more closelythe concept of the jubilee year:`Count seven times seven years, a total offorty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of theseventh month, the Day of Atonement, send aman to blow a trumpet throughout the wholeland. In this way you shall set the fiftieth yearapart and proclaim freedom to all the inhabi-tants of the land ... In this year all property thathas been sold shall be restored to its originalowner. So when you sell land to your fellowIsraelite or buy land from him do not dealunfairly. The price is to be fixed according tothe number of years the land can produce cropsbefore the next Year of Restoration. If there aremany years the price shall be higher, but if thereare only a few years the price shall be lowerbecause what is being sold is the number ofcrops the land can produce.' (Leviticus 25)Perhaps that is what guided the UrbanFoundation in its efforts in the late seventies ...perhaps not! It certainly is a blueprint forleasehold rather than absolute ownership.And it is a sound foundation for constitu-tional thinking in South Africa at the presenttime if we are to secure people in all the variousforms of tenure which exist at present and makesure that they will not be further dispossessed inthe future by a bill of rights which entrenchesthe injustices of the past.Sheena Duncan is national advice office co-or-dinator of the Black Sash and a former nationalpresident.Land and ShelterStatement issued from the Black Sash national conferenceheld on 3 March 1991T he issue of fair and equitable access to land and shelter musthe addressed in the process of creating a new, just and stableSouth Africa.This is a matter of considerable legal and emotional complex-ity. It is a major point of conflict now, and will continue to be sountil a broadly accepted national policy can be established whicheffectively acknowledges - and fairly addresses - contendingclaims for the right to land and shelter including those which arenot necessarily based on the Western concept of private propertyand title deeds.The Black Sash believes that: all people are entitled to safe, secure and affordable shelter inan environment that provides opportunities for work and fulfil-ment of other basic needs;the process of developing an appropriate national policy onland and settlement must be based on the participation of all af-fected parties; andactions must not be taken now which preclude implementationof fair policy in the future.With the above in mind, the Black Sashcalls for a moratorium on the sale or lease of state, public andpara-statal land, if that transaction effectively removes landfrom a process of equitable distribution;calls for a moratorium on the arrests for `squatting', evictionsand demolitions of existing dwellings, and removals in the ab-sence of a suitable alternative;calls for the amendment of the Prevention of Illegal SquattingAct so as to afford the homeless assistance rather than persecu-tion;commits itself to a long-term campaign to inform itself and the=its on the range of contending perspectives onland and the right to shelter.`(Theleaseholdsystem] ... isan absolutelysecure formof tenurewhich beginsthe 99-yearcycle again ateach transferof a housethrough saleorinheritance'.

Page 9 of 54 SASH .larauary 1992apartheid'searth legacyThe irony and the tragedy of the heated contest over landis that so little of this frail resource is arable and somuch is damaged beyond repair. Lesley Lawson took thepictures and tells the story.Viewed from the air, the hills ofNatal bear vivid witness to thelegacy of apartheid. At first they aretopped by burnt-out circles, wherehomesteads have fallen in fiery battles.Then the hilltops begin to bleed withsoil erosion; here there are vaststretches of shacks, further on, the roll-ing fields of sugar cane.The apartheid years have left a tornand wounded land. They have createda divided agricultural system bothsides of which have serious inbuilt en-vironmental problems. They have alsolaid the basis for irrational urbanisa-

Page 10 of 54 January 1992 SASHThe Jukskei River flowing throughAlexandra township inJohannesburg 1991tion patterns which have destroyedgood farming land and are threateningthe quality of water and air.Homeland and influx control legis-lation created a period of ruralisationwhich is contrary to all world patterns.Between 1960 and 1980, the officialfigures, quoted by Wilson andRamphele in Uprooting Poverty, theSouth African Challenge, show thatthe population of the homelands in-creased from 4,5 to 11 million. Muchof this increase was caused by apart-heid policy. Today the averageamount of potentially arable land inthe homelands is 0,2 hectares per per-son.The equivalent in white farmingareas is nearly 20 times more (2,9 hect-ares per capita) (Christodoulou andVink, The Potential for Black Small-holder Farmers).Abednego Mvelase, a ruralfieldworker in the Herschel district ofTranskei, describes it like this: `TheLand Acts squashed us in here likesardines. Our people are growing innumber, but the land stays the samesize.'In fact he is wrong. The land isactually shrinking. This ongoing en-forced ruralisation had a direct andimmediate effect on the quality of theland which was already too scarce tosupport a viable rural economy. Over-population, overgrazing and inappro-priateland use have led to serious soilerosion in large parts of Transkei,Ciskei and KwaZulu. Dongas andsheet erosion take the place of grassand trees, leaving the land unusable.Creina Alcock, writing about ero-sion in the Msinga district of Natal,says: `Old fields have vanished com-pletely ... opening up extraordinary ex-panses of stone. Bedrock is beautiful,although there is a strangeness walk-ing on solid currents ... In 100 years acentimetre of dust will have grownfrom the rock. In 10 000 years therecould be soil to plough. Rock is notmotionless. But for a man in a hurry,bedrock is the end of time. When hehits bedrock, he is face to face withnothing.'Overcrowding and poverty havedamaged the land in other ways. Manyrural people rely on wood as theirmajor source of energy. Over the yearsdensely populated areas of the home-lands have become stripped of trees,leaving the bare hillsides even morevulnerable to erosion. For example, of250 woodlands identified in KwaZulu50 years ago, only one-fifth remain. Inthe Qwa;wa homeland there are noforests left at all.The shrinking of the forests createsterrible hardship for rural women whomust walk for hours a week to fetchfirewood. A 1986 study in Ciskei,Transkei, Lebowa and Gazankulushowed that the average round trip forwood varied from 5,6 to 9,4 km(Eberhart and Gandar, Energy, Pov-erty and Development in SouthAfrica).Soil erosion and deforestation inturn affect the country's river systems.The role of trees in catchment areas isto regulate the flow of water - withoutthem we are prone to flash floods anddrought. In addition, the topsoil lost byerosion lands up in the rivers in theform of silt, and exacerbates this pro-cess. Many of South Africa's majorrivers run through or originate in thehomelands. The Tugela, Caledon, Or-ange, Fish, Crocodile and Letaba riv-ers have all been affected by erosion(Cooper, From Soil Erosion to Sus-tainability).Without grass, soil or trees thehomelands have become barren homesindeed. Ecosystems have been de-stroyed and many of the natural plantsand animals have long since been lost.In some areas it has become difficultto find grass for thatching, or medici-nal herbs. And it is no longer possiblefor the hungry to live off the flesh andfruits of the bushveld.One Transkei farmer, NotobelaSiyatsha, who has lived in Sunduzavillage all her life said. `I am so wor-ried about the soil erosion, because ifthe ground keeps on going, how willwe live? We have no factories here.The soil is our factory and our wholelife is tied to it. I can still rememberwhen there were trees everywhere andthe soil was good.'In the white heartland, erosion isalso taking its toll. A recent Depart-ment of Agricultural Developmentstudy has shown that at least 9 millionhectares of arable land and 21 millionhectares of grazing land in the whitefarming areas is currently subjecteither to wind or water erosion. Of this,some 11 million hectares - or 13 percent of total white farming land - hasbeen damaged by mild or severeerosion.The cause in this case is inappropriateland use, much of which has been en-couraged by decades of government af-firmative action policies. From the1930s agricultural subsidies were de-signed to help poor farmers survive. By1970, these subsidies made up 20 percent of the average farming income. By1991, although the subsidy policy hadchanged, the agricultural debt amountedto over R17 billion. Rural researcherDavid Cooper writes: `Rather than help-ing agriculture as a sector, the subsidieshave retarded its productivity by keep-ing poor "unscientific" farmers on theland.'

Page 11 of 54 10 SASH Ja!iuary 1992Soil erosion in the Herschel district ofTranskeiSome of the subsidies actively en-couraged farming practices whichwere economic and ecological suicide.For example the maize subsidy -com-bined with a few good we, years -encouraged farmers to grow maize inunsuitable parts of the Transvaal andOrange Free State. In the droughtyears of the 1980s these areas began tocollapse.Karoo farmers have also abused theland. Huntley, Siegfried and Sunterestimate that these farmers have over-stocked their farms by about three mil-lion sheep. (Huntley, Siegfried andSunter, South jfican Environmentsinto the 21st Century) This is contrib-uting to the eastward encroachment ofthe Karoo desert. Bushveld andgrassveld systems in white rural SouthAfrica are also under pressure. Hunt-ley et al. estimate that the carryingcapacity of 14 million hectares -e,uivalent in size to Transkei,Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei -is rapidly decreasing because of bushencroachment.Ironically the lifting of the very leg-islation which condemned people tolife in degraded rural slums has led toa whole new range of environmentalproblems. Since the 1986 abolition ofinflux control, we have witnessedrapid urbanisation. The Urban Foun-dation estimates that some 750 000 aremoving into the urban areas everyyear. The majority of these people can-not be accommodated within the for-mal townships, and have made theirhomes in shacks on barren pieces ofland outside the city. About a quarterof the country's population is now liv-ing in these squatter camps. This island which, in a more rational society,is ideal for market gardening and othertypes of `urban' agriculture.For the residents of the camps, thelack of housing and service infrastruc-ture - water, sewage, electricity, re-fuse removal - makes for a miserablequality of,, fe. It is also threatening thequality of the water and the air for thewhole of South Africa. Air pollutionfrom informal and formal coal stoveshangs over the townships in the Vaaltriangle where acute respiratory infec-tion is becoming a major cause of childdeaths.A recent study has shown that thequality of water in the Pretori-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging area is de-teriorating. Researcher Hen, Coetzeewrites: `Urban settlements have a mas-sive impact on water quality. Runoffeffluent and seepage all affect rawwater quality.' A Centre for Scientificand Industrial Research study in thegreater Durban area has also shown ahigh degree of faecal contaminationfrom the runoff from informal settle-ments.It would be wrong to think that theapartheid system is entirely to blame forall of this. South Africa's environmentalproblems are also rooted in the fact thatwe have a poor resource base. Our cli-mate is dry and erratic; soils are thin andfragile. We have untrustworthy riversand insufficient ground water. In factonly about 11 per cent of our land isarable.But the very frailty of the resourcebase is reason enough to expect a govern-ment to structure land and agriculturalpolicies on principles of environmentalsustainability. However, decades of plan-ning have been in the service of an ideo-logical vision of the future - and in thisprocess the land itself has been hurt be-yond repair.Lesley Lawson is a writer andphotographer with a particularinterest in the environment.

Page 12 of 54 -u-1111 SASH 11organisingrural womenRural women, primary caretakers of the land, are begin-ning to assert their rights. Among their demands areequal rights to the land for women and representation inland-policy decisions. Lydia Kompe and Janet Smalldocument an emerging force.11has become something of a clicheto say that rural women in SouthAfrica are the most oppressed of thecountry's peoples. But while this factmay be generally accepted, most peo-ple have little understanding of what itmeans in reality and, like other facts oflife, such as the drought in the EasternCape, observers believe the situationis unchangeable, an unpleasant naturalphenomenon.Women themselves, though, are farfrom passive victims accepting theiroppression. Though women in remoterural areas often have little power orresources to challenge their materialand psychological oppression, in theTransvaal Rural Action Committee's(TRAC) experience, they are bothacutely conscious of the problems andconstantly seeking ways to changetheir circumstances.Recently, when TRAC fieldworkerswere discussing the question of watersupply in the villages of Moutse in theNorthern Transvaal, a local activisttold of direct action taken by a groupof women. There is only one boreholein the village of Mpeleng which pro-vides drinking water. The pump regu-larly breaks down leaving residentswithout water until officials from theDepartment of Development Aid senda technician to fix the pump, whichmight take a couple of weeks.In September 1991, a group of 200women marched to the local Depart-ment of Development Aid office anddelivered a petition demanding bettermaintenance of the water pump. Therewas no reporting of this event in news-papers. When we asked the activistwhy the press was not informed, hesaid the women did not want to delaytheir planned action while the presswere contacted. The march was an or-ganic action, arising from the dailyexperience of suffering in women'slives.This example gives some insight intothe basis of women's organisation inrural areas. Traditionally women aremembers of burial societies and churchclubs. Through these forums, they giveeach other and receive from each othermaterial assistance. TRAC fieldworkerLydia Kompe has been building on thesefoundations in the years she has beenworking with communities which haveengaged in struggles to resist forced re-movals and incorporations.

Page 13 of 54 12 SASH .-u- 1992`Women have to carry the full responsibility of the rural household,but in many instances they have not been given the authorityneeded for decision-making.'It is well documented that becauseof the apartheid policies of influx con-trol and migrant labour, women haveended up the majority of residents inrural areas. They have had to carry fullresponsibility both for managing thehousehold and for any agriculturalsubsistence.Betterment policies, forced remov-als and incorporations into homelandshave had a serious impact on people'saccess to land and ability to engage inviable agriculture. In earlier times,there was a strict gender division oflabour between men and women in thehousehold and in agriculture. The so-cial relations in the family have beenaffected by the destruction of thehousehold as a self-sufficient entity.Women have to carry the full respon-sibility of the rural household, but inmany instances they have not beengiven the authority needed for deci-sion-making. In some ways their posi-tion has become even less empowered.With the community-threateningcrises of forced removals and incorpo-rations, itwasthe women who facedthe bulldozers and policemen. Thewomen had the confrontations withofficials and received the eviction no-tices. It was also the women who hadto sustain the community in the dread-ful process of resettlement. They hadto reconstruct homes, find schoolingfor children and places to shop.In TRAC's experience, women wereusually the fiercest resisters becausethey stood to lose the most. The menwere full members of the community,but left most weeks for work in aneighbouring town. The day-to-dayexistence of the community was inthe hands of the women and the oldpeople.Traditional community decision-making structures such as the kgotla(community council or committee)most often comprise older males rep-resenting the family groups or kgoros.The kgotla discusses the situation, as-sesses all information and decides oncommunity strategy. Since in manytimes of crisis the decision-makerswere absent, they had to rely on reportsfrom their wives or sisters. TRACfieldworkers were able to use this ab-surd situation to promote the import-ance of including women in the actualdiscussions.It was exactly such a situation thatallowed the Mogopa women to getformal representation on the kgotla -a most unusual event. TRAC hasworked with women's groups in manycommunities, but in few other caseshas this work resulted in women gain-ing formal representation on suchbodies.The involvement of the women to-gether in the struggles has had an im-portant impact on their consciousness.For example, Braklaagte in the west-ern Transvaal, which was forcibly in-corporated into Bophuthatswana, hasa strong women's group. They or-ganised a stokvel or money collectionwhich was used in times of crisis tobail children out of jail, pay for trans-port of injured to hospital or conveysupporters to court cases. The abilityof the women to finance such activitieswhich were of general communityconcern helped to promote their stand-ing in the community and to bolstertheir self-esteem.In the 1990s, rural communities arefacing fewer old-style apartheidforced removals or incorporations. In-stead TRAC is being asked to assist withissues like reclaiming land, develop-ing neglected rural areas, negotiatingwith local authorities for resources andconsidering policy options for the fu-ture. The women's groups that beganor grew during the crises are still inplace. Their concerns now are the con-ditions under which people live today.TRAC has hosted forums for womenfrom distant rural communities in theTransvaal to meet together and talkand the issues arising are wide-rang-ing. The women speak of the poorinfrastructure which makes their livesso hard - inadequate water supply,poor health services and few educa-tional opportunities for their childrenor themselves. They have a well-de-veloped consciousness about nationalpolitical issues and about domesticmatters. Many of them are active sup-porters of political organisations suchas the African National Congress(ANC), but they express the need for aforum or association of rural womenwhich could deal with the real 'bread-and-butter' problems in their lives.The Rural Women's MovementIn April 1990, sixteen women's groupswhich had worked with -AC in the pastmet for a weekend workshop inMatjakaneng, near Brits. After compar-ing information about their areas andhistories, the women decided theywanted to formalise some kind of ruralwomen's association which would bringwomen together from time to time. TheRural Women's Movement, a loosestructure of women's groups, wasborn.At a follow-up meeting in October1990, an executive structure waselected. This executive has held threemeetings in 1991. Members of the ex-ecutive felt that groups with whichTRAC has contact in the northernTransvaal should be drawn into thestructure.TRAC held two workshops in thenorth - the first, in December 1990,brought five areas together and re-sulted in the election of three moreexecutive members. At that workshop,the women discussed the situation intheir areas and examined ways ofstrengthening their groups. There wasmuch discussion about demands forrights in a future South Africa.The northern Transvaal has strongtraditions of tribal authority and thewomen spoke about the `strongrepression' of women by chiefs. Theydid not reject the system of chiefs com-pletely, they merely wanted the chiefsto recognise and support women's ef-forts to organise. The participants alsodiscussed the problems with some ofthe local practices such as polygamywhich can cause terrible conflicts be-tween women. Delegates felt thatwomen's lack of independent accessto land in rural areas has been onereason why women have agreed topolygamous marriages.The second northern Transvaalworkshop, in May 1991, was forwomen's groups from Moutse, a large=en's 43 villages nearGroblersdal. Common problems aboutwater supply, no access to land, poorhealth facilities and inadequate educa-tional opportunities came up in reportsfrom the groups. Women agreed thatstrong organisation was the only wayto tackle these problems. They dis-cussed strategies for approaching the

Page 14 of 54 local tribal authority to get support totake up these struggles. They also sug-gested future policy changes whichwould address these problems in thelonger term.Delegates asserted that womenshould have independent rights toland, and women should be repre-sented on the land distribution mecha-nisms. Many opinions were airedabout the oppressive aspects of tradi-tion which affect women. It wasstrongly felt that though this was adifficult issue to tackle, because menfelt threatened, it was the responsibil-ity ofwomen to try and change oppres-sive practices in the interests of theirdaughters' futures.goedgevonden:a case studyThe 7 000 people of the Goedgevonden community areamong the millions whose struggle against forcedremoval and dispossession continues. Geoffrey Budlenderof the Legal Resources Centre outlines their embattledsituation.A draft constitution for ruralwomenThe Rural Women's Movement exec-utive drew up a draft constitution inJune 1991. The proposed constitutionoutlines the following aims: To create forums for rural womento unite against oppression;to demand that women have equalrights to land;to encourage women to be self-reliant, independent and creative;to achieve a situation in whichwomen have a say in political mat-ters at a national level and in ourcommunities;to help women gain access to lit-eracy, adult education and train-ing to improve their lives;to acquire =c es to developrural areas would improvewomen's daily lives,to provide opportunities to bringrural and urban women closer.The Rural Women's Movementsees itself open to all oppressed ruralwomen in the northern Cape andTransvaal who wish to join the strug-gle for women's rights. It is an import-ant start in the struggle forempowerment of a group of peoplewho have no intention of remainingforever oppressed.Janet Small and Mamlydia Kompeare TRAC fieldworkers.From 1947 the Goedgevonden com-munity, about 7 000 people, livedand farmed on several Ventersdorpfarms owned by the South African De-velopment Trust. As was common insuch areas, the people regarded the landas their own, although they were notformally the owners.A forced removal takes placeIn 1978 the community was removedagainst its will to the areas ofVrischgewaagd and Gannapan, interms of the `homeland consolidation'policy.After they had been moved, not allthe land which had been promised wasmade available to them. Their situa-tion was aggravated when additionalpeople were put on part of the landallocated to them. A once self-support-ing and contented community founditself reduced to an unproductive anddestitute condition.The government leased the land atGoedgevonden to white farmers, whouse it for grazing. Thus far the LegalResources Centre (LxC) has seen onlyone of these leases, which provides fora monthly rent of less than 17 cents perhectare. The other leases are appar-ently in similar terms. The leases aresubject to one month's notice.The settlement areas are incor-porated into Bophuthatswanawithout the consent of the com-munityIn 1984 Vrischgewaagd and Gannapanwere incorporated into Bophuthatswana- without consultation with the com-munity, and without its consent. Be-cause of its opposition to incorporationinto Bophuthatswana, the communityhas continually found itself at logger-heads with the Bophuthatswana author-ities. The authorities refuse to allowthem to hold meetings, and the policehave acted harshly against them.For many years, the communitymade repeated attempts to resolve itsproblems through negotiations withthe South African government.The Legal Resources Centrewrites to the state presidentasking for a meeting on thematterOn 2 February 1990 the community'sattorneys (-) wrote to the state presi-dent describing the community's prob-lems, and asking for a meeting withhim or a member of his cabinet todiscuss the matter.On 10 May 1990 the deputy minis-ter of Education and Development Aid(Piet Marais) replied that `... it will not

Page 15 of 54 14 SASH .Ianmy 1992be possible for me to grant you or yourclients an interview, due to the fact thatthey had no land rights at Goedgevondenand Velgevonden and that the farmsVrischgewaagd and Gannalaagte are nowincorporated into Bophuthatswana...'The letter suggested that the com-munity direct its complaints to thepresident of Bophuthatswana.On 29 May 1990 the LRC wrote toMr Marais pointing out that past at-tempts to negotiate with theBophuthatswana authorities had notonly been fruitless, but had com-pounded matters, as the communityhad been visited with harsh retributorymeasures. The letter urged the deputyminister to reverse the attitude ex-pressed in his letter, adding:`ln the light of what our clients per-ceived to be the South Africangovernment's betrayal of them; your re-fusal to meet with them; and now theadvertising for sale of the farms referredto above, we are instructed that our cli-ents have resolved to return to the landon which they were living prior to theirremoval to Vrischgewaagd andGannapan. Despite advising them of theconsequences of this course of action,they appear to be quite fearless in theirresolve. We have urged our clients notto embark upon this course of action, atleast pending your response to this letter.The disastrous consequences, for allconcerned, of an unsympathetic re-sponse from the South African govern-ment at this stage need hardly be stated.'The government refuses tomeet; the community returns tothe landThe government response was con-tained in a letter dated 7 August 1990from Mr Marais:`I have to inform you that as yourclients live in the independent country ofBophuthatswana, it would be inappro-priate and totally irregular for me toagree to meet them for discussions.'Its efforts to resolve its desperate sit-uation through negotiations havingfailed, the community decided to moveback to Goedgevonden. On 11 and 12April 1991 about 400 people moved onto the land at Goedgevonden and startedbuilding their homes.The Department of Agriculture thensealed off the area. A water truck pro-vided by Operation Hunger, a statehealth mobile clinic and trucks con-taining basic food supplies have notbeen allowed on to the land.An eviction order and the right toappeal are grantedThe state attorney - representing boththe minister of Agricultural Develop-ment and the white farmers who hadrented the land and adjoining farmsfrom the government-made an urgentapplication to the Supreme Court forthe eviction of the Goedgevondencommunity. Mr Justice Goldstein ulti-mately granted an eviction order, butmade the following remarks:`Given the profoundly tragic his-tory of this matter, no court can grantan order for eviction in the presentcircumstances affecting hundreds ofpeople without feelings of distress andanguish. But the principle at stake hereis a cornerstone of the rule of law. Theprinciple that no man may take the lawinto his own hands as the respondentshave done is sacrosanct ... It existedlong before the misfortune which dis-possessed the respondents was con-ceived of, and hopefully, it willcontinue to exist and be respected longafter that misfortune is corrected, andit and their pain are no more than a bloton the pages of our history books.'Judge Goldstein also remarked, inrelation to the government's refusal tomeet community representatives: `Itseems to me that the government com-mitted an error of judgement in adopt-ing this attitude. The fact that therespondents were living inBophuthatswana did not detract fromthe fact that their grievance related toevents in South Africa and that theylaid claim to ground in this country,both of which vitally concerned theSouth African govemment. Perhapstimeous negotiations which the re-spondents wished to engage in couldhave avoided the crisis which hasarisen here.'Judge Goldstein gave the commu-nity leave to appeal to the AppellateDivision against the eviction order.This means that the eviction order isstayed until the appeal has been de-cided. This will probably happen in1992.The AWB threatens thecommunityMeanwhile, on 18 April, the AfrikanerWeerstandsbeweging (AWB) and thelocal member of parliament held apublic meeting at Ventersdorp. At thatmeeting an ultimatum was issued: un-less the Goedgevonden communitymembers were removed within 30days, the AWB would remove them.On the night of 10 May a largegroup of white farmers, apparentlyfrom a wide area, made two attacks onthe community. They were repulsedby the police and thereafter attacked aneighbouring black community.Community members made an ur-gent application to the Supreme Courtfor an order interdicting the AWB andMr Eugene TerreBlanche from attack-ing them. In due course, an interdictwas granted.The community representativesand the `task force' meetDuring the court proceedings, com-munity members and LRC and Trans-vaal Rural Action Committee (TRAC)representatives finally obtained thelong-sought interview with the gov-ernment. They met three cabinet min-isters (Justice, Development Aid andAgriculture) and two deputy minis-ters. The government representativesstated that a `task group' would be setup to negotiate with the community.The task group, it emerges, is asub-committee of the crisply named`Committee for the Co-ordinated Hand-ling of State Owned Land for Agricul-tural Purposes'. The chairperson isGilles van de Wall, former directorgeneral of the Department of Develop-ment Aid.At the end of August communityrepresentatives met the task force.Since then they have had three meet-ings with the task force in which theyhave pressed the community's claimfor the restoration =unity's land.A curious aspect of this procedureis that the government appears to bebypassing its own Advisory Commis-sion for Land Allocation, which is cre-ated by the Abolition of RaciallyBased Land Measures Act.Whether the community represen-tatives make submissions to that com-mission will depend on what successthey have in the current meetings withthe task force. UGeoffrey Budlender is deputynational director of the LegalResources Centre.

Page 16 of 54 the daythe black sashtook on bopWhen a posse of Transvaal Sashers set out for a quicklittle protest action in Bophuthatswana, they thought theywould picnic in a scenic spot on the way home. It didn'tturn out like that, says Pat Tucker.E thel never did get to see Henry Vor join her friends for dinner,though she made good progress on theintricate, pastel-shaded (and miracu-lously spotlessly clean) baby blanketshe was knitting. The picnic was eatenon the charge-office floor, not in theveld under the early summer sun.Ken's birthday present was consumedbefore he had a chance to know aboutit. Nothing went quite as it should haveon that steamy Saturday in Mmabatho.Still, the stalwart women of the BlackSash succeeded in retaining both theirsashes (`we will not surrender our tradi-tionaleapons', declared Gudrun) andtheir senses of humour despite all theefforts of the Bophuthatswana authori-ties to remove both.In retrospect, they, and their fivenon-Sash co-prisoners, look on theevents of that weekend as somethingof an adventure with plenty of laughterin the telling. Their first post-prisonmeeting was not unlike an old girls'reunion. None the less, the taste ofBophuthatswana `democracy' thatrocketed them into the headlines andinto the courts was neither fun norfunny.Saturday, 5 October 1991, beganearly for the group who gathered in aparking lot, picnic hampers (and, as itturned out, knitting) at the ready. Theobject: to focus on the banning of theBlack Sash and on the manifold injus-tices in Mangope's homeland haven ofconstitutionally entrenched civil rights.Waved off by Barbara, left standingbleakly holding a scribbled list ofnames and numbers of next of kin,they travelled in convoy (`because wewanted to be noticed'), instructed byEthel to look out for a suitable picnicspot for their return.Gill was fined for speeding throughMagaliesburg. Pam was feelinggrumpy at having had to get up at fourin order to drive for three hours, pro-test for half an hour and spend threehours driving back. They boughttuisgebak in Koster (animal-shapedbiscuits and shortbread - the gift Kennever got) and had tea at Paul's housein Rooigrond.One of two Lauras did a recce to seewhere the roadblocks were. Sheilasuggested an obscene answer toEthel's worries about what to say toany obstructive policeman. They alldiscussed at length what they woulddo if they couldn't get through theroadblock and not at all what wouldhappen if they did.They did. The recce revealed theroadblock under the bridge - so theywent over the bridge. Simple, really.Past Mangope's statue (which was too`measly' to make an appropriate focusfor the protest) and on to the shoppingcentre where a triangular island pro-vided an ideal venue.It was decided that 11 people wouldpicket (and link arms around the lamppost on the island if anybody shouldtry to arrest them), the rest would re-cord the event on film. So the 11 stood- determined to hold out for 30 min-utes but prepared to go quietly after 15if asked to.It didn't quite work that way. Theyalmost made it through the 30 minutesbut a determined warrant-officerbrought an abrupt end to the stand byconfiscating the posters. Demanding areceipt, our brave protesters, accom-panied by assorted journalists and ob-servers,drove into the grounds of theMmabatho police station, a Laura re-marking as they passed the gates thatperhaps this wasn't such a good idea.She was right. Ethel and anotherLaura will long remember room 116into which they were led ... and left.Ethel fumed because she was going tobe late for the movie. Laura fumedbecause she wanted the poster boardsback for the morning market. Thosewaiting in the charge office fumed be-cause they didn't know what had hap-pened to Ethel and Laura. So theyopened the picnic baskets. Gill went tolook for them, calling the names of themissing pair insistently as she wan-dered through the empty corridors.They emerged (with receipts). Ev-eryone emerged - into the courtyard,into their cars - and found themselvessurrounded by heavily armed policewho said they weren't going anywhere.And some of them didn't. Others

Page 17 of 54 16 SASH January 1992Released. The detainees and theirlawyers after their release fromMmabatho police station.Previous page: Janet Small and GudrunOberprieler make their protest at theBophuthatswana demonstration.THE CASTBlack Sashers:Ethel WaltMamlydia KompeLaura PollecuttAdelheid KistnerPam LloydSheila WeinbergGudrun OberprielerDi CharltonJanet SmallPenny GeerdtsKathleen SidebottomGill de VliegMaref:Laura TaylorObservers:Lauri Adams and Chris Benner(USA)Kerstin Moller and HeinerKucherer (Germany)did - they went as far as Mafikengpolice station. Gill was released be-cause she had a press card. The press,having suffered considerable harass-ment, were released because they werethe press. The rest spent one of thenastier weekends of their lives copingwith overcrowded cells, inoperativetoilets, unusable showers, inediblefood, filthy blankets - at least one ratand fear as to whether or when theywould get out.Despite pizzas and Kentucky FriedChicken provided by Gill and theMafikeng Anti-Repression Forum(Maref), entertainment for the Mafikengcaptives provided by Mamlydia, and ageneral aura of courage, it was no picnic.They waited -alot. They waited forcleaning materials (a plate piled highwith a year's supply of Vim and afilthy cloth). They waited for food(prison food supplied without eatingutensils; non-prison food suppliedwith love). They waited for their law-yer (finally allowed in late on Sundaynight). They waited for news of theirfate (viciously distorted by assortedpolicemen).Adelheid became ill and was takento hospital - an experience she wouldnot willingly repeat. (`If a good doctorarrives in Bophuthatswana,' she wastold, `they immediately deport him.')But she did come back with a medicinespoon!Back home, Barbara was undersiege - press, families, concernedSashers, press, families ... A picketwas mounted in Jan Smuts Avenuecalling for the release of the captives.`I am here,' said one poster-holder,`because we need Ethel for a fourth atbridge.'Meanwhile in Bop came Monday,came court and cheerful advocateLawLever to tell them that theBop= rities had called out the `bigguns' and were going to oppose bail.They did. And, in the process, threwthe book at them - charged them withfurthering the aims of an unlawful or-ganisation and disturbing the peace.Back to the cells.Came Tuesday and a knight in theform of Senior Counsel, Jules Browde.Instant trial. Conviction for holding anillegal gathering, fines - release!Now they are talking about what todo next! Some of them concede theyare in no hurry to take their protestposters back to Mmabatho. 0Pat Tucker is a journalist and bookeditor and a member of the BlackSash's Transvaalregion.

Page 18 of 54 1-1992 SASH 17human rights monitor, I presume?In response to apparent tensions among a world-wide range of non-governmentalhuman rights organisations, the Harvard Law School Human Rights Programme andHuman Rights Internet sponsored a five-day workshop for human rights activists to ex-plore both differences and commonalities. Mary Burton finds the report on this interna-tional workshop particularly pertinent to current discussions on the roles andresponsibilities of human rights organisations during the South African transition period.number,,' orgincluding anithsatioens in BlackSouthSashAfrica,define themselves as human rights or-ganisations. We all proclaim our com-mitment to the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, campaign for a bill ofrights to be enshrined in a new constitu-tion, and seek to contribute to a `humanrights culture' in this country. Indeed,after the recent publication of the SouthAfrican Law Commission's latest rec-ommendations for a bill of rights, thereis a considerable degree of accordacross a range of political opinionabout the need to foster and protecthuman rights.This apparent consensus concealsrather different understandings ofwhat can be classified as human rights,and particularly of what the role ofhuman rights monitors and activistsshould be. The differences encompassquestions about whether socio-eco-nomic inequalities can be dealt withthrough a bill of rights and a constitu-tional court (the `second generation'rights), and whether human rights ac-tivists are or even can be impartial intheir monitoring and exposure of vio-lations. There is disagreement aboutwhether non-governmental or-ganisations (NGOs) concerned withhuman rights should document andcriticise only state action which con-travenes human rights, or should alsodirect their attention to actions by op-position groups.A recently published report of aRetreat of Human Rights Activistsdemonstrates that these differencesand self-searchings are not peculiar toSouth Africa. The report, compiled byHenry J. Steiner and called DiversePartners, shows how 32 participants atthis five-day retreat came `from Af-rica, Asia, East and West Europe,Latin America and the Caribbean, theMiddle East and the United States -the majority from the Third World, aquarter of them women'. They repre-sented non-governmental humanrights organisations (which have expe-rienced a dynamic growth in the lasttwenty years, as has the human rightsmovement itself) and internationalNGOs, defined as those which operatein two or more countries, for exampleAmnesty International and the Inter-national Commission of Jurists.The purpose of the retreat was `toexplore the problems and disagreementswithin the NGO community, in order toinduce reflection by all participantsabout what NGOs' roles are and mightbecome', and `to explore what wasdisputed as well as what was shared,frustrations as well as satisfactions'.One of the early questions dealtwith was how, given the diversity ofNGOs, to define a `human rights' or-ganisation. For a public interest groupto qualify, must it base its criticism ofstate conduct on international humanrights law? Many of the participantsconcluded that `it would be impracti-cal and unwise to maintain a protectiveboundary around some core or tradi-tional preserve of human rights work,such as the protection of individualsagainst violence or discrimination.Who would define and monitor such aboundary, and what sanctions could beimposed on organisations crossing itbut still claiming to be human rightsNGOsT Others argued that `to be ef-fective, it was important for NGOs tohold to clearly defined mandates basedon consensual legal norms'.Changing mandatesThe report refers frequently to the`mandates' of organisations - what wein the Black Sash call our `aims andobjectives', as set out in our own con-stitution. It is interesting to read howsuch mandates differ, and also howthey vary over time. The entire humanrights movement is in a period ofchange after a phase of strong growth,and it seems to be moving towards alinkage of human rights concerns withdevelopmental and environmental is-sues. It is also being pressed to dealwith ethnic conflict, with gender dis-crimination, and with disputed landrights of indigenous peoples. We inSouth Africa are facing the samechallenges and experiencing the sameuncertainty about what the `coreidentity' of the human rights move-ment is.The initial mandate of an organisa-tion is determined by the political con-text in which it comes into existence.A changing political context can leadto a change in mandate. Ideologicalpositions and geographical locationare also relevant: `Western NGOscommitted to the liberal traditionstress the protection of civil and polit-ical rights, whereas NGOs withinThird World states of massive povertygive more attention to economic andsocial rights.' The need to raise funds,and to retain the support of membersor attract greater support, as well asassessment of levels of effectivenessare other factors which can influencea change in mandate. So too are inter-nal and external pressure groups - forexample those demanding a more spe-cific focus on women, or children, orland rights. In turn, a change in man-date is bound to have an impact onmembership, support and effective-ness.The traditional perception of humanrights organisations is that they have afocus on civil and political rights, a com-mitment to due process, an individualis-tic rather than a group orientation inrights advocacy, and a belief in the ruleof law. NGOs in this classic western

Page 19 of 54 18 SASH Janum v 1992liberal mould tend to see themselves asnon-party political monitors, objectivedefenders of rights, and investigatorsof government abuses or discrimina-tion. In much of the world, however,the pressing issues of poverty and de-privation as well as repression are suchthat civil and political rights are onlyone part of a solution. When humanrights organisations focus on only oneaspect, their work is incomplete, andthe concept of human rights itself isundermined in the eyes of those whosuffer oppression and exclusion fromopportunity. The report reflects thesedifferent perceptions and the continu-ing debate they engender.Dilemmas of transitioncOne chapter deals with NGOs in 'spe-ial situations': political transformation after aperiod of repression; foreign occupation; internal armed conflict.The section on political transfor-mation or `redemocratisation' has aparticular resonance for us, as we hopefor a `democratisation' of South Af-rica. Participants from countrieswhere political life is opening or re-opening spoke about their frustrationsas the international community and,indeed, much of the national commu-nity itself, felt able to relax its vigi-lance, even while adverse effects ofrepression remained. Chile was de-scribed as `a country where the sunseems to be willing to shine again butwhere we will not see a rainbow sosoon'. As the storms of violence assaila changing South Africa, we wonder ifthe clouds will ever lift, and it seemsfar too early to expect the rewards ofsunshine.The second section on countriesunder foreign occupation looked at thedifficulties and strategies of NGOs insuch a situation.Thirdly, special questions wereposed for human rights organisationsin countries which experience internalarmed conflict. Should they `coverconduct by insurgents - guerrillaforces seeking political change, anethnic or religious group seeking self-determination - as well asgovernments'? A decade ago it wouldhave been almost uniform policy toview conduct by non-governmentalgroups, `however destructive towardsopponents or unengaged civilians, as amatter for the state's criminal law ...That policy has changed in many in-stances in the light of the growing in-cidence and brutality of ethnic,religious and ideological conflicts,and in response to sharp criticism bygovernments of NGO reports that arecritical of state action but silent aboutsimilar or worse behavior of insur-gents.' This is the dilemma which hastroubled the Black Sash on many oc-casions, and poses a challenge to allhuman rights organisations in thiscountry.The ways in which governmentsdevise strategies to protect themselveswere also dealt with. In some cases,governments can control the flow offunds to NGOs, and impose other re-strictions on their work. In addition,mention was made of the growing so-phistication of governments in coun-tering adverse reports. some haveemployed public relations firms, orsought United Nations advisory ser-vices, or aid programmes for improvedadministration of justice. These strate-gies may produce cosmetic reforms, orhave some real benefits, but they willtend to divert attention from the workof the NGOs in exposing violations ofrights.Working relationshipsThe relationships and networkings be-tween not only NGOS and interna-tional NGOs but also between NGOsand political parties, mass movementsand religious groups gave rise to con-siderable discussion at the retreat. Pre-dictably, the differences here wereshaped by the difference of politicaland socio-economic climate in the var-ious regions. Numerous tensions sur-faced, and the view eventuallyexpressed could be no more than thatthe `independence of and diversityamong NGOs had a positive value ...the apparent chaos, better understoodas decentralisation and diversity, con-stitutes the movement's great strength:the dynamic and evolving character ofNGOs, and their influence on humanrights thinking as a whole'.Despite these and other sharp dif-ferences, the final assessments spokeof the enhanced mutual understandingand solidarity which had resulted fromthe exchanges. The process of discov-ery of variations within the experienceof the international human rightsmovement had led participants to re-flect freshly on their own work.The value of the report for us lies inits ability to cause all of us who are partof this movement to do the same. Arewe to become victims of the divisionsso prevalent in South Africa? Are weto point fingers at one organisationwhich claims to support the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights butseems to favour the allies and organsof the state while condemning the ac-tions of the resistance movements, orat another which appears to lean theopposite way? We may need to behonest about the fact that a =rhet-oric of rights does not necessarilymean we have a common vision ofwhat a transformed society should be.But surely there must be a way inwhich we can become `diversepartners' in the process of trying tobuild a human rights culture here. Thismust mean an examination of ourmandates, of the way we define ourtasks, and of how effective we can bein communicating to the wider societyour shared belief in the enduring val-ues of equal and enforceable humanrights for all.We in the Black Sash need to exam-ine how we can impartially and effec-tively fulfil our mandate in thistransitional period. Is it enough tocarry out the `characteristic activities'of a human rights NGO: monitoring,investigating and reporting on viola-tions by the state; lobbying local andinternational bodies; mobilising inter-est groups; educating the public; rep-resenting the views and needs of our`clients'? If we did all this well, itwould surely be a significant contribu-tion. It would be better still if we coulddo it in a way which enables us toexamine the structures which createthe conditions for injustice, and then tochallenge the system of oppressionand denial of rights as a whole (nomatter who holds the reins of power).Then indeed we could claim to be trueto our original aims of promoting jus-tice, democracy and human rights andliberties for all.Mary Burton is a vice-president of'the Black Sash and a formernational president.The report discussed is Diverse Partners.No 7-Governmental Organisations in theHuman Rights Movement. The Report of aRetreat of Human Rights Activists,co-sponsored by the Harvard Law SchoolHuman Rights Program and Human RightsInternet; by Henry J. Steiner.

Page 20 of 54 peaceand thepoliceWhen the National Peace Accord was signed on14 September 1991 hope was high that political violencewould diminish significantly. This hope faltered duringdelays in setting up structures for ensuringimplementation of the accord. Black Sash members wereamong those who warned that a vital ingredient could bemissing: commitment from some of the signatories -notably the South African police. A major obstacle topeace continues to be community mistrust of the securityforces. Measures to build community confidence in thepolice are essential if the accord is to succeed.Mignonne Breier reports.The political violence that hasspread through South Africa isthreatening to destroy its already ail-ing economy and kill hope of negoti-ated settlement.Between January 1990 and July1991, according to a recent article inIndicator South Africa, more than3 500 people died in political violence.Latest reports from Black Sash moni-tors confirm what the newspapers saydaily: there is no sign of abatement.In Natal alone, according to theBlack Sash Repression MonitoringGroup there, an estimated 1 088 peo-ple were killed in unrest in the first 10months of this year. That is about fourpeople a day.Policemen, too, have died in thecrossfire. AWeekly Mail article in No-vemberput the number of policemenwho had been murdered on the job inthe first 10 months of 1991 at 112compared with 107 for the whole of1990. Of this year's police deaths, 61occurred in `unrest and terror' inci-dents. In addition, the report said, therewere at least 548 unrest-related attackson the police and 868 policemen wereinjured in the course of their duties.Various organisations have tried toapportion the blame for the violence.The Community Agency for SocialEnquiry (CASE), published a report re-cently in which Inkatha came off worst- held to be the aggressor in 130 re-ported acts of violence on the Reefduring a 12-month period. The SouthAfrican Police (SAP) were found tohave been the aggressor in 84 reportedacts of violence, the African NationalCongress (ANC) in 13.This report, predictably, was re-jected by Inkatha and the SAP. Thelatter responded with details of a sur-vey of its own which identified theANC as the major aggressor.While reports like these say asmuch about statistics as they do aboutviolence, countless other sources indi-

Page 21 of 54 cate that behind the violence are peopleintent on destabilising the community.Of particular concern are allega-tions that members of the SAP, insteadof trying to stop the mayhem, are ac-tually encouraging it either by deliber-ate acts or by failure to do their duty.Reports from Black Sash monitorsdetail allegations of police misconductthat range from persistent racist ha-rassment of communities (such as theregular arrest of people on charges ofdrunkenness in parts of the easternCape) to allegations of police incite-ment to attack in parts of Natal.In Cape Town in October 1991, ajoint forum of organisations (includ-ing the Black Sash) which had beenmonitoring violence in the black town-ships became so concerned about alle-gations of police involvement invarious acts of violence, particularly inKhayelitsha, that they put a series ofdemands to the regional commissionerof police. One of these demands wasfor an independent monitoring team tomonitor police conduct in the blacktownships surrounding Cape Town.In her latest report on the violence inthe Natal Midlands region, Black Sashresearcher, Anne Truluck, concludes:`The role of the security forces var-ies considerably from area to area. Insome areas, security forces appear tobe actively involved in destabilisation;in one they have been actively facili-tating peace. Their overriding role,however, has been one of omitting todo their job. It would appear that indi-vidual personality plays too great apart in determining security force ac-tion or lack of it'That policing is needed is not dis-puted. As Paul Graham argued in anarticle in Idasa's journal Democracy inAction recently, `violence increaseswhere law and justice are inactive'.`Structures and activities which in-crease the accountability of securityforces are essential', he said. `Butthese need to be created to enhance thepolice's ability to act professionally,rather than to sideline them. There isno alternative to the security forces -only they have the resources to police.Enabling them to become officers ofthe peace is the way forward.'The National Peace Accord, signedin September by more than 20 or-ganisations including the government,ANC and Inkatha, is meant to do justthat. Provisions that could be used tocompel sound policing practices and acooperative relationship between thepolice and the communities include: a code of conduct for the police;a special unit to be set up in termsof the accord to investigate alle-gations against the police; andthe Commission of Inquiry intothe Prevention of Public Violenceand Intimidation.`There is no alternative to thesecurity forces - only theyhave the resources to police.Enabling them to becomeofficers of the peace is the wayforward.'The value of the Peace Accord willrest with its ability to hold the signato-ries to the principles to which theyhave committed themselves. `This canbe done by monitoring compliancewith the accord and exposing non-compliance. Apart from formal moni-tors, each and every individual canassume some responsibility for this"watchdog" role by familiarisingthemselves with the principles and ob-jectives of the accord and by notingand reporting failure to abide by it.'A major limitation of the Peace Ac-cord is that its successful implementa-tion depends on the commitment of theparties involved. Laurie Nathan, se-nior researcher at the Centre for Inter-group Studies, Cape Town, is one ofseveral observers oft he SAP scene whobelieve it is unlikely that this commit-ment will be forthcoming from the po-lice. He believes the SAP are unlikelyto change in any meaningful way dur-ing the transition process in South Af-rica for the following reasons:The police are overwhelminglypartisan. For decades their pri-mary role has been the mainte-nance and defence of minorityrule and apartheid and white po-licemen are renowned for theirracist attitudes. About two-thirdsof the police in the Transvaal andFree State are Conservative Partysupporters.As a result of this partisanship,they lack legitimacy among themajority of blacks. `Among town-ship residents they are regarded asthe enemy.'The SAP suffers from a lack ofprofessionalism for a number ofreasons which include the factthat they have been poorly paid,attracting recruits with a low stan-dard of education.There is a pervasive culture in thepolice of violence, extra-legal ac-tivity and disregard for officialregulations. `When talking abouttransforming the police we aretalking about changing a culture.'The SAP has been geared to counter-insurgency, not crime prevention.Since the 1976 uprising SAP training,weaponry, technology and internalorganisation have been increasinglymilitarised. 'Even if police wanted toact in a more restrained manner theyare not equipped to do so.'Black Sash monitor LenaSlachmuijlder, holds similar concernsabout whether the Peace Accord willsucceed in compelling `sound policingpractices'.In her latest report on violence in

Page 22 of 54 the Natal Coastal region Slachmuijl-der says the main problem with thesecurity forces there is that they have`extremely poor relations with thecommunity'.`The causes for this are deep-rootedand will not easily nor hastily be recti-fied. So long as this situation contin-ues ,they will find themselvesmistrusted while trying to carry outtheir investigations.'There is also a lack of coordinationbetween security forces. `In somecases there are the KwaZulu police,SAP Riot Unit patrols and an SADFCamp all in the same area. Yet at notime is there a strategy worked outwith representatives from each forceto coordinate a plan of action. Thislack of coordination is damaging toboth community relations and suc-cessful investigations.'Slachmuijlder says there is a bulkof evidence pointing to KwaZulu po-lice involvement in the violence -through direct participation, support-ive action and non-response. `If unrestbreaks out, rather than report cases tothe KwaZulu police, residents willcome to lawyers and monitors for as-sistance.'`Despite the signing of the Peace Ac-cord by KwaZulu, there has been nochange in this lack of confidence, nordoes it seem likely to change soon.'Of the SAP Slachmuijlder says: `Al-though amongst the riot police there is anincreasingly favourable response whencalled, the normal operating police sta-tions are still entangled with many prob-lems. In many cases the police officers,particularly the more senior ones, havebeen taught to see the ANC as the enemyand thus have many barriers to overcomebefore they truly see themselves as pro-tectors of the "community" as such.'Slachmuijlder says there have beenrepeated reports of SAP members wear-ing balaclavas and otherwise conceal-ing their identity while carrying outsearches in the Port Shepstone area.`Investigations into political vio-lence proceed slowly if at all, and it isunclear what sorts of checks are donewithin the police station to keep tabson cases under investigation. With afew exceptions, the SAP have not gen-erally gained the confidence of thecommunity, and have not proven thatthey will make concerted efforts totrack down known perpetrators ofcrime to bring peace.`The public relations branch of theSAP is increasingly diplomatic, yet ifone looks beyond the surface, or hascontact with many police members onthe ground, many of the attitudes haveremained the same. However, the re-cent joint monitoring between the SAPand the ANC at the Gamalakhe Shaka'sDay Rally was truly a step in the direc-tion of the future concerning improvedrelations with the SAP.'When one considers the misgivingsexpressed by Nathan and others andthe levels of mistrust that exist be-tween the parties to the accord it is notsurprising that there is a growing real-isation that the accord is unlikely towork without considerable public in-volvement and monitoring. Some be-lieve even this will not be enough.They say an additional mechanism,with recognised neutrality and credi-bility, is required to enforce the provis-ions of the accord.Nathan believes there is no alterna-tive but to call for an internationalmonitoring force to monitor police ac-tivity in South Africa during its transi-tion period in the way that Untagmonitored the elections in Namibia.`The only way we are going to con-tain police excesses is by policing thepolice.'Mignonne Breier is a journalist andcommunications lecturer, and amember of the Black Sash CapeWestern region.`The police shall be guided by abelief that they are accountableto society in rendering their po-licing services and shall there-fore conduct themselves so asto secure and retain the respectand approval of the public.Through such accountabilityand friendly, effective andprompt service the police shallendeavour to obtain the co-op-eration of the public whose part-nership in the task of crimecontrol and prevention is essen-tial.'`The police ... supports promptand efficient investigation andprosecution of its own membersalleged to have acted unlawfullyand shall commit itself to con-tinue the proper training and re-training of its members ...'Quotes from the National Peace Accord

Page 23 of 54 whose tacticis the taxi war?Khayelitsha residents in Site B inspectthe still smouldering wreckage of shacksand the burnt-out hulk of a minibus aftera night of violence.There have been - and still are - many efforts to end thetaxi war in the Cape Peninsula. Black Sash members areinvolved, both in the field as monitors and as representa-tives on structures such as the Joint Forum on Policingand the Cape Town Peace Committee. Despite the workof these broad-based bodies, the war continues.Rosalind Bush asks why.

Page 24 of 54 he taxi war in the Cape PeninsulaT17ared in November last year, re-surfaced sporadically early this year,and since then has escalated out ofcontrol. This has happened despite un-flagging and comprehensive efforts bya broad cross-section of parties to re-solve the conflict.The more the conflict escalates andthe longer it continues, the more com-plex and intractable it becomes. Otherconflicts and issues are caught up in itand complicate efforts to address it. Tounderstand what is impeding a resolu-tion to the taxi war, it is necessary firstto know something of the history of theconflict and the extent of the effortsmade to stop it.YThe roots of the taxi war, embeddedin the apartheid system, go back someforty years. Lagunya (Langa,Guguletu, Nyauga) Taxi Associationoperated, in accordance with their per:solely in and between the town-ships. Influx-control regulationsexcluded many people from gettingpermits to run taxi routes into and fromCape Town's city centre. An informaltaxi sector developed among those le-gally excluded by `section 10' fromurban residence rights which werenecessary for getting permits.These `pirates', who subsequentlyformed Webta (Western Cape BlackTaxi Association), ran the gauntletwith the authorities - being harassed,fined and imprisoned - in order tooperate the more lucrative routes toand from the city centre. The Webtalogo - two hands clasped - is seen asa symbol of the unity that was forgedbetween the `pirates' facing this ad-versity.With the abolition of influx controlin 1986 and the advent of deregulation,the Road Transportation Board issuedpermits to the `pirates'. An investiga-tion by the Cape Town city councildiscovered that the Webta stamp wasrequired before permits for the cityroutes were issued. Lagunya taxiswere effectively excluded from theseprofitable routes.Last year Lagunya began operatingfrom a new rank in Site C, Khayelitsha.Their taxis ran from Site C to CapeTown. Previously Lagunya had run aservice from Khayelitsha to Guguletuand Nyanga, from where Webta taxisran the route into town. The newLagunya operation further exacerbatedrivalry between Lagunya and Web.over profitable ranks and routes, andsporadic violence resulted.Efforts to stop and resolve theconflictAn attempt to mediate in the conflict,which was threatening the safety oftownship residents, was launched latein 1990 by the Western Cape Civic As-sociation (WCCA), the Western CapeUnited Squatters Association (Wecusa)and the Hostel Dwellers Association.Subsequently the Taxi Crisis Coordinat-ing Committee (TCCC), composedmostly of members of these three civicbodies irrespective of political persua-sion,wasformed inMarch 1991.BY 4 April 1991 the TCCC had suc-ceeded in bringing both taxi or-ganisations to agreement on a ten-point plan. The most significant fea-tures of this were a code of conduct, anagreement to unite into a single bodyusing one logo, and acceptance of atable of fares. The community boycottinstituted in protest at the taxi mayhemwas lifted following the agreementand taxis returned to the road.However, within days Webta re-neged on the agreement by loweringtheir fares and removing from theirtaxis the accepted T-emblem whichidentified them with the agreement.The TCCC responded by calling for acommunity boycott of Webta aimed atbringing Webta back into line. Theboycott was not broadly adhered to,however, possibly as a result of poorcoordination, which caused some con-fusion in the community. The atmo-sphere was not improved bystone-throwing at Webta taxis under-taken by individual elements, mostlyyouths.The war escalated as Webta at-tacked Lagunya, in an attempt to getLagunya taxis off the road as well.Webta blockaded the roads around theAfrican National Congress (ANC) of-fices in Athlone, demanding ANC in-tervention to stop the stoning of Webtataxis. At the same time, however,Webta continued to refuse to acceptthe ten-point plan to which it had pre-viously agreed.In June 1991, the concern that at-tempts were being made to `politicise'the taxi war was expressed by MichaelMapongwana, TCCC member andWCCA chairperson. He found it neces-sary to stress that the TCCC was `not apolitical organisation trying to getpower'; it was simply `working forpeace'. At the same time allegationssurfaced that a `third force' was fuel-ling the conflict caused by the taxifeud in an attempt to destabilise thecommunity.Subsequent events were tostrengthen these fears. Less than amonth later Mapongwana was assassi-nated in what appeared to be a care-fully planned `professional' hit job.Pro Jack, an ANC activist well-knownas a mediator, had been killed in asimilar manner only weeks earlier, aswas Khayelitsha ANC Youth Leagueleader Zola Ntsoni.When Webta drivers were arrestedand charged with murdering Mapongw-ana, civic leaders expressed fears thatcommunity anger towards Webta might

Page 25 of 54 24 SASH .1 -1112spark revenge attacks. At this point theCape Town city council were asked toexamine their role in attempts to re-solve the crisis.Cape Town city council roleIntensive efforts followed, includingdiscussions with the Ministry ofTransport on new taxi regulations, andnegotiated interim agreements withthe rival parties on ranks and routes. Acentral focus of negotiations was howto resolve the conflict between Webtaand sectors of the broader community.Deadlock was the result, however,with calls from the community for thedissolution of Webta on the one hand,and on the other a refusal from Webtato compromise its identity. A compro-mise in the form of a changed logo wassuggested by the council, who em-ployed an artist to design 12 differentoptions, but Webta refused to acceptany changes and returned to the roadwith their old logo.flIn Khayelitsha residents reactedwith anger, torching Webta taxis.Webta hit back with force. During thenights of 3 and 12/13 September, sec-tions of Site B in the squatter area ofKhayelitsha were attacked and over200 shacks were set alight. Reportsindicated that at least six people werekilled and dozens were injured as theyed from the flames and from attack-ers. Thousands were left homeless anddestitute.Violence soared in the ensuingweeks; both Webta and Lagunya driv-ers were gunned down and their taxisburned. Twenty Lagunya vehiclesparked opposite the Site B police sta-tion were torched. An increasing num-ber of taxi passengers and townshipresidents were becoming victims ofthe feud.Since August field monitors fromthe Black Sash, the Urban Monitoringand Awareness Committee (Umac),the Democratic Party (DP) and the ANCWomen's League have been inter-viewing victims of the violence inKhayelitsha, collecting statements andaffidavits.One of the allegations made mostfrequently in the evidence collectedwas that white men, thought to be po-licemen from the uniforms they werewearing, had played a role in the vio-lence. The regional commissioner ofpolice, Major-General Nic Acker, re-sponded by setting up a special inves-tigation unit to investigate theseallegations.In addition, Acker and other seniorpolice officers met with representa-tives of the organisations mentionedabove and= organisations, subse-quently known collectively as theJoint Forum on Policing. The JointForum proposed certain urgent interimmeasures to address the violence inKhayelitsha and elsewhere on the Pen-insula until such time as the regionalstructures for the Peace Accord wereset up.In the same week the mayor ofCape Town, Frank van der Velde, andarchbishop Desmond Tutu convened apart Conference whose focus wasthe resolution of the conflict aroundthe taxi war. A broad range of constit-uencies were represented: business,many religious faiths, government,police, civic bodies, trade unions, po-litical organisations, human-rightsgroups, lawyers, and the rival taxigroups.The Peace Conference mandated aPeace Committee to take forward dis-cussions between the two taxi groups.The committee came up with a pack-age of what it believed were minimalrequirements: that the taxis should op-erate without an association name foran interim period; that policing shouldbe intensified; that ownership of taxisand potential conflicts of interestshould be investigated; a ceasefire;and a rapid start to negotiating newby-laws.Lagunya accepted this package,Webta refused but then proposed ameeting with Lagunya alone, aimed atworking out a solution acceptable tothe taxi industry. Lagunya agreed, thePeace Committee was supportive, andthe meeting took place on 14 October.Agreement was reached on division ofroutes for the interim period and aprogramme of action was mapped out.This was considered a major break-through.The following day a Lagunyadriver was shot dead. One day later, ata follow-up meeting, Webta backedaway from the agreement. A Webtadriver was shot, a taxi burned, and thewar resumed.Emergency patternsAt an emergency meeting the PeaceCommittee concluded that the negoti-ation strategy had come to a dead-endand that new measures were required.They noted certain patterns that hademerged in the course of the negotia-tion efforts: Lagunya accepted eachpeace proposal, whether it emanatedfrom the TCCC or the city council orwas negotiated in bilateral agreementswith Webta; Webta, on the other hand,repeatedly reneged on agreements; theWebta executive committee wouldreach agreements which they seemedunable to sell to their constituency.The Cape Town city council are atpresent working on tough new by-lawswhich give the traffic manager thepower to cancel the permits of mem-bers of a taxi association if they areguilty of misconduct. However, forsuch laws to be effective they clearlyneed a mechanism to monitor theirimplementation and to enforce them.Given these wide-ranging and in-tensive efforts to stop this violent con-flict, what is impeding its resolution?Any resolution depends in the firstplace on committed, effective and im-partial policing, and on people seeingthat justice is done and done swiftly.The absence of such policing is prov-ing a serious obstacle to achievingpeace. To be fair it must be said thatthere are notable exceptions, for ex-ample, th=e of a Lagunya driver(reportedly a former kitskonstabel)from a Webta attack, and the pursuiton foot and arrest of the alleged killerof a taxi driver. In the main, however,the role of the police in the conflict hasbeen found wanting if not decidedlysuspect.Monitors have been dismayed atthe absence of preemptive and preven-tative police action, which they have

Page 26 of 54 January /992 SASH 255witnessed first-hand on occasion. Forexample, Umac were monitoring anarea that had been under attack an hourearlier. About 25 armed policemenwere also present. Webta taxis arrivedon the scene and 20 to 30 men armedwith axes and pangas got out. Theybegan to advance angrily to where themonitors, who had been joined by afew ANC officials, were standing. Thepolice made no attempt to disarm themen or to defuse a potentially explo-sive situation.The Webta men threatened to re-turn later that night and Umac and ANCrepresentatives were sufficiently con-cerned to brief the commissioner ofpolice and to request that he send introops to protect the people. The re-sponsewas that reinforcements couldbe deployed the following morning atthe earliest. That night hundreds ofshacks were burned to the ground aspeople slept without defence.Affidavits and reports testify to theabsence of timely police intervention.Site B police station is about 150 me-ters as the crow flies from areas thatwere under attack and where houseswere torched. Beyond this, attacks andkillings are executed with impunity.Perpetrators of the violence are notarrested. Over 30 affidavits have beensubmitted to the special investigationunit appointed by Acker, yet recentpolice report-backs reflect little if anyprogress in investigations.Of even greater concern than thisapparent non-action is the allegationthat police have been involved inmany of the attacks. In the affidavitscollected by Black Sash and Umacmonitors during August and Septem-ber, repeated claims are made thatwhite men, often in camouflage uni-form ,supported or took part in theattacks. Some affidavits describedsome attackers as kitskonstabels, or`men in blue overalls' (such askitskonstabels wear), or men wearingbalaclavas.Evidence of police involvementin attacksSworn statements report the presenceof casspirs and yellow police vehiclesat the scene of certain night attacks. Insome cases the identification or regis-tration numbers of these vehicles havebeen noted and reported to the police.R1 and 38 cartridges (the type used bypolice) have been found at the scenesof attacks.It is widely believed that the nightattacks and burning of shacks in areas ofSite B in Khayelitsha were carried outby Webta members supported by police.Substance- s added to this belief whena Webta taxi operator, one M. Gubayo,who is also a (Khayelitsha) LingelethuWest town councillor, gave evidence ina bail application made subsequent to hisarrest on a charge of murdering aLagunya taxi driver at the Nyanga taxirank on 27 October.Gubayo said under cross-examina-tion that he had been in the companyof police when he fired at Lagunya taxidrivers ,He a battle scene' on 2October. He said he had been assistingthe police and claimed that he was a`protected person' (Cape Times,31 October 1991). Bail was refusedbut granted a week later.The hearing took place during aspecial night sitting at Wynbergmagistrate's court. It was only withsome difficulty that the Cape Timesfinally managed to get permission tolisten to the tape recordings of thehearing. It seems that efforts weremade to prevent the evidence fromsurfacing.Does this partly explain Webta'srecalcitrance? Is their unwillingness tocompromise and their readiness to re-nege on agreements predicated on theknowledge that they can act with im-punity?One of the questions being asked iswhether behind certain taxi operatorsthere are faceless owners whose aim isto gain control of the taxi industry,worth an estimated R2 billion a year.Taxi operators with such patronswould be sustained in the conflict, en-abled to endure the fight without feel-ing the need to compromise or reach anegotiated settlement with their rivals.Are there people with vested inter-ests in this conflict? Is their motive oneof commercial greed, or opportunitiesfor destabilisation, or both?The course the taxi war has takenseems to fit a pattern that has emergednationwide: that of shadowy elementsmanipulating existing local conflictsin order to destabilise communities.The simultaneous escalation of theconflicts nationally prior to the signingof the Peace Accord also suggests thatthe violence is being deliberately or-chestrated on a national level. The taxiconflict should have stopped long agogiven the efforts made to resolve itsince it first began. Yet it has escalatedand fanned the flames of other existingor potential conflicts.The sections attacked and burnt outin Khayelitsha were known to be areaswith strong ANC support. It is ANCmiddle-level leadership figures whohave been assassinated. The wife andfour children of an ANC branch chair-personwere shot and killed, and theirhome was set alight while he was atwork. Pro Jack was gunned down,Mapongwana was killed, and each in-cidentadded to the heat of communityanger towards Webta and theLingelethu West town council.It is not surprising, then, that thereis a strong belief that certain elementsare deliberately adding fuel to theflames of the taxi war, elements intenton fragmenting communities, under-mining the ANC and derailing negotia-tions for a new constitution.The National Peace Accord (clause1.8) pinpoints the essential ingredientfor success in negotiated resolution ofconflict: `The implementation of asystem to combat violence and intim-idationwill only succeed if the partiesinvolved have a sincere commitmentto reach this objective.' 1.1Rosalind Bush holds the politicalrepression portfolio on the nationalexecutive of the Black Sash

Page 27 of 54 26 SASH ...... 1992IN COMMUNITY

Page 28 of 54 ,Ianuary 1992 SASH 27OppositeINSECURE: A couplethreatened with removal froma farm south of Johannesburg.November 1987.AboveDESTITUTE: A farm workerinjured on the farm and leftwithout compensation.Driefontien, EasternTransvaal, May 1984.RightDISPOSSESSED: Magopacouple in Bethanie,Bophutswana. March 1984.

Page 29 of 54 28 SASH .Ianua, 1992AboveBELEAGUERED: Husband and wife in Oukasie, Western Transvaal. April 1986.

Page 30 of 54 lanuarv 1992 SASH 29AboveDETERMINED. Schoolmaster and his wife, Daggakraal, EasternTransvaal. February 1985.

Page 31 of 54 the language struggle- some thoughts onlanguage policyin south africaLanguage is so much more than a means of communica-tion. Gudrun Oberprieler shows why decisions on futurelanguage policy will have a decisive effect on the politicalprocess and on the lives of millions of South Africans as itdetermines their access to knowledge and power.T he horrific eruption of violenceand the tragic loss of life afterFebruary 1990 seem to provide littleevidence that the struggle of arms willmake way very soon for the struggleof words around the negotiating table.Yet one dare not lose hope that theword will finally win against theweapon.The shaping of a new society hasalready begun on many levels but howmany South Africans, who have beendeprived of every human right in theland of their birth throughout theirlives, are once again excluded fromparticipating in the process of deter-mining the future of their country bythe simple fact that they have not (atall or sufficiently) mastered the lan-guage(s) in which consultation and ne-gotiations are taking place?For the ill-educated masses in thiscountry existence, and often bare sur-vival, has always been a struggle withand for words - with the words of thelaw which govern every aspect of theirlives but are written in a language theyoften cannot understand, and for thewords to express their suffering andanger if anybody cared to listen. For ithas been the government's deliberatepolicy that black South Africans re-ceive most of their (often very meagre)education in their home language,while almost all official documentsand much other written informationexists only in the two official lan-guages, English and Afrikaans.A person who is illiterate in a soci-ety based on literacy and written com-munication is severely disadvantaged;a person who has no or very littleknowledge of the language(s) inwhichthe official affairs of the country he orshe lives in are conducted is reducedto the status of a minor. In South Africamany citizens are suffering from bothdisabilities. The rights of citizenshiphave been denied them not onlythrough apartheid laws, but alsothrough the language barrier, erectedand upheld by the Nationalist govern-ment to keep black South Africans `intheir place'.The struggle for political suprem-acy during the last 350 years in SouthAfrican history has always been veryclosely linked to the issue of language.The very early period of Dutch oc-cupation at the Cape is characteristicof imperialist expansion everywherein the world: at first interpreters wereused for trading between the Dutchand the local people, and when the

Page 32 of 54 .lanuary 1992 SASH 31Dutch East India Company had settledand the demand for labour increased,the indigenous people simply had tolearn the language of the occupiers.In the mouths of the Khoisan andthe Malay slaves, Dutch slowly devel-oped into what was to becomeAfrikaans. Since the Dutch were pri-marily traders, however, they made norigorous attempt to teach their lan-guage or religion until the British oc-cupations of the Cape (1795 to 1803and 1806 to 1814), when English be-came a serious competitor of Dutch.This resulted in the so-called`taalstryd' (language struggle) whichaccompanied the century-long strug-gle for political domination betweenthe Boers and the British.In contrast, the British tried veryenergetically to replace Dutch withEnglish in all spheres of public life.The Anglicisation effort was pursuedstringently especially during the sec-ond and third decades of the 19th cen-tury. Although the culmination of theAnglo-Dutch conflict, the Anglo-BoerWar (1899 to 1902), ended with thedefeat of the Boers, Afrikaner nation-alism, and with it the striving for rec-ognition of their language, wasquickly revived.It was no small victory that, withthe formation of the Union of SouthAfrica in 1910, Afrikaans became oneof the official languages alongside En-glish and Dutch (which was later aban-doned) and that thereafter parentschose the language in which their chil-dren were educated.With the coming to power of theNational Party in 1948 the earlierevents were almost reversed. It nowbecame the concerted aim of the Na-tional Party to substitute Afrikaans forEnglish in all domains of public andsocial life or, where this proved im-possible, to promote Afrikaans on anequal footing with English. Now it wasthe turn of English-speakers to worryabout the survival of their languageand culture in public life.Sheen Duncan has expressed theview that the founding and initial suc-cess of the Black Sash had much moreto do with this fear than with concernabout coloured people losing theirvote. `In 1955', she has said, `the gov-ernment had introduced a senate bill topack the senate with its own support-ers in order to get the necessary two-thirds majority to change theconstitution so they could stop col-LANGUAGE STATISTICS FOR SOUTH AFRICAHome-language Percentage ofspeakers South AfricanpopulationPresent official languages 24,34%Afrikaans 6188981 15,66English 3432042 8,68Nguni languages 43,41Ndebele 799 216 2,02Swati 926 094 2,34Xhosa 6 891 358 17,44Zulu 8 541 173 21,61Sotho languages 24,52%North Sotho 3437971 8,70South Sotho 2652590 6,71Tswana 3 601 609 9,11Tsonga 1 349 022 3,54Venda 763 247 1,93Other languages n/a 2,26Source: Gerhard K. Schuring, Language Planning for a new South Africa.Research lecture, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria; 1990oured people from having the vote.`It was this act by the NationalistParty that brought the Black Sash intoexistence in the first place. Lookingback on it now, I think that the mass ofwomen who joined the Black Sash inthe early years could not have caredtwo hoots about whether colouredpeople lost their vote. They caredabout the fact that if the governmentcould manoeuvre in that very immoralway, it could also stop the Englishlanguage from enjoying equal rightswith Afrikaans.'The language policy of the Nation-alist government was not limited to thepromotion of Afrikaans. It was ex-tended very quickly to other popula-tion groups in the country and becamethe foundation of apartheid ideology,with far-reaching consequences.Black people were - and still are -grouped together according to theirhome language, and on the basis of thisthey are perceived to belong to thesame ethnic group. White people, onthe other hand, are grouped togetherregardless of their home language.This basic concept of apartheid ide-ology, the equalisation of language,culture and nation, is completely re-moved from reality and was mainlydevised to divide the black people inthis country-an aim which has, unfor-tunately, been successful to a consid-erable extent.Why is language so important to allof us and why is it such an emotionalissue? The obvious answer is that lan-guage is much more than simply ameans of communication. In all itssubtleties it is also a carrier of tradi-tions and values and through that acarrier of a person's identity and self-image, of his or her self-definition andself-expression. Language and all thatgoes with it gives one a sense of be-longing that is difficult to achievethrough any other means, except per-haps through one's love of the placeone grew up in.This is why language has playedsuch an important role in colonisationprocesses everywhere in the world.The well-known Kenyan writer, aca-demic and activist, Ngugi wa Thiong'o,

Page 33 of 54 `... the non-indigenous language becomes associated with positivevalues like advancement, access to knowledge, better livingstandards and power, while the people's own languages becomeincreasingly synonymous with backwardness and other negativeimages.pointed out on a recent visit to SouthAfrica that the economic and politicalcontrol of the colonist is incompletewithout cultural control. If he controlsthe culture and the language, the colo-nist also controls the values of the peo-ple and their self-definition and thusdefines their world and its social orderto suit his own purposes.Therefore the oppressor strives toelevate his own language and suppressthe indigenous languages. In this waythe non-indigenous language becomesassociated with positive values likeadvancement, access to knowledge,better living standards and power,while the people's own languages be-come increasingly synonymous withbackwardness and other negative im-ages.In South Africa this strategy hasbeen pursued in two ways. On the onehand the education of black children inthe official languages has in most in-stances been disastrously poor, creat-ing major obstacles for tertiaryeducation. The universities now haveto deal annually with hundreds of ap-plicants whose knowledge of lan-guages in general is far superior to thatof their white fellow-students butwhose poor knowledge of English pre-vents them from being able to followlectures.Now the status of both the currentofficial languages as well as, that of allthe African languages spoen in thiscountry is coming under scrutiny andwill hopefully be debated for the firsttime in South African history insteadof simply being enforced by those inpower.The question of a new languagepolicy has been discussed in differentquarters for some time now. The lasttwo years have seen a number of pub-lications as well as conferences andworkshops on language usage, learn-ing and planning.As yet, few concrete and detailedproposals have been formulated. Themain outcome of the ongoing debatethus far is the recognition of the com-plexity of the situation, the recordingof factors that will have to be takeninto account, and the spelling out ofthe questions that will have to beasked. A major obstacle is the lack ofresearch in many areas, and a majortask will be to consult as many con-cerned groups as possible before deci-sions are made.The most carefully consideredmodel to date is that of the NationalLanguage Project (NLP) in CapeTown, although to my knowledge italso does not go beyond a general out-line. This model is based on the as-sumption that all languages spoken inSouth Africa should be treated as ofequal importance, since if the lan-guage policy is supported by the ma-jority of the people it will help in theprocess of nation-building.Neville Alexander of the NLP pro-poses three models which could beimplemented successively as the situ-ation in the country changes: at firstEnglish as the national official lan-guage with all other languages (in-cluding Afrikaans) having officialstatus on a regional basis; thereafterEnglish, Standardised Nguni andStandardised Sotho as national officiallanguages, with the other languageshaving regional status; in the finalstage Standardised Nguni andStandardised Sotho as the only officiallanguages.Whether the standardisation of theNguni and the Sotho language groups,as well as the phasing out of Englishwould be a practical solution or couldbe justified in terms of expense is inmy opinion a debatable question.The African National Congress(ANC) has drawn up a working paperin which several options are outlined:English as the only official language;six (English, Afrikaans, Nguni, Sotho,Tonga, Venda) or four (English,Afrikaans, Nguni, Sotho) official lan-guages and only English or Englishand Afrikaans as official languages,both with regional languages depend-ing on the linguistic area. The secondand third models would require thestandardisation of the Nguni andSotho languages.The draft paper acknowledges thatall the options except the first arecostly both in terms of time and finan-cial resources. It ends with the state-ment that `it is not possible at this stageto opt for a national language and builtinto each option should be reassess-ment of language policy at regularintervals'. Whether a language policy,with its very far-reaching implications,could or should be reviewed andchanged periodically remains verydoubtful.The importance of the languageissue cannot be underestimated as itaffects all spheres of public and sociallife. The final decision on a new lan-guage policy will to a large extentdepend on two factors - finances andwho will make the decisions.Whatever model is chosen in theend, two things would ideally be en-visaged: a concerted effort by manygroups to overcome illiteracy, and suf-ficient opportunities for all people ofthis country to learn the official lan-guage(s) to a degree that makes theirparticipation as full citizens possible.Where this does not happen, the cur-rent state of affairs of dependence andpatronage will continue. Sadly enoughits perpetuation is in the interest ofcertain groups and individuals who aredetermined not to lose their position ofpower over others.Alternatively, at least as an interimmeasure for the foreseeable future,more funds should be made availablefor the extension of translation ser-vices. But the reality is that funds arescarce and the language issue willprobably take a back seat in relation toall the other urgent needs in the coun-try.Another question is who will fi-nally decide on a language policy. Ex-perience in this and other Africancountries shows that the sobering real-ity is that it will probably be the poli-ticians rather than the linguists andcertainly not the people of the country.One can only hope that despite thecomplexity of the situation in a coun-try like South Africa, where 24 lan-guages are officially spoken as mothertongue, a new government will beguided by the current debate and willattempt to act in the interest of all thepeople. 1-1Gudrun Oberprieler lectures inGerman and is a member of theregional council of the Black SashTransvaal region.

Page 34 of 54 Janumy 1992 SASH 33another betrayal:the story of the mfenguof tsitsikammaThe Mfengu of Tsitsikamma farmed their land for130 years until they were forcibly removed in 1977 toa remote and dry area of Ciskei. Since then they havemade repeated, unsuccessful attempts to return to theland they consider their legal home. Kobus Pienaar givesthe background to an unfinished story.In December 1977, about 4 000Mfengu (also known as Fingo peo-ple) were removed at gunpoint fromtheir land in the Tsitsikamma district.The 'and had been granted to them 130years earlier by Sir George Grey inreturn for the loyalty and support theyhad shown to the colonial government.The families were rounded up,trucked off and dumped 300 km awayin a barren and overcrowded resettle-ment camp in Ciskei, ironically namedElukhanyweni, `the place of light'.Now, 14 years later, the Mfengu peo-ple are poised for a last-ditch attemptto recover their land.Though the early history of theMfengu is under some dispute amonghistorians, popular history has it thattheir roots lie in Shaka's 19th-centuryWars of Conquest- the Mfecane. As aresult of these wars, we are told,groups of the Bhaca, Hlubi, Zizi andBhele people, later collectively called`Mfengu', were driven southwards tofind shelter amongst the Xhosa-speak-ing tribes with whom they struck up arelationship, characterised by exploi-tation and subservience. The nameMfengu is derived from the wordukufenguza, which means to wanderaround seeking work.During the Sixth Border War(1834-35) the Mfengu decided to as-sist the British against the Xhosa. Fortheir efforts, a small group of Mfenguwere rewarded with land in theTsitsikamma forest, about 130 kmwest of Port Elizabeth and 20 km in-land of the Indian Ocean. During the1840s, only some 6 000 ha of Mfenguland was surveyed and registered,Znominally in the name of either theMoravian Church superintendent orthe civil commissioner of Uitenhage,to be held in trust on behalf of theMfengu tribe and their descendants.This land was tamed and successfullyfarmed by the community for morethan 130 years.The Mfengu, however, had accessto far more than the mere 6 000 ha thatwas initially registered. During the en-suing years, white farmers started set-tling in the area and only some of thefurther portions of land to which theMfengu had access became registered.During the 1900s, the Mfengu had ac-cess to and actively farmed some8 000 ha of fertile coastal land.`Black spot' removalsIn 1975 a resolution was passed inparliament approving the removal ofthe Mfengu in terms of the black-spotremoval policy. A similar resolutionwas approved at the time with regardto the people of Mogopa. The resolu-tion was followed by a state presiden-tial order thatthe Mfengu should movefrom the land in September 1977.When it became apparent that theorder was to be executed, an urgentapplication was made to the supremecourt in Port Elizabeth, to declare thestate president's order null and void.The application was dismissed.(In 1984, however, the Mogopacommunity was served with the sameorder and they made application tohave the order squashed. They failedin the Transvaal Provincial Divisionbut took the case on appeal toBloemfontein, where, unbeknown tothe Mfengu, the state president'sorder, which was identical to that ofthe Mfengu, was ruled to be null andvoid. The implication of this is that theorder for the removal of the Mfenguwas in actual fact also null and void.)Some nights after the defeat in thePort Elizabeth court, the governmenttrucks arrived and the rounding-up offamilies started. Some co=Ymembers resisted, but they rested and taken to Ciskei. At the timeof the removal, their cattle were soldoff at firesale prices to white farmersin the district. Unharvested crops hadto be abandoned.The only compensation the com-munity received was a negligibleamount of about R200 000 for theirhouses, sheds, churches and schoolswhich were demolished soon after theremoval. The years since 1977 haveseen continuous attempts by the com-munity to reclaim its land, representedin its efforts by a committee of com-munity leaders known as theTsitsikamma Exile Association (TEA).`My people say that I must tell yorr, that if they do riot hear fromyou, they will return to Humansdorp on foot. They will rather diealong the road than to die in Keiskammahoek.' - Letter fromStanford Mtselu, chairperson of the TEA to Dr Koornhof, 1981

Page 35 of 54 34 SASH ,ranuarv /992`They came in buses and trucks with guns and clubs. We tiveremoved in a cruel manner. The women and children were crying.`In the Tsitsikamma I farmed with cattle and had a good income. Iwas the owner- of three houses, 37 head of cattle, 40 sheep and 6horses.`In Ciskei it was too dry to graze. I continually had to hear how thesheep were bleating from hunger...`They call the place the place of light, but really, it is the place ofsadness ... I want to go home, back to my birthplace.' - TembaXayimpiMfengu land soldIn 1982, despite the fact that the landwas still scheduled for the exclusiveoccupation of black people in terms ofthe 1913 and 1936 land acts, an adver-tisement appeared in the newspapersinviting whites to make application tobuy about 6 000 of the 8 000 ha ofMfengu land which was to be dividedup into 19 portions. The cost was threeor four times less than the market valueof the land at the time. About 150farmers applied.It was only in June 1982 that parlia-ment decided that the land should bedeleted from the Land Act Schedules.Having done so, in order to maintainthe quota of scheduled land in theCape province, land of alleged equalagricultural and pastoral value was tobe added into the schedule in the vicin-ity of Queenstown, which was there-after incorporated into Transkei.At the time, a delegation of Mfengucommunity leaders travelled to CapeTown to plead their case with PietKoornhof, minister of cooperation anddevelopment, but he refused to seethem on the grounds that they wereCiskeian citizens.The attempts of the Mfengu to haltthe sale of their land failed. Between1983 and 1987 it was sold in 19 lots towhite farmers for R1 345 613,10 - aquarter of the market value. Onlyl 946 ha of land was not sold and stillvests in the state.On 7 April 1983 the committeewrote to Koornhof, inviting him tovisit El ukhanyweni to witness first-hand the severe problems being expe-rienced by the resettled community`I am now 74. As 1 stand here Iam a man without land,without cattle or sheep andpoultry as before. All that Ican rely on now is my old-agepension, and the statepresident can think for himselfhow difficult it is to come out,on that ...'Document showing the original 1841title deed of the land granted to theMfengu by Sir George Grey(from Land Update, 6 February 1991)

Page 36 of 54 January 1992 SASH 35whose members were starving anddying. At the same time, they oncemore asked to be allowed to return tothe Tsitsikamma at their own expense.When no reply was forthcoming, aletter of reminder was sent on 24 June1983. On 14 August 1983, the com-mittee also sent a letter to the directorof human rights at the United Nations(UN) asking for relief and assistanceand for the UN to approach the SouthAfrican government on behalf of theMfengu people.Attempts to regain landIt was only during February 1984 thata reply was eventually received fromKoornhof, categorically stating thatthe government was not prepared toconsider the return of the Mfengu tothe Tsitsikamma.Towards the end of 1985 theMfengu were still making attempts toregain their land. They again at-tempted, by means of a letter to GerritViljoen, minister of constitutional de-velopment, dated 7 October 1985, tosecure an interview with him. He wassupplied with a petition signed by1200 people in favour of returning tothe Tsitsikamma.The next move of the TEA was anattempt to visit minister Viljoen but,once again, on 4 February 1986, thecommunity was advised in writing bythe department that their request toreturn could not be acceded to. Despitethis news, on 9 May 1986, a letter wassent to Tuynhuys requesting a meetingwith state president P. W. Botha. Twomonths later a letter was received fromthe minister of constitutional develop-ment requesting copies of all corre-spondence in the Mfengu matter.A further letter of rejection was re-ceived on 8 July 1986. In the interim,continued attempts were made to ob-tain assistance from influential groupssuch as the Council of Churches, theN. G. Church, the National Party andthe Broederbond, but without success.With the declaration of the state ofemergency in 1986, events could notbe taken further and the attempts of theMfengu to regain their land were se-verely thwarted.When the state of emergency waswithdrawn, the committee could onceagain make attempts to regain theirland. In 1990 they again wrote toViljoen asking him to meet them.Again they received a letter statingthat the matter was receiving attention.`Compare what the loss would be were the 19 rich, farmers, whohave lived on the land for the past eight years, to lose their farms,with the loss of the approximately 5 000 inhabitants of theTsitsikamma who had lived therefor nearly 200 years. Who hassuffered the most and who are the losers?' - Isaac ThembaniIn April 1990 the committee ap-pointed the Legal Resources Centre toprovide them with legal advice. In ad-dition, in July and August, committeemembers travelled throughout theeastern Cape to establish local com-mittees and in November members ofthe local committees met in Port Eliz-abeth and a democratically elected ex-ecutive committee of the TEA wasappointed.In December 1990 the communityplanned to clean the graves of theirforbears, from which they had beenbanished more than 13 years pre-viously. However, as most of thesegraves were situated on land currentlyoccupied by white farmers, they werenot permitted to undertake this cam-paign. In January 1991 the communityagain wrote to the farmers and saidthey intended to visit the graves inFebruary. A meeting was held be-tween the farmers and the TEA and anagreement was reached in accordancewith which a group of 60 Mfengu mencould visit the area to clean the fivegraveyards. This visit took place on23 February 1991 and ended with aservice at one of the graveyards whichwas attended by about 100 members ofthe community.In March 1991 the governmentpublished a White Paper in terms ofwhich they refused to return any landto dispossessed communities. As a re-sult, on 10 April 1991 TEA delegatesparticipated in a national day of protestagainst the White Paper. Protest actiontook place in Port Elizabeth,Humansdorp and King WilliamsTown where 13 members were ar-rested.On 21 and 22 April 1991 the TEAorganised a workshop which was at-tended by 250 delegates from theMfengu community. Several deci-sions were taken at the workshop. Fifty families would be resettledon Mfengu trust land at Clarksonat the end of June 1991;the Moravian Church would benotified of the decision;the community would begin aninternal fund-raising drive to col-lect money for transport costs;the invitation from minister Jacobde Villiers to meet communitieswhich wished to return to theirland must be responded to and aTEA delegation must attempt tomeet him;a supreme court application forthe return of the land must be ini-tiated.In May 1991 it came to the attentionof the TEA that some of the farmersintended to sell their farms at a greatprofit prior to the expiry of the ten-yearperiod. The TEA requested the ministerof agriculture, Kraai van Niekerk, togive an undertaking that no furthersales would take place. The undertak-ing was given.Shortly thereafter, however, theTEA was informed that the ministerhad made a `mistake' and that one ofthe farmers had been granted permis-sion to sell. As a result of this a su-preme court summons for the return ofthe land was issued against the 19white farmers, the South African De-velopment Trust, the minister of pub-lic works and land affairs, and the statepresident.The TEA continued to meet with thegovernment but despite a promise byminister De Villiers that this door wasopen to communities who wished tonegotiate a return to their land, the TEAwas refused their request.With the help of archbishop Des-mond Tutu, a meeting was set up inJuly 1991 between the TEA committee,president De Klerk, the community'slawyers and a minister of the Morav-ian Church. To the delegation, it ap-peared as if the state president listenedto their representations attentively. Hepromised to discuss the matter with hisministers and to give attention to thevarious matters that had been raised.The community is still waiting.Kobus Pienaar is an attorney at theLegal Resources Centre in PortElizabeth.

Page 37 of 54 36 sasH -zBefore reforms can be made to land policy in South Africa,it is necessary for all communities to be allowed to debate,consult and negotiate. Land is used for both agriculturaland non-agricultural purposes and it is important to under-stand how it can be used most productively, without under-mining the complex social fabric. Though this subject canbe emotionally addressed, Theresa Fleming attempts arational view, making a plea for a f exible approach whichwould accommodate both local and national needs.land reform:a questionof prioritiesLand issues, the land question, theland debate, call it what you will,it is being talked about at length inSouth Africa at present. In the past 18months there have been at least threemajor conferences on the land ques-tion in southern Africa, not to mentionspecial editions of many major jour-nals on the land issue. Community-based organisations are holdingworkshops to inform both communi-ties and policy-makers of the needs ofcommunities and the possible optionsfor land reform. It is clear that withoutdue consideration of all the processesof consultation and negotiation, aland-reform policy is likely to havelimited success.Land is necessary for agriculturalproduction as well as for other uses. Inany society the process of allocationand the regulation and control of landrelationships are indicative of the so-cial, political and economic prioritiesof that society.Dennis Davis and Hugh Corderargue that in a society in transitionfrom a racially oppressive structuralarrangement of political and economicforces to one organised along non-racial, democratic lines which seeks toaddress the wrongs of the past, there islikely to occur a disparity between anoverprotective and involved state andthe protection of individual rights.While this is easy to distinguish in alegalistic sense, it is often more diffi-cult in a political sense.The ideological base of the struc-ture of the state and society is reflectedin the legal system, but the politicalramifications of the relationship maybe more complex to discern. It iswithin the context of this complexityof relationships, alliances and agendasthat the land question and related is-sues in South Africa must be observed,researched and hopefully, understood.This discussion hopes to transcend theemotional content and look at the prin-ciples and possible consequences ofland reform.

Page 38 of 54 Some issues which affect landreformEven if it is not initiated by the state, aland-reform programme is usually im-plemented through state mechanisms.The desired results are a reflection ofthe nature of the state, state ideologyand economic policy. It therefore fol-lows that in order to determine (asaccurately as is possible in an esti-mate) the effects of possible land-reform programmes, a clearunderstanding of the state is necessary.On the other hand, there are a number ofissues that are affected by the regulationof the relationships to land, and that arespecific to the shaping of a land-re-form policy for the future. These is-sues are, briefly:1 The rate and nature of urbanisa-tion.2 Settlement patterns and the geo-graphical locations of desired set-tlement.3 Migration rates and reasons formigration.4 Agricultural - forms of produc-tion, that is, commercial, peasant.5 Access to capital goods, infra-structure, credit, and markets.6 Economic growth potential ofchanging the relationship to landin terms of forward and backwardlinkages and final demands of ag-riculture.7 Access to land for agriculturaland non-agricultural use.8 Regulation of land relationshipsthrough legal mechanisms.9 Roles of land - political, eco-nomic, social.The discussion continues in thelight of some of these issues: particu-larlyaccess to land for agricultural andnon-agricultural use, the economicgrowth potential of various policies,and the regulation of relationships toland in terms of its social, political andeconomic roles as perceived by theoccupants and users of that land.No `right' or `wrong' perceptionsThe argument stresses the relative un-importance of the so-called diversitiesbetween a `Western' and an `indigenous'perception of land tenure and land. Whileit would be naive simply to regard theperceptions as being the same, it isargued that, for both, the compositionof land relationships are equally com-plex and are based on the same needs.These are simply demonstrated in dif-ferent ways in relation to different so-cial systems. In other words, neitherone nor the other nor anything in be-tween should be perceived as `right' or`wrong'.Several issues, such as levels ofpoverty, ecological conditions, eco-nomicsystems, to name but a few,directly influence relationships to theland. Another question is whether for-mal or informal tenure best helps pro-ductivity. A major issue, central to theland-reform debate is the question ofproductivity. It has been under thetopic of productivity that the debatearound tenure (formal and informal)has developed.The two driving forces for land re-form are social equality and agricul-tural (and other) productivity. There isvery little empirical evidence to recon-cile indigenous land allocation sys-tems and tenure with Western landallocations and tenure. The currentstate of indigenous systems is differentfrom their original form when landwas abundant and boundaries werefew. Over time, these systems havebeen subjected to colonial penetrationin Africa as a whole and to apartheidin South Africa, but they have adaptedto suit new conditions and restrictionsand have survived, if in a distortedform.Productivity in indigenousland-rights systemsA recent empirical study by Migot-Adholla et al. researched the possibleconstraints that indigenous land-rightssystems have had on productivity inGhana, Kenya and Rwanda. Theyfound ample evidence to prove thatindigenous land-rights systems are ev-olutionary rather than restrictive to de-velopment. However, other academicopinions had, prior to this, arguedagainst the assumption that low pro-ductivity was simply a result of com-munal forms of tenure and allocationof land.Bruce suggests that `individualisa-tion may come about as the spontane-ous, evolutionary response of anindigenous tenure system to pressuresexerted by a market economy'. He ar-gues further, to demonstrate the com-plexity of the relationship of tenure toproductivity, that while the above maywell be true it is also possible thatindividualisation could be initiatedthrough a specific tenure reform.A frequent argument against themaintenance of communal forms oftenure is that they are regressive andnot conducive to development and in-creased productivity. But it appearsthat in South Africa there is in factevidence of a move towards in-dividualisation of land holding andthat this has been the case for a numberof years. (Migot-Adholla et al. andBruce and Letsoalo.)The main argument in Migot-Ad-holla et al. is that there is evidence of`spontaneous individualisation of landrights over time, whereby farm house-holds acquire a broader and more pow-erful set of transfer and exclusionrights over their land as populationpressure and agricultural com-mercialisation proceed'. This processhas been evidenced in South Africa inareas where there has been totalchange in the orientation of land-rightsallocations, particularly in semi-urbanareas in bantustans, although this isundoubtedly an area where there isgreat scope for further research andinvestigation.

Page 39 of 54 38 SASH Jani-v 1112Social networksRights to land and the role that landplays in the social networking of indi-viduals are vital issues in examiningthe evolutionary nature of indigenousland-rights systems. This examinationtakes account of the way in whichunemployed people are absorbed intothe fabric of the landed society, ageingpeople have the security of a place forretirement, and there is a network thatcan provide support for children in theabsence of working parents.Thus, the vulnerable people in apoor society can be incorporated in aland-rights system which is supportiveand in which different stages along theevolutionary continuum can be ac-commodated. Rights of use and occu-pation can then extend to family andkinship networks, thus reducing thenumbers of landless.The evolution of indigenous land-rights systems has been a result ofincreasing population pressures andintensified farming methods. Land islikely to be invaded or occupied andused by others it it is left unused for along period of time. It can be arguedthat the process of urbanisation and thecreation of a landless proletariat con-tributes to the further individualisationof land rights. Improved transportroutes and physical access to marketsare likely to increase farm income andprovide inputs for increased produc-tion.The possibility of constraints onproduction as a result of tenure re-quires that the discussion be taken toits ultimate conclusion, which is theregistration of title deeds and individ-ual, private freehold of land. The ques-tion to be asked is, is registration thelogical end to the discussion of in-dividualisation of land rights, or is itmerely one option? This is not a ques-tion to be answered here, but rather tobe debated and researched.Access to landThe important issue is that everyoneshould be able to gain access to land.Access does not simply imply thatland be `made available'. It refersrather to fostering an economy that isgrowing and able to expand to meetthe employment needs of an escalatingpopulation. It implies laws that are freefrom restrictions on access based onrace, religion or any other form ofdiscrimination. It implies affirmativeaction in order to assist black farmerswho want to farm, affirmative actionto ensure that what little land has beenavailable for occupation by blacks isnot appropriated by wealthier whiteinterests.In conclusion I propose four im-portant points for consideration in thedevelopment of a land policy for SouthAfrica:Land reform must be recognisedas only one component of bothagrarian transformation andnational development. The otherissues to be considered in con-junctionwith land reform are anintegrated rural-development ap-proach,the environmental sus-tainability of development andthe need to generate non-agricul-tural income in rural areas andthus stabilise the rural population.Land policy must address keyconstraints. For land to be usedeffectively, a land policy mustconsider the importance of provi-sion for training, the supply ofcapital goods, marketing and ac-cess to credit facilities. It mustalso recognise the social welfareneeds of people in relation to land.Land policy must be realistic. Itmust be based on community andindividual needs, which havebeen carefully represented in pol-icy-formulating forums, and mustnot based on external ideologiesand bureaucratic rationalities (orirrationalities). The policy mustrecognise that conflict over landis inevitable and constant and re-quires fair, legitimate, locally-based conflict-resolutionprocedures.Land policy must be com-prehensive. It must take accountof the different yet overlappingusage values placed upon land. Itmust be flexible and capable ofadapting and changing as the en-vironment changes and it must beable effectively to balance na-tional against local needs. jTheresa Fleming has completed aMasters thesis in Developmentplanning and is involved in theUrban Removals Group of'theTransvaal Black Sash.`We are committed to privateproperty and f -ee enterprise as thebasis on which a new South Africawill be built.'F. W. de Klerk`What this 'free market" policy willdo is to allow a few black people tobuy land. Buying and selling is notpart of our culture. We believe thatland is a God-given asset, given toall people. Therefore every personhas the right to a piece of land tolive on, but not to sell it like a pieceof property.'Western Transvaal communitieshe government's intention to im-Tposefreehold as the only form oftenure is as well known as communityopposition to this. Indigenous forms oftenure in South Africa - called com-munal, customary, traditional or com-mon property systems - take complexand diverse forms which provide anessential form of social security topoor communities. In some parts of thecountry, which experience semi-aridand arid conditions, communal tenuresustains the environment better thanleasehold or freehold because stockare free to move according to theweather between winter- and summer-rainfall zones. This is impossiblewhere individuals have tenure over anexclusive plot of land which is oftentoo small to allow for the necessaryrotation.

Page 40 of 54 land tenure out of africaLala Steyn was one of twelve South Africanparticipants attending a two-months course designedfor them by the Land Tenure Centre of the University ofWisconsin, Madison, USA. She draws on course debatesand experiences from two African countries to argue thatforced conversion from communal to freehold forms ofland tenure has been generally unsuccessful.One of the most important featuresof a land-reform programme is thekind of tenure systems it provides for.Debates on this issue in South Africatoday centre around freehold and com-munal tenure. This article examinescertain myths surrounding freehold,such as the belief that the forced con-version of communal tenure to free-hold will result in increasedagricultural production. This has notbeen the result in most African coun-tries, and we illustrate this argumentby drawing on Kenya and Lesotho asexamples. Kenya is a useful modelbecause of the number of similaritiesto South Africa, including the form ofits colonisation. Lesotho, which has asimilar form of communal tenure toparts of South Africa, is relevant be-cause tenure there has adapted to newcircumstances without being con-verted to freehold.It is necessary to say at the outsetthat people have different conceptionsof communal tenure, sometimes as-suming it to mean cooperative farm-ing. Although it is important toacknowledge the existence of diverseforms of communal tenure in differentparts of the country, it can be said thatin general communal tenure has astrong element of individual use rightsas well as communal grazing rights.While this article concentrates onforms of tenure in rural areas, it shouldbe remembered that there are also im-portant debates taking place aboutforms of tenure in urban areas.Freehold mythsThe South African government's land-reform legislation passed in June 1991follows a pattern introduced in manyAfrican countries through the insis-tence of agencies such as the WorldBank and USAID. They are importantinternational players who are alreadyengaged in discussions with govern-ment and opposition forces in SouthAfrica. These agencies have arguedthat the conversion of communal tofreehold tenure and the registration ofland titles will lead to increased secu-rity of tenure, which will lead to agri-cultural investment and thus greaterproductivity. As a consequence ahealthy land market will develop. Thishas in fact not occurred in most Afri-can countries where it has been im-plemented, such as Kenya and Uganda.Increasingly in the last few yearsexperts from these same institutions,Shem Migot-Adholla from the WorldBank and David Atwood from Us_,have challenged these myths by ex-posing what has happened in reality onthe ground. Let us look at what hap-pened in practice in places like Kenya.KenyaThe form colonisation took in Kenyahas its parallels in South African his-tory. White farmers were given thebest land, worked by cheap black lab-our. Native reserves were created andmigrants came to the cities to sell theirlabour, carrying identity cards whichdescribed their homes as the placetheir ancestors came from irrespectiveof whether they were born there orlived there. Chiefs were imposed andgiven new powers to allocate land.Individual freehold tenure forblacks was introduced in the 1950sduring the Mau Mau rebellion, towhich the issue of land redistributionwas central. Large-scale land consoli-dation and registration took place be-cause the government believed itwould: 1) create a stable African mid-dle class, 2) encourage security of ten-ure, 3) enable title to be used for creditand thus encourage agricultural in-vestment, and 4) encourage the devel-opment of a land market.In most parts of the country, how-ever, security of tenure did not in-crease. The process of implementingfreehold through registration provideda mechanism for the rich to get landwhile the poor lost their land. For ex-ample, the following groups of peoplelost their land: 1) Mau Mau suspects inthe central province, 2) certain catego-ries of tenants such as the muhoi andjadak groups, 3) landholders absentwhen the adjudication of land disputestook place, and 4) married sons orwives, as land was registered in thename of the family head.As a result of this process tenurerights became unclear because, evenwhere land was registered, customarylaw continued to influence the way inwhich most people dealt with theirland. A gap developed between the

Page 41 of 54 control of rights in the land registerand those recognised by loca"' mmu-nities. Communities have ways of con-trolling access to land and using itwhich differ from controls imposedfrom above. This fact should not beignored.A further consequence was thatsmallholders failed to get credit ormake investments. They did not wantto use their land as collateral becausethey feared losing it if unable to repaytheir loan. The banks were not pre-pared to give collateral on moveableassets such as livestock or crops. Theyonly gave it on land. Thus only largefarms owned by wealthy individualsusually got credit. People generallydid not make more investments be-causethe risk factor was too great andthere were ro favourable credit facili-ties or government subsidies to assistthem. The freehold-tenure systemmeant that the farmer had to take risksalone, without support from the com-munity network.A well-functioning land market hasnot been created in Kenya. The en-forcement of a freehold system fromabove and the disregard for local cus-tomshas meant that, despite consider-able government expenditure on landregistration, customary law continuesto determine sales and successions. Inmany areas people live on land regis-tered in the name of another or of adeceased person. People refuse to giveup their land even if they are forced tosell it on paper.The assumption that freehold tenurewould lead to increased production ig-nored the fact that people use land tosatisfy a variety of needs-as inheritancefor their children, for a second wife, forcash-borrowing power, for speculation,as a source of revenue or to farm.In Kenya, as in South Africa, landhas an important social security func-tion. Urban jobs are not secure enoughand do not provide for old age. Landin the rural areas provides a place forsurvival.Another argument used by support-ers of freehold tenure is that commu-nal tenure leads to land degradationand freehold is the only answer to con-servation of the environment. Thismyth is questioned more and more byenvironmentalists who point out thatin semi-arid regions, such as the com-munal areas of Namaqualand, commu-nal systems sustain the environmentbetter than the economic units im-posed by the government. It is wellknown that white farmers only reducetheir stock when conservation legisla-tion is enforced. Effective conserva-tion legislation and enforcement withcommunity participation and co-man-agement, as is being developed inLeliefontein (Namaqualand), couldwell provide an answer.LesothoThe Lesotho experience illustrateshow a communal-tenure system hasadapted to new circumstances withoutbeing converted to freehold tenure.The communal land tenure systemin Lesotho allows all Basotho accessto land for subsistence purposes anddoes not allow for land to be sold.In Lesotho pressure for conversionto freehold from foreign-donor agen-cies and commercial farmers has beenresisted by the government and thosewho believe in the communal land ten-ure system. Thus, despite the fact thatproductivity in agriculture has de-clined since the 1960s, most peoplelive off wages from men working onSouth African mines and food is im-ported from South Africa.The main reason for this resistanceis, as a farmer says, `Land is a sort ofsecurity. We mostly rely on workingin the mines, and we start thinkingabout the time we will be cominghome, and have nothing to live on. Wewill just get a few bags of grain [fromour land] but it is much better thangetting nothing. There are no pen-sions, nothing. That is the problem.'The communal land-tenure systemhas adapted itself to accommodate anincreased population and the resultinglimit on land. It has also adapted itselfto the fact that workers can earn moreas migrants on the mines than fromfarming.Share-cropping, renting and leas-ing arrangements have developedwithout leading to increased poverty.In share _cropping arrangements ahousehold with land, but no resources,makes a deal with a household whichhas no land, but has access to resourcessuch as draught oxen or tractors. Eachgets half of the crop. According tocustomary law all Basotho have theright to land but because of populationgrowth there is not enough land for all- thus no more land can be allocated.Thus, for example, a migrant who hasmoney and can buy/rent draught oxenor a tractor will make a deal withsomeone who has land to use the land.In leasing agreements a farmerwithout land will enter into long leaseswith landholders who do not have theresources to farm. The landholderswill be paid rent in kind. The length ofthe lease gives the farmer security toinvest inputs which may increase pro-ductivity. In other cases rental may bepaid in various forms: school fees,housing, cash, inputs for a portion ofthe land in exchange for the right tofarm the remainder, or providing forwidows in their old age. In more prob-lematic cases landholders have beenpaid for land giving the buyers thecustomary right to use the land as theirown. This has led to those with landlosing their only bargaining tool andthus to destitution.In general, commercial farmers inLesotho see the absence of a land marketas an obstacle to developing commercialagriculture. They argue that commercialagriculture will lead to higher levels ofsocial security than land and ask: `If theyare self-sufficient across the border [inSouth Africa], why can't we do it here?'However, there are also counter argu-ments.Weigh this `self-sufficiency' upagainst the high death rate due to mal-nutrition in South Africa despite itbeing a country `wealthy' enough toexport food. This question can also bebalanced against the following state-ment by Border communities:`A hundred years ago the govern-ment said that individual ownershipwas a good thing for black people andit passed the Glen Grey Act. Twenty-five years later it said it was a bad thingand changed the policy back to a kindof communal tenure. Twenty yearsafter that it started moving us aroundin our communities calling it "better-ment". And all the while poverty andlandlessness grew and grew. Now itsays freehold is the best after all. Wein the Border area are sick and tired ofthe government thinking it knowswhat is best for us.'Lala Steyn is the rural coordinatorof the Surplus People Project

Page 42 of 54 .Tanuary 1992 SASH 41three tributes`The quintessential revolutionis that of the spirit', saysNobel Peace Prize winnerAung San Sun Kyi. Thetributes, to her as well asNadine Gordimer and the lateMama Zihlangu, show thattheir lives bear witnessto this insight.Aung San Suu KyiNadine GordimerMarna Dorothy ZihlanguSalute to Aung SanSuu Kyi of BurmaA tng San Sun Kyi, Nobel PeacePrize winner for 1991 and prisonerof the Burmese government is thedaughter of a revered national leaderwho was assassinated in 1989. Sun Kyilived in exile until three years ago. Re-turning to help her ailing mother shesoon became the focus of increasinganti-government protest and helped tofound the National League for Democ-racy. The govemment house-arrestedher in July 1989 but in 1990 had to allowfree elections, in which the League wona landslide victory.However, the military have hungon to power and Sun Kyi is still inisolation.Here is a sample of her Gandhianphilosophy, contrasting with the bru-tality of a government that massacredsome 4 000 student demonstrators inSeptember 1988.`The quintessential revolution is thatof the spirit, born ofaconviction of theedfor change in those attitudes andvalues which shape the course of anation's development. A revolution thataims merely at changing of cial policiesand institutions with a view to improvingmaterial conditions has little chance ofgenuine success. Without a revolution ofthe spirit, the forces which hadproducedthe iniquities of the old order wouldcontinue to operate, posing a constantthreat to the process of reform andregneration.'From The Far Eastern Review, 18 July 1991available at the Black Sash national office.Margaret NashMargaretNash suggests readers write to SuuKyi, affirming her commitment, and to theBurmese government calling for her releaseand for democratic rule. (Send letters orpostcards via Black Sash national office.)Tribute to Mama Dorothy Zihlangu25 December 1920 -11 September 1991In June this year, the University ofCape Town awarded an honoraryMaster's degree to Mama Zihlangu, inrecognition and in celebration of a lifededicated to the fight for freedom andjustice in this country. She receivedthe homage as a frail but proud littlefigure. The family had assembled fromfar and wide to share in the celebra-tions, which stretched over a couple ofdays and characteristically involvedwhat appeared to be the whole ofGreater Cape Town.By then, she had suffered from illhealth for a long time. However, herstrong spirit and dedication promptedher always to live beyond her strength,to mobilise, organise and nurture. Sherecognised and was spurred on by themany tasks that lie ahead, especially inthe women's organisations. Themarginalisation of women at the ANCconference in June was a source ofgreat concern to her.Mama Zihlangu took part in theDefiance Campaign in 1952. She iswell known for her part in building theFederation of South African Womenin 1954. She often spoke about themarch of the women to the UnionBuildings in 1956, remembering hercomrades Dora Tamana and MamaSilinga.Mama Zihlangu played a majorpart in building ANC structures in theWestern Cape. She was banned, ar-rested, detained several times- but herfighting spirit remained undaunted byharassment, restrictions, by physicaldanger and personal suffering. In1960, she was released from jail just intime to give birth to her son Melisizwe.She and her husband were then bothbanned and put under house arrest. Astwo banned people living in the samelittle house in Langa, they were givenstrict instructions not to speak to oneanother! (The banning was droppedafter lawyers challenged it.)In the late 1970s and throughout the'80s, Mama Zihlangu was instrumen-tal in founding the United Women'sOrganisation and then, in 1987, in re-viving the Federation of South AfricanWomen in the Western Cape. This sheachieved despite restrictions placed onher during the state of emergency. Thethreat of imprisonment did not deterher from travelling far and wide tomobilise women and bring differentgroups of township and rural womeninto political organisations.In three years (1985-1987) shespent almost 12 months in jail - with-out charges ever being laid against her.When she was not in jail, she workedunderground. Many meetings of theFedsaw executive during that timewere held in parking lots or obscurevenues in order to protect Mama fromprying eyes. Her triumph came whenshe was able to attend the MalibongweConference in Amsterdam under anassumed name and with a false pass-port - and mischievously introducedherself to all of us there as `MrsDaniels'.During the late '80s she oftenworked closely with the Black Sashand formed strong bonds with manymembers in the Western Cape. Sheoften spoke of `my friends on that side'- meaning the other side of the subur-ban railway line, where most of theBlack Sash members live.She displayed a remarkablewarmth, generosity, concern and lovefor all people in all walks of life. In

Page 43 of 54 Cape Town, she will also be remem-bered for making one of the more un-usual of wedding speeches: In February1990, when Cheryl Carolus and GraemeBloch took time off from the struggle toget married, Mama Zihlangu (who hadlong pressurised Cheryl to marry andhave children) delighted all assembledguests with a fiery speech of celebration,ending in a rousing `And now apartheidcan just fuck off!'It is people like Mama Zihlangu whohave, through their life and work, beliedthe ideologies of division and mistrustthat have ruled South Africans for solong. Through them we have beenshown some of the deep generosity ofspirit that is able to forgive great andbitter injustices of our common past. Itis a spirit from which we may drawstrength and hope.Hamba kakuhle Mama Zihlangu.Karin ChubbTSalute to Nadine Gordimerhe award to Nadine Gordimer ofthe Nobel Prize for Literature isrecognition of the quality of her workand confirmation of her world stature.Nadine Gordimer would have been awriter wherever and whenever she hap-pened to live. South Africans are fortu-nate that she has lived here, at this time,and has illumined this world with hervision.Over the decades, writing that whichshe, as artist, has felt compelled to write,she has beguiled, amused, delighted,embarrassed and simultaneously con-scientised her readers. Her work has ledto new insights, keener perceptions, to aview - seldom flattering - of ourselvesas we appear to others.All South Africans should be de-lighted and proud that she has beenawarded the Nobel Prize, an honourwhich will bring her new readers andwill stimulate many to re-explore herstories, novels and essays.Nadine Gordimer, who found herselfa `member of the minority-within-thewhite minority', achieved a balance be-tween the demands of her craft and thoseof social responsibility. One remembersher encouragement of the literary mag-azine Classic; her vigorous oppositionto censorship; her support for young anddisadvantaged writers and of the Con-gress of South African Writers(coSAw); her outspoken opposition toinjustice and courageous evidence at theDelmas trial.Her living as well as her writing is aninspiration. Nancy GordonGoing GreenEdited by Jacklyn Cock andEddie Koch (Oxford UniversityPress, 1991)In 1971 Marvin Gaye wrote a songcalled `Mercy, mercy me (the ecol-ogy)'. Among the words of the songwere:`things ain't what they used to bewhere did all the blue skies go?Poison is the wind that blows ...oil wasted on the oceans and seas,fish full of mercury ...What about this overcrowded land,how much more abuse from mancan it stand?'He was way ahead of the now pop-ular green movement. But a lot hassince been written on the subject -in Europe the issues have becomepart and parcel of people's lives andpols.In South Africa, though, these is-sues are lower on the agenda than thefight against apartheid.In Going Green, Jacklyn Cock andEddie Koch significantly raise the en-vironment issue on the priority list bycombining it with the apartheid issueinto `green politics' through a compi-lation of writings which have a com-mon ideology - people are at thecentre of the environment.In this collection, the focus on peo-ple is regarded as primary to caring fornature. This is an important move fromenvironmental awareness focused onthe `preservation of wilderness areas,and particular species of plants andanimals' and campaigns to save thewhite rhino or stop seal culling.Cock argues that `green politics hasto be anchored in the needs of themajority of the people and for the ma-jority of our people environmental is-sues mean no clean water, noelectricity and no proper sanitation'.Green politics calls for an end to thearms race and the process ofmilitarisation and it unites those peo-ple opposed to each other on otherissues, she says.The book is divided into seventeensections.There are the predictable ones deal-ing with the waste problem - chapterl l -our current system relies heavilyREVIEWSand dangerously on the integrity ofindustrialists who bear the onus of dis-posing of hazardous waste correctly'-and chapter 12 - `in the third world,erosion is associated with and causedby poverty; rural people, often pushedonto marginal lands for commercial orpolitical motives, are forced to stripthe land of wood for fuel, and resort toovergrazing or overcultivation tomake a living. Thus, a cycle of landdegradation and deepening poverty isset up.' But these chapters do not addmuch new to the debate.Then, there are the fresh ap-proaches. In chapter 6 - `Reds andGreens' - Rod Crompton and AlecErwin address the question of labourand the environment. This chapter ar-gues that workers are often in thefrontline of environmental abuse andtrade unions therefore have a crucialrole to play in the transformation pro-cess. `Trade Union struggles for healthand safety in the workplace constitutethe first line of defence for an embat-tled environment,' they say. They fur-ther argue that the path forpost-apartheid reconstruction must beone where pollution control does notmean the closure of factories and sub-sequent loss of jobs, but rather favour-ing employment. Thus, trade unioninvolvement is essential, they say.In chapter 8 - `Flowers in theDesert' - David Fig deals with how alocal community has taken on theEskom and AEC parastatals to preventnuclear reactors being built inNamaqualand. `Must we prepare ourown gallows?' was the community'scry. Plans for the nuclear reactors havenot been shelved, but the fight againstthem is relentless.Margaret Jacobsohn describes inchapter 14 - `The Crucial Link' - hermonths with semi-nomadic Himbaand Hereto herders in the Kaokoveld.They showed how development of thecommunity and the protection ofplants can co-exist and how conserva-tion underpins development.Now, on to technical matters. Sub-jectively, the layout and design ofGoing Green enhances various sec-tions. The good use of white space andhighlighted quotes is particularly ef-fective. This format allows the readerto seize on a specific chapter with clar-ity of mental purpose. Unfortunately,

Page 44 of 54 Ja,TUarv 111, SASH 43REVIEWSthe centre gutter is too narrow and thetext tends to disappear into the bind-ing.There is a good spread of photo-graphs.However, this brings one to a seri-ous flaw. Notwithstan'ding the photo-graphic contributors prowess, thereproduction is poor, presenting im-ages which are fuzzy and often vague.The final edit also seems to havebeen somewhat neglected. Picturecredits are inconsistent as regardstype-face and positioning, there aremany literal errors and quotes are re-peated by the various authors. Somemay argue that this attention to detailis irrelevant, but they detract from thebook.Despite these criticisms, GoingGreen is a good collection of writingsof new environmental thinking in thiscountry.And 20 years on, it is good to knowthat South Africans are beginning toanswer another of Marvin Gaye'squestions: `Who really cares?'Obviously the editors and contrib-utors do.Diane StuartBLACK SASH PUBLICATIONMasisebenzisane -Let us work togetherPenelope Geerdts (Black Sash,1991)The South African DomesticWorkers Union has been waitingfor years for something like this -,ahandbook for domestic workers, andalso for employers, telling them oftheir rights, advising them how to dis-cuss matters such as a contract of em-ployment, wages, workhours,overtime, leave, etc.This Black Sash booklet is particu-larly good because it sets out thesematters, and also analyses some of theproblems that face domestic workers,in a way acceptable to both worker andemployer. We examined and dis-cussed this book at our SADwu HeadOffice and decided we would like tohave copies in the hands of all ournational council members, and even-tually get copies into the hands of allour members.We are pleased to note that theBlack Sash is agreeable to peoplecopying the book, which means it canbe supplied cheaply to many workers.We think it looks attractive and likethe illustrations.Penelope Geerdts has done a tre-mendous job, and we are glad to workhand in hand with the Black Sash forbetter understanding between domes-tic worker and employer.Myrtle Wit"" (SADWU HeadOffice)The Bounds ofPossibility: The legacyof Steve Biko and BlackConsciousnessN. Barney Pityana, MamphelaRamphele, Malusi Mpumlwanaand Lindy Wilson (eds) (DavidPhilip, 1991)A brilliant book. It illuminatespast, present and future in a waythat is relevant to all South Africans. Italso vividly reminds us of SteveBiko's courage, the starkly contrastingbrutality of his murderers, and of thedaily need for each of us to choosewhere we stand, and who we are. Ibelieve that it should be read by everyperson seeking an understanding ofoppression and liberation.My point of view: I am not a BlackConsciousness (BC) scholar, but haveread about it with interest over theyears. I aspire to being a feminist; thesimilarities between Black Conscious-ness and `separatist' aspects of Femi-nist Consciousness are astounding.Apart from the narrative detail, youcould in this book replace 'black man'with `woman' and `white' with `man',and have an equally valid account ofpolitical realities. So, as much as a mancan be pro-feminism, I am pro-blackconsciousness. (This may blind me towhat others may see as a `weakness' -a one-sidedness, an absence of con-trariness in the book.)The editors have succeeded in thetwo-fold goal articulated in their intro-duction: `one, an analysis of Steve'slife and political contributions in thecontext of the political developmentsin South Africa today; two, todemonstrate that Steve Biko's philos-ophy and the ideas of Black Con-sciousness have spread through thewhole thought structure of liberatorypolitics in South Africa'. They go onto say:`Each contributor has also at-tempted to examine the legacy of thatperiod in the light of contemporarypolitical realities ... It has been partic-ularly difficult to capture the essenceof who Steve Biko was in a singlechapter, but we believe that LindyWilson's chapter Ja professionallydocumented, lively, heart-rending andthoroughly gripping story) forms abasis for further biographical workwhich will have to be done in the fu-ture. We present him as we saw himand interacted with him,' with love,respect and the unique context of theirown intelligence.N. Barney Pityana's contributionon medical ethics is chilling to themarrow; another, `Revolution withinthe law?', exposes clearly the lie ofSouth Africa's `reputation of having animpartial and independent judiciary'.In two of her contributions,Mamphela Ramphele's inimitable un-derstanding of the dynamics of genderand of community development willbe particularly stimulating and usefulto Black Sash members.Neville Alexander's 1974 paper isfascinating as `a contemporary assess-ment of BC as it was happening, so tospeak', and Geoff Budlender on `BCand the Liberal Tradition: Then andnow' will strike a chord with those`whites' opposed to apartheid, forwhom `the emergence of Black Con-sciousness was a painful and bewilder-ing development'.Philosophical, historical, wonder-fully readable, paper after paper fur-ther explores BC, in the context of itscontinued impact, the armed struggle,psychology, culture and theology.The legacy of Black Consciousnessinspires hope that the bounds of possi-bility are more expansive than we dareto believe at present.Annemarie Hendrikz

Page 45 of 54 44 sasl .1 ...... 1112REVIEWSJump and Other StoriesNadine G,,-din,er (David Philip,Cape Town, 1991; 257 pages)I is a pleasure as well as a challengeturn from factual reports andanalyses of our current situation to thedeeper, many-faceted truth of art.Nadinc Gordimer's sixteen stories,mostly set in contemporary South Af-rica, deal with the consequences ofpolitical repression. A sure recipe forgloom? Indeed. Yet the book leavesone with a surprising sense of hope, ofexhilaration almost, for in protestingthe subjugation of the individualhuman being, Gordimer celebrates thedignity of the human spirit. Her read-ers share in that celebration.Several tales derive from recentevents, protagonists familiar frommedia reports; we enjoy observinghow Gordimer, perceiving a particularsignificance, has embroidered, ex-panded a bare outline, to illumine herinsight.In the title story, for instance, adisillusioned counter-revolutionarychanges allegiance and exposes thedestabilisation he helped organise.The theme goes beyond destabilisa-tion, to examine its dehumanising ef-fect on the perpetrators. We develop agrudging compassion for the anti-hero, himself victim of political re-pression, rejecting, albeit too late, hiscorrupt patrimony.A far more attractive hero (in `SafeHousesrecently returned fromexile, is once again a fugitive from thecourts, hiding in rugby crowds, atmovies. We are fascinated by his ad-ventures (real or apocryphal), by hiswit, his chutzpah; but it is his coura-geous dedication to principle thatgives significance to this tale.A very different experience is thatof the apolitical stockbroker joggingbeyond his usual limit early on a Sun-day morning. Suddenly caught up in acrowd of blacks hacking a man todeath, he is saved by a squatter womanwho bravely but angrily shelters him,and then reluctantly has her son guidehim back to the main road. Safe home,he finds himself unable to speak abouthis experience, is immobilised whencalled upon to save or kill a birdtrapped in the drainpipe. Who is vic-tim, who perpetrator?The pleasure of reading these sto-ries lies in sharing the wit and bril-liance of Gordimer's writing; theexuberance of her artistic creativity,guided always by informed intelli-gence; her ruthless uncovering of moti-vation and prejudice; her presentation ofnew perceptions. And here lies thechallenge: offered these new percep-tions, dare we open our minds to them,make them our own, act upon them?Or do we say `Brilliant!' and close thebook?Nancy GordonApartheid City inTransitionM. Swilling, R. Humphris and K.Shubane (eds) (Oxford UniversityPress, Cape Torn, 1991)here is no doubt that South Afri-cancities are currently being sub-ject to an unprecedented degree toforces of change. However, as MarkSwilling points out in his introductionto this book, the significance of thetransition in South African cities liesin its close interrelationship with tran-sition in other spheres - the politicaland the economic in particular. In es-sence, the legacy of the apartheid city,which brought about the spatial sepa-ration of race groups, of incomegroups and of different forms of landuse, has succeeded in affecting almostevery aspect of the daily life of theurban dweller. And for those who arespatially marginalised, who are poorand not classified `white', this effecthas been almost entirely negative. Theimportant lesson in this for policymakers is that whatever government isin power, or whatever economic sys-tem prevails, unless the issue of urbanspatial structure and service delivery isresolved, the crises which currentlybeset the cities will continue.This book provides a useful re-minder ofthe multidimensional natureof the urban crisis and helps to focusthe various arenas in which the crisisis manifesting itself.Part I reviews the factors which,historically, have shaped the urbanisa-tion process in South Africa, and Part11 establishes the current forms ofurban management and representa-tion. The subsequent three sectionsfocus on different aspects of the urbancrisis, the first being the fiscal crisis.The spatial and governmental frag-mentation of the apartheid city haveinevitably resulted in financial disasterfor those local authorities (which areprimarily in charge of African areas)dependent on a poverty-stricken resi-dential population as a revenue base,and the political conflict which hasensued over the payment of servicecharges has been equally inevitable.The second aspect of urban crisis isthat of service delivery, and this sec-tion of the book focuses on housing,land and transport. The latter in partic-ular is aptly described as a 'time-bomb'; the recently emerged taxiindustry, which is a direct response tothe spatial fragmentation of the citiesand the impossibility of providingsuch cities with good public transport,may yet spark off conflict which willaffect both political and economictransition.The third section - on urban crisis- focuses on political issues and thepositions of the various political actorsat the local level: township or-ganisations, liberal initiatives and therole of the Conservative Party are cov-ered here. The final section of thebook, entitled `StrategicPerspectives', examines the way for-ward; it raises some important ques-tions and it is clearly here that ourgreatest concerns must lie if transitionis to occur successfully.Vanessa Watson (Director: UrbanProbienisResearCh U1til)Living, Loving andLying Awake at NightSindiwe Magona (David Philip:Africa South New Wr-iting,1991;168 pages)had enjoyed Sindiwe Magona'sfirst book and looked forward toreading more about her life - how shemanaged to get away from selling

Page 46 of 54 REVIEWSsheeps' heads (oh, the smell and theflies!) and to improve her situation. SoI was a bit disappointed to find a col-lection of stories, but as I read 1 waswon over. There are these stories aboutdomestic workers; we all knowwomen who have been in situaticmslike these, but Sindiwe Magona de-scribes things just as they are, makingyou want to laugh and to cry, just aslife does. That poor woman having toleave her children with an unlovingmother-in-law, because her husbandfails to support her. `Tssp! Her hus-band was a dog that unsheathes itselfonto a tuft of grass. He forgot the grasshe'd peed on. Forgot what came fromthat. Ttssp-Ttssp!'And then there is Atini, her`medem' calls her Tiny - name toodifficult to remember! - and becauseAtim is desperate for work and shelter,she must humbly accept whatever her`medem' tells her; a funny littlewoman, not bad, but just selfish, un-able to see another person's point ofview.This book will amuse workers be-cause we recognise our lives in it. Itmay amuse employers too, becauseSindiwe Magona can write very clev-erly; but hopefully it will also givewhite people a better understanding ofwhat life is like for black people, espe-cially for a black domestic servant,yourhusband gone or passed on, livingaway from your family and children,in a little room by yourself, strugglingjust in order to earn a few rands foreducating your children or helpingyour mother - no hope of saving foryour own old age.Ellen Kuzwayo's stories are aboutolden days; the male writers describelife in the Transvaal townships. ButSindiwe Magona, really she tells it- ustas it is here in the Cape, or as it wasvery recently, before the violence.We black domestic servants knowso much about the life of white fami-lies, we can understand their prob-lems. Sindiwe Magona gives whitefamilies the opportunity to learn some-thing about our lives and our prob-lems. I hope she will reach manypeople.Nomalizo KamisaWomen and Resistancein South AfricaCherry' Walker (David Philip,1991)first published in 1982 (OnyxPress, London) his importantbook is no doubt well known to mostreaders ors ASH, despite the fact that itwas banned and unavailable in SouthAfrica for many years.As first published, it detailed andrecorded her story of 20th century po-litical struggles of South Africanwomen and immediately became -and still is an invaluable resource foracademic and activist alike.Not everyone agrees with Cherry'Walkers' analysis, and even somefacts in the book were questioned.However, it would be gratuitous torevive the debate here, and interestedreaders are referred to the JO'arnal ofSouthern At -ican Studies,10/1(1983),Work in Progress 34 (1984) and 36(1985), as well as an unpublishedpaper by Josette Cole (Department ofEconomic History, University of CapeTown, 198_5).Walker herself scrutinises the ma-terial with care and fresh insight, in thepreface to the second edition. Thispreface is in itself a stimulating contri-bution to contemporary political dis-course and examines in athought-provoking way such conceptsas, for example, motherhood and thefamily.I would recommend that womenwho read the first edition re-engagewith the author, nine years later, byreading the second edition preface -which will probably tempt you to re-read the whole book. To those whohave not yet explored these pages, youare missing out on a very importantpart of your own heritage as SouthAfrican women.Walker's conclusion of the secondpreface speaks for itself: `Women andResistance does not present a coherenttheory of geudered politics in twenti-eth-century South Africa; it is, as al-ready noted, a task that has just begun.As suggested in the previous section, Ibelieve that developing this theory re-quires taking seriously women's ownunderstandings of their roles and pri-orities - moving beyond seeing themas mere victims of patriarchal domina-tion to an appreciation of their own,gendered interest. It also requires tak-ing their history seriously. ThisWomen and Resistance attempts todo.' I believe it succeeds.Annemarie HendrikzThe Time of the StiltedPeopleAnne Schuster, illustrated byPeni van Sittert (Buchu Books,1991; 88 pages)StorylandCompiled by Jay Heale,illustrated by Joan Rankin(Tafelberg, 1991; 160 pages)he Time of the Stilted People is anadventure story for seven- toeight-year olds which from the veryfirst page is exciting, with an originaltheme.The stilted people are a race apartand although they look and behavevery differently from other people,they have some similarities. They arenot appealing, with their shaved heads,painted faces, bodies that make themlook like living corpses on stilts.They move from town to town lur-ing people into atrance with their hyp-notising smell and weird ways. Then aband of six friends helps bring lifeback to their own community.A wonderful story that is jam-packed full of fun.It is wonderful these days when youfind a collection of good South Afri-can stories, especially when, as inStoryland, you get 27 all in one go.These stories - for 1 I - to 14-yearolds - are wells set and make aperfect combination, ranging fromshipwreck, adventure, a cricket gameto dinosaur adventures, folktales, truestories, and Christmas treasures.Most of the stories are original - Iwished there were more.Rebecca Haynes (aged l4 years) ~J

Page 47 of 54 46 SASH January /992SNAP REVIEWS LETTERSSouth African Cities: A manifesto for changeDavid Dewar and Roelof Uytenhogaardt (Urban Problems Research Unit,University of Cape Town, 1991; 113 pages, illustrated)Despite the importance of urbanisation, and the magnitude of economic,social and political problems which potentially accompany it, there are veryfew fundamental questions being asked about what South African citiesshould become: there is none of the intense debate which occurs, forexample, around economic and political futures. The book develops from abase of first principles and, arising from this, a set of concrete actions which,the authors argue, represent a positive path forward towards increasinglymore convenient, efficient, viable, equitable and liveable cities.The primary purpose of the book is to initiate, and to contribute to, avigorous debate on urban futures which will result in positive, large-scaleactions within a short period.An Unofficial War - Inside the conflict in PietermaritzburgMathew Kentridge (David Philip, 1990; 249 pages, illustrated)Report on the struggle between Inkatha and the UDF and its horrific effect onthe lives of individuals; the roles of the warlords and of the police; peace-broking. Includes a chronological overview from September 1987 to June1990. Index. Weakened by a striving for readability.The Killings in South Africa(Africa Watch, USA, 1991)Deals with the violence in Natal and the Transvaal, focusing on the role ofthe security forces and the response of the state. Chilling report, concise andobjective, by a respected monitoring agency.Flashes in Her Soul - The life of Jabu NdlovuJean Fairbairn (Natal Worker History Project, Buchu Books, 1991; 90 pages,illustrated)Warmly personal story of a strong and compassionate woman, dedicatedshop steward of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa andcommunity leader of Imbali, killed with her husband and daughter in the warin Natal. Try to listen to the magnificent singing of Bambatha's Children fora fuller appreciation of the suffering in Natal Midlands.Songsources: Using popular music in the teaching of EnglishTerry Volbrecht (Buchu Books, Cape Town, 1991)This book will be a valuable addition to any school language library and alsoa rewarding book to dip into for anyone interested in promoting languageskills outside the formal classroom. It provides a bridge between conven-tional and more communicative approaches.Volbrecht suggests communicative ways in which popular songs can beused to make the syllabus relevant to students' interests. It is speciallyappropriate as it includes local, not only Eurocentric or American, popularsongs.N. M. G. 0nuclear power andgender activityAndrew Kenny replies to MikeKantey's critique (Letters, SASH,September 1991)am replying to the extraordinaryletter by Mr Mike Kantey, not onlyattacking my article in favour of nu-clear power but also your magazine forpublishing it. Mr Kantey is entitled tohis opinions but he really must get hisfacts right. To reply to his six points:1 Nuclear power in the West hasproved safer than any other meansof generating electricity, includ-ing solar power. The Chernobylaccident happened because of acrazy reactor design which wouldnever be allowed in the West. Buteventhe `holocaust' of Chernobylcaused far less death and diseasethan coal burning in the commu-nist countries.2 Nuclear power produces thecheapest electricity in the Euro-pean Community.3 The nuclear power industry is theonly power industry that hassolved its waste problem. Thewastes from coal stations aremore dangerous than nuclearwaste, last longer and are mas-sively larger. There is no technol-ogy for collecting and storing coalwastes, some of which remaindangerous forever.4 There is less connection betweennuclear power and nuclear weap-ons than there is between the steelin a sword and the steel in aploughshare.5 Whether or not electricity shouldbe centrally produced is a sepa-rate argument affecting mostforms of electricity production.6 There is enough uranium in theearth's crust to supply man [sic]with energy until the sun burnsout.I used to work for ESKOM, in bothits coal stations and its nuclear stationbut no longer do so. I do not earn apenny from the nuclear industry. I sup-port nuclear power because, from myexperience in the power industry andfrom my reading, I believe nuclearpower to be the cleanest and safestform of electricity generation, includ-

Page 48 of 54 LETTERSing all the forms of `alternativeenergy'.It is pure sexual bigotry to suggestthat you can give a gender to a tech-nology and call it `masculine'. Sciencebelongs to all of us. Although, to becandid, I must admit that some of thestrongest support I found for nuclearpower comes from the women work-ing in the nuclear industry. This isprobably because nuclear power offersthe best future for their children.Recently I took part in a friendlyand constructive debate on nuclearpower with Earthlife Africa in Johan-nesburg. Both they and SASH maga-zine have shown that they are in favourof open debate with both sides beingallowed to present their arguments. Iurge Mr Kantey to follow their en-lightened example.maintain the watchdogroleBasia Ledochowska, Cape Town,writes:have just read M. Ottaway's article(SASH, September 1991) and I wantto tell you how impressed and encour-aged I feel. I hope that the Black Sashwill take as seriously its role as thewatchdog of human rights under anyfuture government, as it did in the eraof apartheid.I think it was, of all people, Lenin,who said that every government tendsto oppress its subjects. Simone Weil,that great philosopher of human rights,talks about `justice this fugitive fromthe victorious camp'. In other wordsany government in power `needs con-stant watching' to quote Ottaway.I believe that the danger of mis-deeds by the people in power goingundiscovered is greater in South Af-rica than in European countries be-cause the majority of the workingpopulation is by the fact of its illiteracypractically cut off from the possibilityof exercising control over the authori-ties.I should like to add another obser-vation to Ottaway's list of difficultiespreventing people from denouncinghuman rights violations. There is atendency among people who sufferedunder one system of government tosupport a system which appears to beits antithesis. People from eastern Eu-rope who came to South Africa in thelast 40 years tended to support theNationalist government because of itsstrong condemnation. of communism -whose oppressiveness made them fleetheir motherlands. Now, people whosuffered under apartheid show a ten-dency to greatly admire communismwhose appalling human rights recordin every country in which it was estab-lished is glossed over.Having had the opportunity of ob-serving both `regimes' at close quarters- I found many remarkable similaritiesin their treatment of ordinary people.False dichotomies of that kind are afavourite weapon of demagogues andneed watching very closely.Let us hope that the Black Sash willnever waver in its determination todenounce human rights violations in-cluding doublespeak and misinforma-tion from whichever quarter.a plea for the dedicationAnn Stekhoven, Cape Town,writes:1 would like to congratulate you allon the excellence of the Septemberissue of SASH magazine.However, it has disappointed mevery greatly that the `dedication' hasbeen left off the back of the cover, notonly in this issue, but many others aswell.Do members of the Black Sash notwant to remember this dedication?Has it been forgotten - or deliberatelydiscarded?I, and I know many others, feel thatwhatever new ideas and focuses wemay have, it cannot be right to removethese words, which point to the inspi-ration, trust and faith that have helpedus build and be creative.Can we please have it back to re-fresh our hearts and minds?Refer to back page (editors)`significant sisters'recommendedBetty Davenport, Cape Town,writes:usually find I read SASH from coverto cover, but seldom have I read anissue as the September 1991 with suchsustained interest and appreciation. Ithink you have put together an ex-tremely balanced edition with enoughanalysis of the position of radical andmarxist feminists and of liberal andsocialist feminists to make it accept-able to all. I found the articles by Dor-othy Driver, Denise Ackerman andFidela Fouche particularly thoughtful.I can recommend a library bookwhich makes really absorbing reading,about the women whose `fanaticism'paved the way for changes in legisla-tion in their field - inter alia law,medicine, education, politics, birthcontrol-during the late 19th and early20th centuries. It puts into perspectivethose causes which have been ad-dressed for over 100 years, and which,despite improved legislation, are stillareas where women are discriminatedagainst.The book is Margaret Forster's Sig-nificant Sisters - The grassroots ofactive feminism 1839-1939; Penguin,London, 1986 (ISBN 0-14-008172-0).

Page 49 of 54 48 SASH Ju~u~arc 11112JEWS-STRIPRegional newsBophuthatswana stand,arrest and human rightsThe actions taken by theBophuthatswana government inresponse to the Black Sash stand inMmabatho as reported in the interna-tional media, illustrates how littlepresident Mangope is concerned abouthuman rights and how even the mostinnocent of political actions is disal-lowed in his homeland.The prospects for Bophuthatswanahunger striker Johannes Semi lane lookbleaker than ever. There is also in-creased concern that the MafikengAnti-Repression Forum which gavesupport to the Black Sash stand and tomembers while they were in jail, willnow face even more harassment thanin the past.Barbara Klugnian(Transvaal region)On 11 October, members of theNatal Midlands Black Sash,joined by representatives from theDemocratic Party, the Pietermaritz-burg Agency for Christian SocialAwareness, the Association for RuralAdvancement, the ANC Women'sLeague, and the End ConscriptionCampaign, stood in silent protestagainst the arrest of 1 1 of our membersin Bophuthatswana./envy Clarence(Natal Midlands region)Beulah Rollnick beginning her 100th day book at the Johannesburg Black Sashadvice office. (All cases are written up in 100-page day books. On an average thereare two to three cases per page.)Capital punishment groupA dossier has been compiled on thedeath penalty as requested by theBophuthatswana representative at theChancery. Included amongst other in-formation is a copy of Inside SouthAfrica's death factory and an addressby Peter Storey delivered in Johannes-burg in 1989. The dossier was for-warded with a letter dated 1zOctober1991 to president Mangope. To date,no reply or acknowledgement hasbeen received.Isie Pretorius(Northern Transvaal region)Sylvia Nilsen honouredOn 23 October 1991, SylviaNilsen, a member of the NatalCoastal region, was named Woman ofthe Year by the Durban branch of theUnion of Jewish Women.Sylvia Nilsen is a long-standingmember of the Black Sash and hasworked in the Natal Coastal adviceoffice since 1985. She is now the pen-sions co-ordinator for the Natal Mid-lands office. She was named Womanof the Year for her outstanding contri-bution to the community, particularlyin the field of disabled rights. In thisregard she started the South AfricanBrittle Bone Association in 1979. Atpresent she is vice-chairperson of theSouth African Inherited Disorders As-sociation.Ann Strode(Natal Midlands region)

Page 50 of 54 ,lanuary /992 SASH 49Western Cape:NEWS-STRIPVisits by leading international feministsPeace initiativesand monitoring"-Atthe tragedy of the taxi war con-Atinues, Black Sash members inthe Western Cape are very involved inmonitoring the situation, and arecalled out on a daily basis to take state-ments and offer support to people whohave had their homes burnt down, andrelatives and friends killed. They areinvolved in the Western Cape repres-sion monitoring group which has beenpart of the Quaker Peace HouseResource Forum over the last months.The group operates as an information-sharing forum, looking at reports onunrest and violence coming in fromtownship fieldworkers, the UrbanMonitoring and Awareness Commit-tee (U-C), civic associations, theWestern Province Council ofChurches (wPCC) and others.Helen Zille chairs the Police Forummeetings at which the Black Sash alsohas four representatives. One of theconcerns expressed at these meetingsis that the police in uniform and cam-ouflagedress frequently do not wearany form of identification on theirclothing in their patrols in the town-ships.The Black Sash is also representedon the Peace Committee initiated bythe mayor of Cape Town, Mr Frankvan der Velde, and archbishop Des-mond Tutu.Carol Lamb(Cape Western region)Book launchOn 27 September, together withFogarty's bookshop, a launch washeld for Kathryn Spink's book BlackSash: The Beginning of a Bridge inSouth Africa. Lesley Frescura, theregion's newsletter editor, gave a shortaddress to the members and supporterspresent, which looked at the history ofthe organisation and ahead to the future.Judy Chalmers(Cape Eastern region)Above: Rudha Kumar receiving FracturedCity, a Black Sash publication, from MaryKleinenberg.Right: Angela Davis.A ngela Davis, American human-rights activist and author, touredthe Pietermaritzburg unrest areas wickmembers of the ANC Women's League.The branch was invited to join themfor a morning's discussion and severalmembers also attended a seminarwhich Davis addressed at the Univer-sity of Durban-Westville.Radha Kumar, one of India's lead-ingfeminists, was also in Pietermaritz-burg for a few days which enabled thebranch to spend several hours with herin fruitful discussion about her in-volvement with the community inBhopal, particularly the women, afterthe disaster there. Her courage andcommitments often in the face of ex-traordinary odds, is an example andencouragement to us all.Jenny Clarence(Natal Midlands region)Robben Islandphotographicexhibition inCape Town0aPenny Sachs has been responsiblefor arranging an exhibition ofphotographs featuring returning polit-ical prisoners, mainly from Robben Is-land. This has been displayed atvarious venues, for example CowleyHouse and the Baxter Theatre complexin Rondebosch, with great success.Ta

Page 51 of 54 50 SASH January 1992NEWS-STRIPNorthern Transvaal:Private eventsEnlarging membership appears tohave been the primary preoccu-pation of theregion! Wewelcome sec-retary Cathy Matthews' twins,committee member Kathy Pay se'sdaughter and chair Kerry Harris' son.Isie Pretorius(Northern Transvaalregion)The domesticworkers groupThis has concentrated on givinginput on the recommendationsput out by the National ManpowerCommission regarding the extensionof labour legislation to domestic work-ers. Apart from internal discussion, ageneral meeting was held to which theSouth African Domestic WorkersUnion (SADWU) was invited.I have been involved as a researcherin a study commissioned by IDASAat the request of the eMgwenya com-munity (Watervalboven). It aims toassess income patterns of householdsand the affordability of services pro-vided to residents. The report hopes toprovide the relevant information to allbodies involved in the negotiation pro-cess regarding the future of the admin-istration of the area.Penny Geerdts(Northern Transvaal region)The move towardsa single municipalityAlthough Knysna was in the newsa few years ago when the ideawas put forward that it have a singlemunicipality, there has since then beenlittle tangible progress on the issue andno attempt to discuss it in a publicfor... Therefore when CapeWestern's advice office committe de-cided to hold its September meeting inthe local advice office, the opportunityto organise a public meeting about asingle municipality was seized. Themeeting was well attended by all sec-tions of the community, who heard theviews of the mayor, the town clerk, theKnysna Civic Association, and theHornlee Interim Management Com-mittee on the issue. Jenny de Tollyrounded off with a general overview ofthe situation in South Africa, and thefranchise locally and abroad. A livelydiscussion ensued, and many pointswere made and grievances aired.The branch is proud of its organisa-tion of the meeting, the feedback fromwhich was positive, and is optimisticthat if the momentum is not lost some-thing constructive will flow from theoccasion.In the ensuing weeks, the SouthernCape branch of Cape Western hasbeen invited by the municipality toattend the inauguration of a new clinicin `White Location', and a'think-tank'on job-creation for school-leavers.Carol Elphick(Southern Cape branch)Patriotic/United FrontconferenceR epresentatives from the BlackSash attended the Patri-otic/United Front conference held inDurban in October.Attended by 92 diverse or-ganisations, it aimed to mobilise theforces of democracy to act in unity witha common viewpoint on the process oftransition - which formed the substanceof discussions. The conference was di-vided into four sessions - one each oninterim government/transitional author-ity, all-party conference/pre-constitu-tional assembly meeting, constitutionalassembly, and violence. Our greatestfrustration was that of being unable tospeak for the Black Sash on these is-sues as we have not yet developedofficial positions on them.The theme which dominated dis-cussion was violence. It seemed clearthat everyone present accepted that thecurrent violence was being orches-trated, if not initiated by the state.There was a general feeling of crisis,that something had to be done, everytime the topic was raised. I found my-self (and I think many others did too)feeling caught in a catch-22 situation- that transition will be difficult, if notimpossible, whilst violence continues;but until there is transition (at least tothe point of an interim government),violence will inevitably continue.Although no conference is withoutits frustrations and problems, it wasexciting to be part of such a historicalevent, a useful and positive stage in theprocess of change to a democratic,peaceful South Africa.Anne Truluck(Natal Midlands region)Discussion group ona constitutionAlthough issues and events oftenpre-empt debate, regional coun-cil has formed a small discussiongroup to begin investigating the pro-cesses towards the development of anew constitution for South Africa.They have drawn up a questionnairewhich has been sent to all regions, andthe responses to this will be formu-lated into a document for NationalConference 1992.Carol Lamb(Cape Western region)Women's issue groupThe October general meeting wasorganised with the focus being onhow the Black Sash could become in-volved in the campaign for a Women'sCharter. It was addressed by represen-tatives from the ANC's Women'sLeague and the Democratic Party.Laura Best(Northern Transvaalregion)

Page 52 of 54 .1 nuurp 1992 SASH 551NEWS-STRIPTraining courses in the P.E. advice officeThe Port Elizabeth advice office(now called the Black Sash ad-vice office) has organised six three-week courses in the past twelvemonths, with attendance from adviceoffice workers in 13 rural areas in theeastern Cape and also from urban of-fices. It is hoped that next year moresupport and training will be offered inorder to strengthen the network ofrural offices that is becoming estab-1 i shed.Judy Chalmers(Cape Eastern region)Casspir debateThe Black Sash and the End Con-scription Campaign joined forceson two Sundays in protest at the pres-ence of a casspir, billed by the or-ganisers as a welcome diversion forchildren, at a local market. The standdrew considerable public interest andcopies of the letter written in protest tothe officer-in-charge of the police re-serve were handed out to people in thepark. The casspir is still on display,however, to people who seem unwill-ing to admit to or recognise the veryserious statement its presence is mak-ing.Jenny Clarence(Natal Midlands region)Above:Cathie Binnell, Debbie Matthews andHern Luyten (SACHED) with trainees inthe Black Sash P.E. advice office,October 1991.Below:The protest =against thepresence of a casspir at thePietermaritzburgmarket.ObituariesOlive ForsythOliveForsyth, an early memberof the Black Sash, died in PortElizabeth on 30 May 1991,aged 88.She joined the Black Sash inPietermaritzburg virtually at itsinception, working and stand-ing with other stalwarts likeMaimie Corrigall, Meg Straussand Pam :asShe was one of those whostood in Bergville when minis-ter Paul Saner arrived to ad-dress the local agriculturalshow and, on that occasion, wasaccompanied by her daughterBridget (Ward) who is an ac-tive member of the Transvaalregion.Pat TuckerLesley MartinLesley Martin, a staunch sup-porter and committed member,died whilst on a visit to her sonin America. We will miss herintellect, her caring, and herwonderful feisty letters to thepress. She was a lesson in cour-age to us all.

Page 53 of 54 The Black Sash dedicationIn pride and humbleness we declare ourdevotion to the land of South Africa; wededicate ourselves to the service of ourcountry. We pledge ourselves to uphold theideals of mutual trust and forbearance, ofsanctity of word, of courage for the future,and of peace and justice for all persons andpeoples. We pledge ourselves to resist anydiminishment of these, confident that thisduty is required of us, and that history andour children will defend us.So help us God, in whose strength wetrust.

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