Citizenship and Future Aspirations Within the Youth of Khayelitsha
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Bachelor Thesis, Sociology, 15 ECTS University of Halmstad The School of Social and Health Science The Program for Sociology, Community Development & Social Action Spring, 2008 A FUTURE IN OUR LIFETIME? CITIZENSHIP AND FUTURE ASPIRATIONS WITHIN THE YOUTH OF KHAYELITSHA Authors: Therese Andersson Fredrik Aspling Supervisor: Ove Svensson Abstract Authors: Andersson, Therese & Aspling, Fredrik Title: A Future in our Lifetime? – Citizenship and Future Aspirations within the Youth of Khayelitsha Publication: Bachelor of Sociology Thesis, 15 ECTS Supervisor: Ove Svensson The ongoing development of the new post-apartheid South Africa is still dealing with its own cruel history. A socio-economic structure based on race has been built up over years of colonialization and apartheid where the black people of South Africa have been excluded from being South African citizens. The first democratic election in 1994 contributed to the “freedom in their life-time” that youth from the uprisings in Soweto urged for. But today, fourteen years after the relaxation of the apartheid the same socio-economic structures based on race are still visible, not as strict as then but still exceptionally obvious. Especially if you compare townships, like Khayelitsha in the outskirts of Cape Town, with it’s metropolitan area. Khayelitsha is predominantly black area and is also one of the poorest communities in Cape Town. This thesis looks at one of the first generations in the ambivalence of the new post- apartheid South Africa, twelve years after the fall of apartheid. We have completed 14 qualitative interviews with adolescents in the age between 18-to-21, living in the socio- economic margin, in the township of Khayelitsha. We have examined their relations to the civil society and their participation within it. In addition also their future aspirations and how they will maintain them. Keywords: South Africa, Khayelitsha, Youth, Socio-economic Margin, Poverty, Social Reproduction, Citizenship, Future Aspirations 2 Acronyms AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ANC - African National Congress BEE - Black Economical Empowerment DEIC - Dutch East Indian Company HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus MDG - Millennium Development Goals NGO - Non-Governmental Organization NP - Nationalist Party NYC - National Youth Commission NYDPF – National Youth Development Policy Framework NYS - National Youth Services NYSP - National Youth Services Programme RDP - Reconstruction and Development Plan SASM - South African Student Moment UCT - University of Cape Town UWC - University of Western Cape 3 Content 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Aim of the Thesis ................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Formulation of Questions..................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Disposition of the Thesis...................................................................................................... 8 2. BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................. 10 2.1 The Construction of Economical and Ethnical Segregation in South Africa..................... 10 2.2 The Township of Khayelitsha ............................................................................................ 12 2.3 The New Post-Apartheid South Africa .............................................................................. 13 2.4 The Youth in South Africa Today: Values and Resources ................................................ 14 2.5 Previous Research .............................................................................................................. 15 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................... 17 3.1 Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft .......................................................................................... 17 3.2 Citizenship.......................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Habitus and Cultural Capital.............................................................................................. 18 4. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH.................................................................................. 19 4.1 Selection of Survey Participants ........................................................................................ 19 4.2 Pre-understanding............................................................................................................... 20 4.3 The Interview Situation...................................................................................................... 20 4.4 Interview effects................................................................................................................. 21 4.5 Reliability and Validity ...................................................................................................... 22 4.6 Ethical Discussion.............................................................................................................. 23 5. PRESENTATION OF THE MATERIAL – THE YOUTH IN KHAYELITSHA .............. 24 5.1 Duration of Time Spent in Khayelitsha.............................................................................. 24 5.2 Standard of Living and Household..................................................................................... 25 5.2 Leisure & Activities ........................................................................................................... 27 5.3 Benefits and Disadvantages in Khayelitsha ....................................................................... 29 5.4 Control over Their Lives .................................................................................................... 32 4 5.5 Education and Future Aspirations ...................................................................................... 33 5.6 Growing Older.................................................................................................................... 36 5.7 Relations to the Civil Society............................................................................................. 37 5.8 Relation to Politics ............................................................................................................. 39 5.9 Politics in Practice and Thought......................................................................................... 42 6. ANALYSE ........................................................................................................................... 45 6.1 Khayelitsha as a Gemeinschaft .......................................................................................... 45 6.2 Citizenship.......................................................................................................................... 47 6.3 Vukuzenzele – Active Citizenship...................................................................................... 49 6.4 Education and Future Aspirations ...................................................................................... 51 6.5 Habitus and Cultural Capital.............................................................................................. 52 7. REFLECTIONS AND AFTERTHOUGHTS ...................................................................... 54 8. SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 56 References ................................................................................................................................ 58 5 1. INTRODUCTION “The youth of our country are the valued possession of the nation. Without them there can be no future. Their needs are immense and urgent. They are at the centre of our reconstruction and development plan” (Nelson Mandela’s public speech at the Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, 24 May 1994 1). It’s with these words, that the former South African state president and freedom icon, Nelson Mandela explained the position of the youth and youth development after the African National Congress (ANC) won the election in 1994 with the Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP) and democracy was a fact. The South African youth has ever since the democratic breakthrough been seen as critical role-players within the future- discourse and the development of the new post-apartheid South Africa. After more then 300 years of white domination and over 40 years of apartheid the black South African youth are finally free from the oppressive apartheid regime that held back their parents and generations before them. It was the necessary alteration that had a significant impact on the citizens, it made the country “more united, more peaceful, more optimistic, more self-confident and more ambitious” (Daniel et al, 2005, p. xix). Since the relaxation of apartheid several positive transformations have been accomplished; more then 700 laws have been constituted, 1, 5 millions of low-cost houses (RDP-houses) have been built for the former homeless people, electricity is now available to 3, 5 million households and the access of clean water is now available to more than 7 millions of people (Afrikagrupperna, 2005). Despite this, the rift between the rich and the poor are still huge and still based on race. As Ashwin Deszi (2002)