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Free South Africa! Newsletter of the Seattle Coalition Against Apartheid

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Free South Africa! Newsletter of the Seattle Coalition Against Apartheid Free South Africa! Newsletter of the Seattle Coalition Against Apartheid HONOR THE WOMEN OF SOUTH AFRICA Celebrate the Role of Women in the Freedom Struggle August 9th, South African Women's Day, women are recognized internationally for their role in the strug­ gle against apartheid. On August 9, 1956, 20,000 women lead by the Federation of South African Women took to the streets of Pretoria, protesting the pass laws. After delivering petitions to the office of the Prime Minister, the women stood in electric silence with the thumbs up salute of the African National Congress for a half hour and ended the demonstration with a new freedom song whose refrain is "Wathint' a bafazi, way ithint' imbolodo uzo kufa" - Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock, you have dislodged a boulder, you will be crushed! South African women have always played a central role in the struggle against the apartheid system. Over­ coming great obstacles, South African women have brought courage and enthusiasm wherever they have taken up the struggle. The condition of women in South Africa is very A delegation from a South African women's organization. harsh. Black workers are not paid enough to support their families. Under the migrant labor policy those who can find work are temporarily allowed to live in the city. The rest of their family is banished to the barren Now you have touched the women homelands. You have struck a rock According to G.F. van L. Froneman, former Deputy You have dislodged a boulder Minister of Justice, Mines and Planning: "This African You will be crushed labor force must not be burdened with superfluous ap­ (from South African women's freedom song) pendages such as wives, children and dependents who could not provide service. .. There are single African women who could be usefully employed in white areas and while there are white families who could not do If a South African woman is lucky enough to find without domestic help. The moment a Bantu woman work in the city, she still lives on the edge of survival. starts a family she belongs in the homelands. " African women earn less than half of what African men make and only 8070 of what white males earn. Domestic Policy of Apartheid: Destroy the Black Family service is the main occupation open to African women. Those who are working in the cities can only see their They are forced to change their place of employment families once a year. This is designed to destroy all often because of low wages or because they have a normal family life between Black men and women. child. In the homelands women are expected to survive the Once a South African women bears a child, she must extreme poverty as best they can. Many women spend send the child to the homelands in order to continue most of their days walking miles collecting firewood and working. She may not see the child for a full year or carrying water from the nearest river or well. The more because if she were to leave her job, she would be homelands cannot support farming. Under these condi­ replaced by someone else. tions women are often forced to watch their children die from malnutrition. The Solution for Women: Eliminate Apartheid Apartheid clearly lies at the core of women's oppres­ sion in South Africa. There is no way that the lives of women can be improved without the elimination of the apartheid system. South African women, well aware of Join the Seattle Coalition Against Apartheid's this fact, have consistently taken the lead. Most recently Observance of the 30th Year of in the formation of the United Democratic Front SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN'S DAY (UDF), women's influence and leadership is reflected in Sunday, Aug. 10 1 p.m. its program, which calls for the dismantlement of apart­ South African Consulate heid and the full equality of women. 835 Hillside Drive, Seattle Of the 600 organizations in the UDF, 60% are Nomazizi Sokudela women's groups. As Nomazizi Sokudela of the ANC Head of Women's Section African National Congress Women's Section has said, "Through this mass Observer Mission to the United Nations organization the women have challenged the regime on Reception - 4 p.m.· 7 p.m. all fronts, and neither tear gas, bullets, nor prison will 1619 35th Ave., Seattle deter their determination to fight for the dismantling of For more information, call Kikora Dorsey, 625-2729 apartheid and for the creation of a free, democratic, non-racial and united South African society. " Join us as we celebrate the women of South Africa. IT'S NOT THE MESSENGER, IT'S THE MESSAGE Mandatory Sanctions: An Effective Policy Against Apartheid For several weeks we have heard rumors that the Reagan South African policymakers were in the process of revising the administration's policy toward South Africa. We looked toward the revisions with anticipa­ tion since it is clear that the current policy of Construc­ tive Engagement was crumbling under the weight of the increasingly repressive South African government. Constructive Engagement a Complete Failure The Reagain administration adopted and imple­ mented the policy of Constructive Engagement with the South African government of P.W. Botha five years ago. The policy calls for the U.S. government to pressure the Botha government to end apartheid through Quiet Diplomacy. Though President Reagan h~ steadfastly vowed he will not abandon the policy, neIther he nor anyone in the administration can cite one clear accomplishment of the policy. Since the U.S; implemented the Constructive Engagement policy we have seen the Botha government impose two states of emergency under which the government has further restricted the freedom of the black majority population. Under the current state of emergency the government has severely restricted the freedom of the press to report the truth about the conditions in South Africa. The cur­ rent state of emergency is distinguished by the thousands of persons arrested or detained without charges and the increasing use of the military in repress­ ing the black freedom struggle. Demonstration outside court in support of "Pretoria 12," 21 June 1977. Black Ambassador a Reagan Smokescreen If the new Ambassador is to be successful toward the The administraton has consistently denied that system of apartheid he must begin to represent the posi­ economic sanctions will work against South Africa tion of black South Africans who are willing to suffer though they have imposed them in Nicaragua and the temporary deprivations brought about by economic Libya. The House of Representatives, tired of waiting sanctions for the ultimate goal of a free South Africa. for the administration to respond responsibly to the The new Ambassador must also truthfully represent the South African situation, passed the Dellums Bill, which positions of the frontline states who have consistently calls for comprehensive economic sanctions against called for economic sanctions against South Africa even South Africa. The Senate will debate and vote on though their own economies will be hurt. similar legislation in the coming weeks. When it became apparent that the administration was becoming isolated Push for Economic Sanctions from the mounting public pressure to take decisive ac­ tion against Pretoria, the administration "leaked" the A change in the administration's policy is long over­ news that they were considering a Black businessman to due. If the U.S. continues diplomatic relations with become the next U.S. Ambassador to South Africa. South Africa they must drastically change their foreign policy toward South Africa and give the Ambassador a The calculated leak was designed to divert public strong policy to work with. Your help to make this hap­ attention away from the House passage of the Dellums pen is absolutely necessary. Mass pressure on our U.S. Bill and present an impression that the administration Senators is needed immediately to insure passage of was taking bold steps toward resolving the rapidly strong sanctions legislation in the coming weeks. deteriorating political situation in South Africa. The ap­ pointment of a black man as Ambassador to South Africa cannot be seen as a bold step or a realistic effort to pressure the Botha regime to dismantle apartheid as What you can do to help impose U.S. sanctions: long as the Ambassador's message is a continuation of Call or write - the policy of Constructive Engagement. Senator Slade Gorton 442·5545 915 2nd Ave. Sanctions Will Make the Difference Seattle, WA 98104 A new Ambassador, regardless of the color of his Senator Dan Evans 442·0350 skin will be as ineffective as the message he conveys if 915 2nd Ave. his message is a continuaton of the policy of Construc­ Seattle, WA 98104 tive Engagement. If the new Ambassador is to have any success in bringing about real change in South Africa he must have the bargaining tool of comprehensive For more information about the economi9 sanctions against South Africa. The Botha Seattle Coalition Against Apartheid government will not relinquish their power over the call Maryamu Eltayeb majority population as long as the greatest threat 722·3725 or 525·1213 against them is Constructive Engagement. .
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