S. Africans discuss apartheid

While most Penn students might not know very much about the ongoing desegregation process in South Africa, a group of 25 Ware College House residents learned first-hand about the situation from two visiting citizens of the racially unstable country. At an informal dinner in Ware Faculty Master Kenwyn Smith's apartment Wednesday night, two black South Africans -- Harry Mashele, the general manager of a division of South Africa's railroad service, and Thoko Maliza, a labor lawyer -- shared their views on, and experiences with, apartheid and the desegregation process. Apartheid, South Africa's institutional policy of segregating blacks and whites, officially ended in 1991. Since the election of President Nelson Mandela in 1994, the nation has struggled with the massive task of desegregating a divided population. The speakers emphasized their support of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Committee, chaired by Nobel Prize-winning Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which recently wrapped up its work. Instituted by Mandela in order to avoid future hostility between white and black South Africans, the committee was charged with conducting a series of hearings into the racially motivated atrocities that occurred until the new regime took power, Mashele said. The committee released its controversial report, which found evidence of wrongdoing and violence by both the South African government and Mandela's African National Congress, last week. "Truth and Reconciliation has done a great deal to heal South Africa," Mashele explained, adding that he was "surprised [by] how many people have admitted to [racial] crimes." College freshman and dinner attendee Maya Imberg said that "through the Truth and Reconciliation committee, the black South Africans are willing to forgive. I doubt that this would happen in the [United] States or many other nations." Both speakers also noted that they support Mandela in his political policies. "The fact that we didn't resort to warfare [during the desegregation process] was largely due to Nelson Mandela's reconciliatory leadership," Maliza said. Mashele and Maliza both emphasized the economic problems aggravated by desegregation in South Africa. "[Black South Africans] won the political power, but we do not have the economic might," Maliza said. Maliza went on to explain that South Africa's greatest challenge was the expansion of its physical infrastructure. According to Maliza, because the 70 percent black majority was divided into tribal homelands before 1991, most of South Africa's roads and buildings were designed to support the needs of the 25 percent white minority -- which owned 87 percent of the land. Now that the population is no longer segregated, the current infrastructure is inadequate, she said. South Africa is attempting to finance land redistribution by attracting foreign investors, Mashele explained. But, the task is an arduous one because the slightest change in the country's political atmosphere creates investor panic, he added. According to Mashele, "[South Africa is] not able to absorb that kind of shock." when foreign investors withdraw their funds from the country. Students reacted positively to the event. "What made [the speeches] powerful was that you learned about the human experience of black South Africans," College junior Constantine Farmakidis said. Smith added that "what's happening in South Africa is one of the most significant social experiments.? the world is waiting, the world is watching."