i-Namibia

Im Februar dieses Jahr entschuldigte sich der australische Premierminister bei den Aborigines für die Diskriminierungen der Vergangenheit. Kurz darauf forderte der Vorsitzende der südafrikanischen Menschenrechtskommission, Jody Kollapen, eine ähnliche Entschuldigung für die Übel der Apartheid von den ehemals privilegierten bei den ehemals benachteiligten Personen in Südafrika. Es sei nicht zu spät, sich für die Apartheid zu entschuldigen, forderte er. 

Dies blieb natürlich nur ein frommer Wunsch. Denn wer genau sollte diese Entschuldigung aussprechen, Frederick van Zyl Slabbert etwa oder gar Helen Suzman, die Politiker also, die sich sicherlich am wenigsten für die Apartheid entschuldigen müssten? Vorster,  Verwoerd und PW sind schon tot, aber man könnte natürlich Pik oder Terre’Blanche fragen. 

Das Problem dabei ist nur, dass diese nicht im Leben daran denken würden, sich für die Vergangenheit zu schämen. PW hat noch selbst auf dem Totenbett die Apartheid verteidigt.  Exemplarisch für diese Grundhaltung, die nach wie vor von vielen Weißen, vor allem den Boeren, geteilt wird, ist die folgende Rundmail, die sich schon Anfang des Jahres als Replik auf die Forderung von Kollapen wie ein Fegefeuer durch südafrikanische Mailboxen wälzte und jetzt in einer zweiten Welle wieder überall auftaucht, sogar als heiß diskutiertes Youtube-Video. [Update 2008-12-05: Youtube hat das Video verboten -- hier beschwert sich der Verfasser darüber]

Was könnte man auf diese Polemik antworten? Ich bin sprachlos. Kluge Antworten auf diese Rundmail, Antworten, die Weiß und Schwarz versöhnen könnten, wären Gold wert, bitte einschicken.

• To the Previously Disadvantaged
  - Autor unbekannt, aber vermutlich aus Südafrika und europäischer Herkunft

We are sorry that our ancestors were intelligent, advanced and daring enough to explore the wild oceans to discover new countries and develop them.

We are sorry that those who came before us took you out of the bush and taught you that there was more to life than beating drums, killing each other and chasing animals with sticks and stones.

We are sorry that they planned, funded and developed roads, towns, mines, factories, airports and harbours, all of which you now claim to be your long deprived inheritance giving you every right to change and rename these at your discretion.

We are sorry that our parents taught us the value of small but strong families, to not breed like rabbits and end up as underfed, diseased, illiterate shack dwellers living in poverty.

We are sorry that when the evil apartheid government provided you with schools, you decided they’d look better without windows or in piles of ashes.

We happily gave up those bad days of getting spanked in our all white schools for doing something wrong and much prefer these days of freedom where problems can be resolved with knives and guns.

We are sorry that it is hard to shake off the bitterness of the past when you keep on raping, torturing and killing our friends and family members, and then hide behind the fence of ‘human rights’ with smiles on your faces.

We are sorry that we do not trust the government. We have no reason to be so suspicious because none of these poor hard working intellectuals have ever

been involved in any form of corruption or ‘irregularities’.

We are sorry that we do not trust the police force and, even though they have openly admitted that they have lost the war against crime and criminals we should not be negative and just ignore their corruption and carry on hoping for the best.

We are sorry that it is more important to you to have players of colour in our national teams than winning games and promoting patriotism. We know that sponsorship doesn’t depend on a team’s success.

We are sorry that our border posts have been flung open and now left you competing for jobs against illegal immigrants from our beautiful neighbouring countries. All of them countries that have grown into economic powerhouses, after kicking out the ’settlers’.

We are sorry that we don’t believe in witchcraft, beetroot and garlic cures, urinating on street corners, virginity testing, slaughtering of bulls in our back yards, trading women for cattle and other barbaric practices.

Maybe we just grew up differently.

We are sorry that your medical care, water supplies, roads, railways and electricity supplies are going down the toilet because skilled people who could have planned for and resolved these issues had to be thrown away because they were of the wrong ethnic background and now have to work in foreign countries where their skills are more needed.

We are so sorry that we’d like this country to fulfil its potential so we can once again be proud South Africans.

‘The Previously Advantaged’