Don’t do stupid sh*t (if you really care about Afrikaner culture)

Barack Obama was once asked by a White House correspondent to summarize his administration’s foreign policy. Mark Landers, the author of Alter Egos, says that Obama thought for a few seconds and then responded: “Don’t do stupid shit”.

I often – too often – think about that in my line of work. Last week was one of those occasions.

The FW de Klerk Foundation published an article on their website under the title: “President Ramaphosa’s doublethink Heritage Day statement”.  The article starts off with a quote from George Orwell (SIGH!) and initially criticizes the President for not promoting indigenous languages in South Africa.

However, the author, Dave Steward (who is the Foundation’s Chairman) quickly gets to the actual gripe of the Foundation. He quotes a paragraph from the President’s speech which stated: “Heritage Day is a time to appreciate the many facets of our cultures, customs, and traditions. It is the time when we put them on display to appreciate and celebrate, and share our cultures and traditions with others.”

To this he responds: “… this clearly does not include the cultures, customs, and traditions of white South Africans and particularly Afrikaners.”

I’m sure you must by now wonder what on earth President Ramaphosa could have said that made the Foundation draw this conclusion. I did too and immediately re-read the President’s speech. In fact, I read it twice and still could not understand what the FW de Klerk Foundation was talking about.

So I went back to the article. Here is what was said: “According to the President they (I presume they mean Afrikaners?) should not be put on display to be appreciated and celebrated with others. Instead, the “naming and renaming of towns and cities” should be used to expunge the contribution that they have made to our collective history - and their monuments “glorifying our divided past“ should be repositioned and relocated” away from public view.

It continues: “So what was left for white South Africans to celebrate on Heritage Day? Was there nothing in their history since 1652 that is worthy of commemoration?”

Now let me quote to you exactly what the President said:

“Building a united nation means we must be aware of and check our own acts of racism and prejudice continuously. We come from a history of prejudice and exclusion, and since democracy, we have worked to transform the heritage landscape of our country. The naming and renaming of towns and cities forms part of this, as well as the erection of new statues and monuments. Monuments glorifying our divisive past should be repositioned and relocated.”

He went on to note that “this had generated controversy with some saying we are trying to erase our history. Building a truly non-racial society means being sensitive to the lived experiences of all this country’s people. Any symbol, monument, or activity that glorifies racism, that represents our ugly past, has no place in democratic South Africa.

The struggle against apartheid was first and foremost aimed at ensuring that all our people should reclaim their dignity, black and white.”

Note that the President does not refer to Afrikaans or Afrikaners and their history at all. In fact, the only references that he made specifically to Afrikaners were to include Afrikaans in his greeting and to pay tribute to Elsa Joubert (the renowned Afrikaans writer) who died recently.

So please tell me how on earth anyone can deduct from that, that the President is against Afrikaner culture?

As he clearly stated, he and his government are against symbols and monuments (which would of course also include colonial ones) or activities that glorify racism and represent our ugly past.

Which raises the question: Aren’t you, Mr. de Klerk, and the Foundation that bears your name, doing just that?

Furthermore, are you actually saying that these symbols (that glorify racism and represent our Apartheid past) are the sum total of Afrikaner culture? And thus, that the President’s call (and that of 90% of the people of this country) to have them moved leave Afrikaners nothing to celebrate?

Let me clear: I have never hidden that I am an Afrikaner. I love the language, I love and still cook (and bake) the Afrikaner dishes that I was taught by my grandmother around the old Aga stove on their farm. I love (some) Afrikaans music, etc.

However, I will not deny, nor will I ever celebrate or glorify the role that some Afrikaner leaders played in the brutal suppression of the majority of people in our country.

I would have thought that at a minimum Mr. de Klerk (who, after all, was very proud of his Nobel Peace Prize for dismantling Apartheid) would also feel that way?

The author of the article then goes further and quotes Dr. Danie Langner, CEO of the Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Organisations, who said “…the President spoke from on high about the Afrikaners’ cultural heritage, but not with us. There has thus far been no discussion by the government with the Afrikaans cultural communities about their culture.”

Apart from the insulting “on high” reference, this seems to indicate that Mr. Langner and the FW de Klerk Foundation - through their attack on President Ramaphosa - actually expect special treatment for Afrikaner culture, which shows breath-taking arrogance and historical blindness.

Let’s remember that this is the President that speaks Afrikaans whenever given the opportunity.

He is the one who takes special care when he answers the Freedom Front’s questions in parliament and from what I hear engages with them on various issues. He still defends the right of Orania to exist - even when it is extremely unpopular amongst the majority of his followers. He is also the one who has been a vocal defender of property rights which has so freaked out Afrikaner farmers.

Make no mistake: articles like these do enormous damage. To take a beautifully and carefully crafted speech aimed at inclusivity and reconciliation which our President is so known for and deconstruct it in such an inflammatory way can only damage the goodwill that still exists.

I have no idea what political game the Foundation is playing with this. Perhaps it’s an attempt at raising some funds. Whatever the motive is, it is extremely stupid and won’t achieve anything positive for Afrikaner culture.