Re: And what do the Belgians, including you, owe to those in their former colony, the Belgian Congo, after years of the most brutal exploitation and the rest?
Well, as far as I'm concerned, I don't owe them my current lifestyle.... I mean, the Belgian-Congolese issue was settled, for the main part, in 1962 when Belgium granted her colony formal independence. Hence there's no longer a white Belgian minority lording it over native Congolese in the DRC --a crucial difference with South Africa, and a source of confusion as well. Indeed, you white South Africans must relinquish your socio-economic assets in addition to the purely political franchise already granted to the black majority NOT TO REDEEM YOURSELVES FOR APARTHEID'S CRIMES but to pledge yourselves to a truly multiracial and peaceful South Africa henceforth.... Unlike the Belgians, white South Africans can't tell their fellow black citizens, "but in you're in charge now! We left! You're on your own! The land, the country, the mines, the highways, the railways, the power plants, the banks, the hotels, everything, are ALL YOURS NOW!!! Don't blame us if you can't handle it and mess it all up!!!" Unlike Congolese, black South Africans can still point at the white elephant stuck in the middle of the living room --and rightly so.
Of course, such a broad-brush disclaimer by former colonial powers like Britain, Belgium, France,... is somewhat hypocritical and unfair because, following the colonies' formal independence, economic neocolonialism kicked in and somehow took up where colonial stewardship left off. Most African countries, for all their political sovereignty, were still dependent on European and US markets to trade their riches. They were also dependent on European/US skills and know-how and, last but not least, money (IMF, world bank,...) Yet, self-rule doesn't mean "autarky" and all countries --not just poor African and Latin American ones-- must get by in a globalized economy where corporate and financial power lie increasingly outside the nation's narrow ambit. Heck, even tiny Belgium had to adjust to a world where GM, Ford, ExxonMobil,... boast of annual revenues bigger than Belgium's GDP.
So, my point, Searle, is that you white South Africans, can't have it both ways. You can't call it quits just because you gave up the trappings of political rule while holding on tight to your socioeconomical privileges.
Gus |
