Vuyo Saki, was born into a segregated and systemically racist regime commonly known as 'Apartheid'. As a native South African, she sits down with INECO's CEO and Founder: Ama Antwi-Saki to share her unique experience of South Africa's Apartheid.
A: What does apartheid mean for you?
V: “It means racism”
A: How do you feel about apartheid today?
V: “Yeah, I feel comfortable because since Nelson Mandela was released it resolved. Especially in South Africa”
A: Do you think your country can heal and repair with time?
V: “No, they can’t repair. Because time wasted never comes back”
A: Do you have a mistrust for white people as a result of apartheid
V: “I can’t say I mistrust them because there was nothing really, especially in South African involving me and a white person. Like if you were in [the] bank you’d give way for them. They lived in their own place, I lived in my own place - At that time I didn’t know we had a right to be we they are”
A: Do you think global governments did enough to encourage the ending of apartheid?
V: “Yes, it has ended. Like now, everyone is buying a house where they want to be, there’s no restrictions now”
A: Do you think local governments did enough to encourage the ending of apartheid?
V: “They didn’t even encourage [it], it just dissolved after Mandela was released because he was in jail fighting for this, everything is done by blacks now - although the whites are [still] there in parliament”
A: Going forward, would you ever return permanently to your home country?
V: “That’s a difficult question… yeah I will, when I retire I’ll prepare to go to South Africa. But the difficulty is there is a high rate of unemployment, a high rate of stealing”
A: Do you feel safe in your home country?
V: “Yes”
A: What are your feelings on the proposed “Employment Equity Act”,?
V: “Oh my feelings, we were better when we’re having them - the economy of South Africa was high. It’s not like now, yes blacks are in charge but there’s a lot of stealing”
A: Do you think the Employment Equity Act should have limitations, such as a 20 year period?
V: “There’s no point, because people have got qualifications but there’s no employment - that is what is killing South Africans”
A: Do you believe the Act is reverse apartheid?
V: “Yes, I can say that”
A: How will you explain apartheid to younger generations?
V: “I will explain that it was a time of blacks being oppressed by whites, we were just cheated because if you were educated and passed standard 10 the white man who passed standard 6 will get the job. We were just cheated. And we didn’t know that there was mental illness in whites, little did we know they had extra money [for mental healthcare] to be treated at home. Before Nelson Mandela, there was no white person on the street, now there are”
A: In the 28 years since apartheid was abolished, have you seen or felt social improvement?
V: “Oh yeah, there is social improvement because we can mix with them [white people] now. But the feeling, if I was in charge of the country it’s better for them [whites] to rule the country, it was a nicer time. Since the blacks started ruling, we don’t have education schemes anymore, ploughing these things, cultivating these things that’s nice, the food markets, affordable food. ”
A: Finally, what gave you strength, hope and endurance during apartheid?
V: “During apartheid I didn’t have any strength”