[sankofalist]Excuse me if I don't feel bad for these folks...
Michelle K. Massie
michelle@mwcreativegroup.com
Thu, 16 Dec 2004 02:35:58 -0500
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...however, I am worried about how these =B3poor whites=B2 may act out their
aggression on the indigenous (re: Black) South Africans.
S.Africa's White Poverty Grows as Apartheid Fades
By Lucia Mutikani=20
VANDERBIJLPARK, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa, once Africa's last
bastion of white rule, has something you don't often see elsewhere on the
continent: poor whites.
A few years ago it was unimaginable to see whites begging at traffic light=
s
or working as parking attendants. Now it is a common sight.
Pottering around in her scantily furnished house with peeling wall paint,
Elsie Smit holds back tears as she talks of her family's battle to survive.
"We struggle a lot. My husband is unemployed. The only one who works in
this house is my son. His money goes to paying for the house and for water
and lights. So there isn't much that is left of his salary to feed us the
whole month," she says.
Several white families in the Vanderbijlpark industrial area, south of
Johannesburg, are in a similar position and depend on food parcels.
Guaranteed a quality education and good jobs by the apartheid regime, some
whites -- particularly the Afrikaners who put apartheid in place -- have
seen a reversal of fortunes under democracy.
Estimates differ on the extent of the problem and opinion varies on the
root causes of white poverty, but all agree that it is growing as
unemployment remains a serious concern among all racial groups.
According to a United Nations (news - web sites) Development Program repor=
t
last year, 6.9 percent of the country's white population lived on less than
354 rand ($58.57) per month -- the national poverty line in 2002 -- up from
1.5 percent in 1995.
Statistics South Africa estimates there are about 4.2 million whites in th=
e
country and most of them still live in the top economic brackets, many with
the same pools, maids and imported cars they enjoyed under apartheid.
But white poverty is not a new phenomenon to South Africa, which saw
substantial white immigration rather than the scattering of ranchers,
adventurers and colonial administrators that formed the white communities i=
n
most other African states.
MBEKI INVESTIGATES
Historians highlight the "poor white" problem, particularly among
Afrikaners before the outbreak of World War II, as one factor leading to th=
e
apartheid system which essentially became a whites-only welfare state.
That system ended in 1994 with the country's first all-race elections --
sweeping away decades of white privilege.
President Thabo Mbeki has agreed to look into the statistics which indicat=
e
a sharp rise in white poverty, as well as claims that government policies
such as affirmative action are the cause.
"If indeed there are consequences of the government's actions which are
resulting in greater impoverishment, clearly that is something we will have
to look at," Mbeki said.
Lawrence Schlemer of the Helen Suzman Foundation, a Johannesburg think
tank, estimated that in 2003 there were 120,000 whites living on 1,000 rand
per month, slightly more than 2 percent of the white population. A total of
about 500,000 lived on less than 3,000 rand per month, he said.
"The significance of this 3,000 rand is that it's not necessarily poverty.
The point is that it is impossible to live in what used to be regarded as a
typical white suburb with less than 3,000 rand a month," he said.
Schlemer says as a result, whites are moving into mixed, socio-economicall=
y
depressed areas.
Some like Santie Nienaber have found shelter in flimsy structures erected
behind other people's property and garages.
In the black townships, such structures are referred to as squatter camps,
but Nienaber prefers to call the rows of shacks behind Sally Bruwer's house
as a "transit camp."
"At the moment three families (live here). Most (of the residents) are men
who struggle to find work," says Nienaber.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO BLAME?
Political parties such as the predominantly white Afrikaner Freedom Front
Plus blame the government's affirmative action policy and describe it as a
new form of discrimination.
Party leader Pieter Mulder says the government's policy to redress past
injustices against blacks was unintentionally shutting new generations of
white South Africans out of jobs.
"Whites are very bitter, very angry ... because the new South Africa has
brought only poverty to them and they are going in the wrong direction all
the time," he says.
"Affirmative action is largely to blame for what is happening. There is no
way these people can emigrate, they will never emigrate ... 80 percent of
Afrikaners will always be here. They will always be part of Africa."
But some academics do not see affirmative action as the culprit and blame
globalization, which has seen companies becoming more capital intensive and
shifting from blue collar to more skilled labor -- and in the process
leaving many less educated whites behind.
With an unemployment rate of up to 40 percent and a less-than-brisk
economic growth rate, Schlemer sees little hope for a change in these
fortunes of the poor whites.
"Only if our economy grows rapidly (will this situation improve), but this
is unlikely. The kind of growth we are likely to get will not absorb these
kind of people, they are destined to be unemployed till they die," says
Schlemer.
($1=3D6.044 Rand)
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<HEAD>
<TITLE>Excuse me if I don't feel bad for these folks...</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-size:12.0px'>...ho=
wever, I am worried about how these “poor whites” may act out th=
eir aggression on the indigenous (re: Black) South Africans.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"6"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-size:19.0=
px'><B>S.Africa's White Poverty Grows as Apartheid Fades<BR>
</B></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><FONT SIZE=3D"4"><SPAN STYLE=3D'fon=
t-size:13.0px'><I>By Lucia Mutikani</I></SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-size:=
12.0px'> <BR>
<BR>
VANDERBIJLPARK, South Africa (Reuters) - </SPAN><FONT SIZE=3D"4"><SPAN =
STYLE=3D'font-size:13.0px'>South Africa, once Africa's last bastion of white r=
ule, has something you don't often see elsewhere on the continent: poor whit=
es.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-size:12.0px'> <BR>
</SPAN><FONT SIZE=3D"4"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-size:13.0px'> A few years ago it wa=
s unimaginable to see whites begging at traffic lights or working as parking=
attendants. Now it is a common sight.<BR>
<BR>
Pottering around in her scantily furnished house with peeling wall pa=
int, Elsie Smit holds back tears as she talks of her family's battle to surv=
ive.<BR>
<BR>
"We struggle a lot. My husband is unemployed. The only one who w=
orks in this house is my son. His money goes to paying for the house and for=
water and lights. So there isn't much that is left of his salary to feed us=
the whole month," she says.<BR>
<BR>
Several white families in the Vanderbijlpark industrial area, south o=
f Johannesburg, are in a similar position and depend on food parcels.<BR>
<BR>
Guaranteed a quality education and good jobs by the apartheid regime,=
some whites -- particularly the Afrikaners who put apartheid in place -- ha=
ve seen a reversal of fortunes under democracy.<BR>
<BR>
Estimates differ on the extent of the problem and opinion varies on t=
he root causes of white poverty, but all agree that it is growing as unemplo=
yment remains a serious concern among all racial groups.<BR>
<BR>
According to a United Nations (<FONT COLOR=3D"#0000EE">news</FONT> - <F=
ONT COLOR=3D"#0000EE">web sites</FONT>) Development Program report last year, =
6.9 percent of the country's white population lived on less than 354 rand ($=
58.57) per month -- the national poverty line in 2002 -- up from 1.5 percent=
in 1995.<BR>
<BR>
Statistics South Africa estimates there are about 4.2 million whites =
in the country and most of them still live in the top economic brackets, man=
y with the same pools, maids and imported cars they enjoyed under apartheid.=
<BR>
<BR>
But white poverty is not a new phenomenon to South Africa, which saw =
substantial white immigration rather than the scattering of ranchers, advent=
urers and colonial administrators that formed the white communities in most =
other African states.<BR>
<BR>
MBEKI INVESTIGATES<BR>
<BR>
Historians highlight the "poor white" problem, particularly=
among Afrikaners before the outbreak of World War II, as one factor leading=
to the apartheid system which essentially became a whites-only welfare stat=
e.<BR>
<BR>
That system ended in 1994 with the country's first all-race elections=
-- sweeping away decades of white privilege.<BR>
<BR>
President Thabo Mbeki has agreed to look into the statistics which in=
dicate a sharp rise in white poverty, as well as claims that government poli=
cies such as affirmative action are the cause.<BR>
<BR>
"If indeed there are consequences of the government's actions wh=
ich are resulting in greater impoverishment, clearly that is something we wi=
ll have to look at," Mbeki said.<BR>
<BR>
Lawrence Schlemer of the Helen Suzman Foundation, a Johannesburg thin=
k tank, estimated that in 2003 there were 120,000 whites living on 1,000 ran=
d per month, slightly more than 2 percent of the white population. A total o=
f about 500,000 lived on less than 3,000 rand per month, he said.<BR>
<BR>
"The significance of this 3,000 rand is that it's not necessaril=
y poverty. The point is that it is impossible to live in what used to be reg=
arded as a typical white suburb with less than 3,000 rand a month," he =
said.<BR>
<BR>
Schlemer says as a result, whites are moving into mixed, socio-econom=
ically depressed areas.<BR>
<BR>
Some like Santie Nienaber have found shelter in flimsy structures ere=
cted behind other people's property and garages.<BR>
<BR>
In the black townships, such structures are referred to as squatter c=
amps, but Nienaber prefers to call the rows of shacks behind Sally Bruwer's =
house as a "transit camp."<BR>
<BR>
"At the moment three families (live here). Most (of the resident=
s) are men who struggle to find work," says Nienaber.<BR>
<BR>
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO BLAME?<BR>
<BR>
Political parties such as the predominantly white Afrikaner Freedom F=
ront Plus blame the government's affirmative action policy and describe it a=
s a new form of discrimination.<BR>
<BR>
Party leader Pieter Mulder says the government's policy to redress pa=
st injustices against blacks was unintentionally shutting new generations of=
white South Africans out of jobs.<BR>
<BR>
"Whites are very bitter, very angry ... because the new South Af=
rica has brought only poverty to them and they are going in the wrong direct=
ion all the time," he says.<BR>
<BR>
"Affirmative action is largely to blame for what is happening. T=
here is no way these people can emigrate, they will never emigrate ... 80 pe=
rcent of Afrikaners will always be here. They will always be part of Africa.=
"<BR>
<BR>
But some academics do not see affirmative action as the culprit and b=
lame globalization, which has seen companies becoming more capital intensive=
and shifting from blue collar to more skilled labor -- and in the process l=
eaving many less educated whites behind.<BR>
<BR>
With an unemployment rate of up to 40 percent and a less-than-brisk e=
conomic growth rate, Schlemer sees little hope for a change in these fortune=
s of the poor whites.<BR>
<BR>
"Only if our economy grows rapidly (will this situation improve)=
, but this is unlikely. The kind of growth we are likely to get will not abs=
orb these kind of people, they are destined to be unemployed till they die,&=
quot; says Schlemer.<BR>
<BR>
($1=3D6.044 Rand)</SPAN></FONT></FONT>
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