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The South African Revolution

21st April 2017

By: Riaan de Lange

     

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Just over 100 years ago, a definitive event took place in a country with which South Africa has had an indifferent history. Since March 30, you can visit this country without a visa for a duration of up to 90 days.

The visa-free travel arrangement is understood to have been introduced to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Africa and the country. If you are a cynic, you may believe that the introduction of visa-free travel is related to the impending nuclear deal between the country and South Africa, which you may consider to be ‘controversial’. Another hint: the country I am referring to will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Have you ever wondered what the word ‘visa’ means? It originates from the Latin charta visa, which means ‘paper which has been seen’. It is considered a conditional authorisation granted by a country to a foreigner, allowing him or her to enter and temporarily remain in the country. But I digress.

Well, the definitive event that I alluded to was, in fact, a revolution. The Russian Revolution, that is. But then, to be accurate, it was not a single event – two revolutions took place in Russia during 1917, which ultimately dismantled the Tsarist autocracy and led to the eventual rise of the Soviet Union, or, as it was formally known, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

The Russian Empire collapsed with the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II on March 15, 1917, with the regime being immediately replaced by a provisional government. In the second revolution, which took place in October 1917, the provisional government was removed and replaced with a communist State.

In March 1918, a civil war erupted between the Reds (the Bolsheviks) and the Whites (the counter-revolutionaries) – and you thought that this was a new word? The Bolsheviks were the independence movement and the Whites the non-Bolshevik socialists. The civil war lasted for several years, during which the Bolsheviks defeated both the Whites and all rival socialists, resulting in the creation of the USSR in 1922.

Fast-forward 69 years to December 25, 1991, when the Soviet hammer-and-sickle flag was lowered for the last time over the Kremlin and replaced by the Russian tricolour flag. The USSR itself had collapsed. This followed the resignation, earlier in the day, of USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, leaving Boris Yeltsin as President of the newly independent Russian State.

So, what is one to make of 2017 South Africa? Is history about to repeat itself, albeit on a different continent and in a different hemisphere? As any economist worth his or her salt would respond, it depends.

What do you make of the April 7 civil society disobedience march that took place in the major centres around South Africa? Personally, I understand democracy differently. Does this ‘social gathering’ imply unity among members of society or merely unity against an individual? It reminds me of what I was told when I visited Pakistan many years ago. At the time, the Pakistan cricket team returned indifferent results, which the administrators attempted to remedy by replacing the captain at the drop of a hat. As you could imagine, this did not deliver the desired result. The reason (you could consider what follows to be in jest) was that the uniting force in the Pakistan cricket team was their hatred for their captain.

Is this indicative of South Africa’s own unity in society’s disobedience? Then again, although much has been made of the countrywide events of April 7, just how representative was this of South Africa’s population? South Africa’s current population – as at April 9, based on the latest United Nations estimates – is 55 330 878, or, to keep it simple for those lacking an affinity for big numbers, 55-million.

So, just how many South Africans took to the streets on April 7? One-million, two-million, ten-million or 20-million? I would venture to guess that the answer is not even close to the first number. Interestingly, I could not find any numbers being cited in any of the media reports. So, what conclusion must one draw? That the majority of the population is content with the present situation? Or could it simply be that, since the events were scheduled on a Friday, people were not willing to make a personal investment, or sacrifice, and take leave for the day?

Either way, the show of society’s disobedience achieved little, if anything, other than providing those who made the effort and stepped out of their offices with an opportunity to raise their vitamin D levels and possibly also get some fresh air.

If the intention was to effect lasting political change, it will take more than a crowd of people who are merely united by their emotions towards an individual. For, if the individual departs, it will merely expose the differences among those who are now seemingly united. Then, would the departure of an individual have the desired effect? If yes, is that a fact or is it merely speculation?

The reality is that South Africa is a country divided – there is simply no strength in its diversity and there is no collective vision. Rather, it is a society intent on enriching the individual or the privileged few, either while people are standing passively by or actively participating, to the detriment of the majority of South Africans. This is the South African revolution.

Considering the state of affairs in present-day South Africa, the struggle for liberation merely resulted in a different form of subjection and enslavement of South Africans.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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