IETS INTERESANT

 

How many blacks died under Apartheid?

 

By Vusile Tshabalala, journalist

 

At the start of the year 1900, the number of black South Africans was found to be 3.5-million according to the British colonial government census. By 1954, our black population had soared to 8.5-million - and by 1990, there were a full 35-million of us - all carefully managed, closely policed and counted.

 

During apartheid, our population grew apace however because we also had the benefit of the Broers' medical knowledge and their excellent agricultural skills. Our population growth and our average life expectancy in fact showed us blacks in South Africa to be in better than average health when compared to other blacks on the rest of the continent: in the decades prior to the official policy of apartheid, (which was started in 1948), the average life expectancy of black South Africans was only 38 years.

 

However, during the last decade of the apartheid era from 1948 to 1994, our average life expectancy had risen to 64 years - on a par with Europe's average life expectancy. Moreover, our infant death rates had by then also been reduced from 174 to 55 infant deaths per thousand, higher than Europe's, but considerably lower than the rest of the black continents’.

 

And the black population in South Africa had by then also increased by 50% percent (source: "a crime against humanity: analysing repression of the Apartheid State", by Max Coleman of the Human Rights Committee). Deaths due to political violence during apartheid: Max Coleman's authoritative book analyses all deaths due to political violence from 1948 to 1994 in South Africa and Namibia.

 

According to the HRC statistics, 21,000people died in political violence in South Africa during apartheid - of whom 14,000 people died during the six-year transition process from 1990 to 1994. The book lists the number of incidents, dates, and those involved. This includes SA Defence Force actions, for instance the 600 deaths at Kassinga in Angola during the war in 1978.

 

Of those deaths, the vast majority, 92%, have been primarily due to blacks killing blacks- such as the inter-tribal battles for territory: this book's detailed analyses of the period June 1990 to July 1993 indicates a total of 8580 (92%) of the 9,325 violent deaths during the period June 1990 to July 1993 were caused by blacks killing blacks, or as the news media often calls it, "Black on Black" violence - hostel killings, Inkatha Freedom Party versus ANC killings, and taxi and turf war violence.

 

The activities of the Civil Cooperation Bureau as outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, were also included in these figures. The security forces caused 518 deaths (5.6%) throughout this period. And again, during the transitional period, the primary causes of deaths were not security forces nor white right-wing violence against blacks, but mainly due to "black-on-black necklace murders", tribal conflict between the ANC-IFP, bombs by the ANC and PAC's military wings in shopping centres, landmines on farm roads, etc.

 

After apartheid: SA hospitals "becoming places of death" - In November last year it was being reported in The Star that South African hospitals are becoming places for dying - instead of healing. In June this year, it was reported that our cemeteries were filling up so rapidly that upright funerals were being contemplated to save space. Still, Aids is not being spoken about at our funerals, and the silence and utterly unscientific public statements about HIV-Aids continue unabated while our people are dying.

 

Democratic Alliance (DA) warned late last year that the 20% rise in deaths over the past four years among patients treated at Johannesburg Hospital could only be blamed on the high crime rate and the very serious decline in patient care. Why is our patient care so poor now, and our crime rate so high? The answer is simple: our public funds are being looted by the ANC hierarchy. And the police seem helpless to stop it. Tuberculosis funds looted: On July 10, 2001, the SA health department announced that it was going to stop R6,6-million in annual funding to the SA National Tuberculosis Association because of the ongoing looting of its funds and the lavish lifestyles of its (black) executives, who award themselves R400,000 annual salaries and spend R5000 a month on cellphone calls alone... while millions of South African TB patients go untreated and are wasting away of a deadly, but curable disease.

 

During apartheid, please note that the SANTA executives were seen to be extremely frugal with the governments' funding - that many thousands of patients were cured annually, and that many doctors and nurses even VOLUNTEERED their services free of charge.

 

The question is this: "why is this man still CEO of SANTA? Why has he not been fired on the spot? "Violent deaths from 1994 to 2000: And the SA Police reports this month - access their website's statistics at http://www.saps.org.za - that a total of 174,220 people died violent deaths, from crime-related violence, between 1994 and the year 2000.

 

So my question is this: "did apartheid ever kill as many blacks as are now being killed by the deliberate neglect and looting of our tax funds by the current, supposedly democratic ANC regime?"

 

Weereens, nog ʼn goeie bewys, dat die nie-blankes wat tydens apartheid gesterf het nie weens blanke rasse haat of velkleur vermoor was nie, maar omdat hulle geen respek gehad het vir gesag, wet en orde, reëls en regulasies, menseregte en/of lewe nie.

 

Matteus 5: 1-19

1 Toe Jesus die menigte mense sien, het Hy teen die berg opgegaan. Nadat Hy gaan sit het, het sy dissipels na Hom toe gekom, 2 en Hy het hulle geleer en gesê: 3 “Geseënd is dié wat weet hoe afhanklik hulle van God is, want aan hulle behoort die koninkryk van die hemel.

 

4 Geseënd is dié wat treur, want hulle sal vertroos word. 5 Geseënd is die sagmoediges, want hulle sal die nuwe aarde ontvang. 6 Geseënd is dié wat honger en dors na wat reg is, want hulle sal versadig word. 7 Geseënd is dié wat barmhartig is, want aan hulle sal barmhartigheid bewys word.

 

8 Geseënd is dié wat rein van hart is, want hulle sal God sien. 9 Geseënd is die vredemakers, want hulle sal kinders van God genoem word. 10 Geseënd is dié wat vervolg word omdat hulle doen wat reg is, want aan hulle behoort die koninkryk van die hemel. 11 “Geseënd is julle wanneer die mense julle ter wille van My beledig en vervolg en valslik al wat sleg is van julle sê.

 

12 Wees bly en verheug, want julle loon is groot in die hemel. Hulle het immers die profete voor julle net so vervolg.” 13 “Julle is die sout vir die aarde. Maar as sout verslaan het, hoe kry 'n mens dit weer sout? Dit is niks meer werd nie. Dit word buitekant weggegooi, en die mense vertrap dit.

 

14 “Julle is die lig vir die wêreld. 'n Stad wat op 'n berg lê, kan nie weggesteek word nie; 15 ook steek 'n mens nie 'n lamp op en sit dit onder 'n emmer nie maar op 'n lampstaander, en dit gee lig vir almal in die huis.

 

16 Laat julle lig so voor die mense skyn, dat hulle julle goeie werke kan sien en julle Vader wat in die hemel is, verheerlik.” 17 “Moenie dink dat Ek gekom het om die wet of die profete ongeldig te maak nie. Ek het nie gekom om hulle ongeldig te maak nie, maar om hulle hulle volle betekenis te laat kry.

 

18 Dit verseker Ek julle: Die hemel en die aarde sal eerder vergaan as dat een letter of letterstrepie van die wet sal wegval voordat alles voleindig is. 19 “Wie dan ook een van die geringste van hierdie gebooie ongeldig maak en die mense so leer, sal die minste geag word in die koninkryk van die hemel. Maar wie die wet gehoorsaam en ander so leer, sal hoog geag word in die koninkryk van die hemel.