I sit and write this with a heavy heart. For the 1st time in a very long time im at the brink of hopelessness. Not feeling too proud of being coloured and thats purely ‘coz of the injustices that are constantly forced upon us.
In the apartheid regime, we werent white enough and today, we arent black enough. Its almost as if we are blamed for the previous white leaders having affairs with their domestics. How evil! How unjust. How cruel.
Coloured youngsters are RIPing every single week and are being killed by our very own, sometimes from the very next road and brutally might I add. Families cant grieve or mourn in peace because we now live in fear of the opposition gangs petrol bombing or starting a shooting frenzy. Religious buildings under attack. Its ludacrous.
We’ve now started fighting each other for terrortory. For a “name” ‘coz thats all we have left to fight for.
BEE only gives us a mere 8.8% in the employment sector. And all community upliftments are done in “other” areas and we kinda get the “left overs” or the “lets just do it to say we did it”. Has the pity made things worse?
How do we change this? How do we rewire ALL these years of injustices that have forced our youngsters to settle as drug lords, that have forced them to join gangs just to be protected. Just to be able to put a plate of food on the table? Can these questions be answered?
Im no expert. So I dont even know if its possible. What I do know is that we can rewire our own mentality. Coloured women, liberate yourselves and conform not to what society labels us as; the village bicycle who has no ambition. The raw, uncooth chick who is bound to have 5 kids from different men at the age of 15.
Coloured women, lets be grateful for the oppotunities God has blessed us with and lets start making an effort to include Him more in our lives. Lets start tolerating each other. Being patient. Being more supportive to ourselves, family, friends and community. Lets start practicing kindness and love. We are the leaders of the nation and once we ge this right, our kids and future kids will have this mentality. We are their first teachers. You are unique and you are beautifully courageous my coloured sister.
Coloured men, do right by your women, lead you and your family to the path of God. So,”they” give you the less glamourous jobs that make it difficult to provide for your family? Instead of asking “why me?” Lets start asking “why not me?” God really gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.
Lets change the perception of coloured men in our communities; the label that suggests our men are violent and are only good to drink and jol. The label that says our men are useless. You are loved. You are strong and I Salute you my coloured brother.
We can do this by just working on ourselves and our mindsets. Time is running out. We are living in a war zone and the devil is at work. He’s probably rejoicing at the progress he’s made ‘coz we are conforming to what he wants us to conform to; heartless folk only after drugs, money and fame with no humanity or God left in us.
The battle isnt over. We have to level out these playing fields and it starts with you and I. Today!
May all the souls lost through these gang wars RIP. And may strength and comfort be bestowed amongst their families.
WE ARE NOT A CURSED NATION. Share your thoughts or words of encouragement below and please share so we can get this to as many folk as we possibly can.
TayTells 
So call coloured people is also one of the most Godfearing people, we need toturn back to God, our Creator! Fathers and mothers must train up their sons amd their daughters tobe Godfearing,therefor parents needs 1st to turn back to God so that their hearts can turn back to their children and be the example,rollmodel,the priest
at home,thee one to look up to, fathers needs to be thee hero our youngboys are looking for who ends up looking up to a 26,27 or 28gangster to be their hero! We living ina Fatherless world! Fathers be the man, dad ypur children are looking for! God help our nation!
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I totally agree with you Martinus. I think we’ve definately moved away from God and not just as a race but as humanity. The injustices forced upon us just definatelu fuels the behaviour…however in saying that I dont believe it should be an excuse. If our men and women start with changing themselves and mindsets…future generations will know no other way.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I appreciate it Xx
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Born into this…need we die in this…be as it may…we can survive this and prosper in every way…by respecting one another…uplifting each other and be a brothers/sisters keeper…guiding our youth with the Word of God…and also each other…let us love with the love of the Lord…and walk in peace…” Coloureds” people who were carers…remembering in my youth being remanded by strangers, guiding me…we can become that people again.Come together stand as one and become a people of love respect and oneness…Amen
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💃💃💃💃Amen. I know this can happen. Going back to the days where we played kenike and harbour with our neighbours and built things from scrap metal and bricks. It was enough. We were content. We were happy n we loved each other like they were our siblings!
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We as coloured people need to unite for peace amongst us especially in our districts and teach our children the right way so they may hold of their heads up high in the future.
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Wonderfully said Gregory. It begins with us. And if we dont start making changes now, these brutal killings will only increase. Can we really afford to be losing more lives at this rate?
Thank you for sharing your views and for reading my post. I appreciate it Xx ☺
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Begin by not calling yourselves Coloureds as no where else in the world are people of mixed race called Coloureds! They are the Nationality of that Country and so you should be called South Africans which is what you are! The White regime introduced this derogatory classification to suit themselves. Get rid of it! Stand up for your rights!!!
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Hi Virginia 🙂
I absolutely love the idea. Being able to address issues as a nation and not as a race sounds wonderful. However, is it going to ever happen?
If we had to be referred to as South Africans, blacks, white, indians would have to be too. Governments BEE and other initiatives would therefore be irrelevant which will be awesome for us as the people but not for them as our government. People will be awarded positions based on merit and not based on their race and I think that frightens our current government coz they might perhaps lose power.
Sad truth is, whether you refer to us a coloureds, mixed race or even South Africans, issues affecting us in our arears where we are predominately based is still going to affect us. And so instead of us trying to get things right with this government, which we have been trying to do so for years, maybe its time we just start trying to adjust our mindsets in the interim. focus on being better human beings and see if that can bring us better results.
Fighting for equality for our people arent changing these daunting statistics….its getting worse.
I appreciate your input and that you’ve read my blog. Thank you ❤
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It is definitely diffi ult to get past the labels which we have been given, but we must try. We should all be South Africans first, and any other racial group second. Of course the government is petrified of treating us all as South Africans and rewarding all people on merit rather than skin colour. They are incapable of implementing their own policies of non-racialism. A confident and capable government would not be afraid to unite its people. Instead, we now sit with a govrnment which is further dividing its people on grounds of racism and they keep playing the race card to keep themselves in power, at the expense of so many. There are so many successful coloured people in our communities, perhaps we need to do more to celebrate these successes and use our own people as role models for the youth. Together we can do so much for ourselves first, before we look to other communities and compare ourselves. Letsstart our own community upliftment projects. However, it will mean getting involved and not sitting on the side-lines and just criticising .
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Love. Love.love Tarnia. It starts with you and I. One act of kindness, one change in thought and one person at a time. I really am interested in getting some things started. The amount of exposure this post received was not expected but it definately has fueled a need and a want to do more. If you are interested in starting up initiatives as well. Please let me know and perhaps we can work on some ideas together 🙂
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AGREED….Wholeheartedly…..First…it BEGINS there….our plight is a Universal PHENOMANA.Wherever Empire has managed to destroy a culture so successfully similar social ills surface.Social upliftment starts with acknowledging OUR heritage and not the derogatory views that our past. and present slavemasters would have us believe….It starts with our real racial classification …KHOI SAN…
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Hi Adi 🙂
Thank you so much for reading up and sharing your views.
I personally dont have an issue with being reffered to as “coloured” i still kind of feel that whether you refer to us a khoi san or coloured, injustices forced upon us politically will still stand. Kinda like the tomarto/tomayto kinda sentiment.
I definately think that we can educate our kids more on our heritage and our roots. So that they can own and be proud of who they are.
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I absolutely agree with you on that term and it is said with such disdain, when said. I am South African.
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Thank you so much for reading and commenting Maude. I love seeing the different perspective Xx
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Great article, Thanx for sharing. Currently working on exactly what you speak of wrt changing OUR mindsets.
But I will say this…. there is an imminent change in the air amongst ‘Coloured’ people – I can feel it, taste it and I hear it everyday! Those of us who have managed to escape the clutches of the violence and degradation of our Communities’ should step up and give back to the schools and neighbourhoods we come from. Many still visit the township they are from and have family still living there – they come from as far as the U.K, Australia, the U.S and Asia!
It took a Coloured village to raise most of us, Now our village needs US to be replenished.
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100% on point Gael. Thank you for the kind words and for reading. I am all for “you are what you think”
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Unfortunately these are the exact sentiments that keep coloured people at the bottom of the food chain. When children hear their lazy parents, uncles, aunts and everyone around them justifying their situation by saying before we were not white enough, now we are not black enough they also feel that they do not have to excel because there is nothing at the end of it all. We see every educational institution in this land, even the ones in coloured areas, choked to the rafters by black students eager to get an education. Domestic workers use their meagre salary to put their children through university, while coloured parents buy their children the best clothes and gadgets money can buy then claim that they have no money to pay school fees let alone university fees. In all spheres of the working environment you find black people striving to better themselves by studying because they know that an education is the ticket out of poverty. However, coloured people are expected to be included in the economy yet bring nothing to the table.South Africa has a growing economy which is ripe with entrepreneurial opportunities at every level. yet you see coloured areas being serviced by everyone else across the racial spectrum, except coloureds. In the Western Cape you find even carwashes in coloured communities owned by whites and run by coloureds. We blame BEE for lost opportunities, but we don’t even take the little opportunities that are presented to us through BEE and equity laws. This too, is largely enforced in government business dealings which accounts for less than 6% of the country’s economy. The Private sector largely works around the BEE and equity laws and places emphasis on qualification and experience.
This generation of young parents must stop this cycle of teaching our children hopelessness and blame and start teaching them how to succeed against all odds. If we don’t do that now, we as a people are doomed to becoming the labourers and domestics at the bottom end of an economy that has the potential to become one of the big players in the world economy.
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I believe there is lots of truth in your comment Jerome. I am huge on the power of the mind and how positive minds attact postive things.
But in saying that… in order to find a solution to our problems, we need to identify what the REAL problem is. Coloured folk are indeed marginalised. It is the truth that how we were then, is how we are now…stuck between a black and white debate. And this is a direct result of that.
Read and watch this if you have some time.
‘How can an 11-year-old know things like this?’ | IOL
http://mini.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/how-can-an-11-year-old-know-things-like-this-2019545
Most owners of car wishes or small businesses look to save a quick buck. They agree to pay x amount then find somebody who will accept less and rather pay that amount. I’ve seen it all too many times… perhaps business owners can also be reminded of moral obligation?
Do i feel that should be a reason to lirk or shirk? Definately not. I believe it is an injustice. But i also believe that the greatest of man became THAT great because of the adversities he was able to overcome. And this is why i believe that a shift in mindset starting with ourselves…will be the only solution especially since Government feels things like providing free wifi in certain municiple arears are far greater than tightening up security in schools etc.I love the idea but I feel that the priority is misplaced.
I love the different perspective and i thank you for reading my post and commenting Xx
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Coloured people “U beauties”. 100% agree on the message and if we don’t stand together,we will be side lined. As custodians of this country we have to stand up for what is ours.
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Thank for those words of encouragment Malcome Xx
And a bigger thank you for reading and commenting ☺
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Eish! What kind littie? Two words you need to leave out when dealing with problems in our community – God and Coloured! We need to deal with the problem – corrupt law enforcement! Anybody involved with drugs; and this is not only associated with our community; this is a phenomenon all over the world – they will either end up in prison or dead! Leave these idiots to kill each other; the world will be a better place without them! These same morons are supplying drugs to our children. Yes, investigate and prosecute for the sake of the innocent, but like in the 80s, these thugs will end up on a pile of rubbish! Go to any church on a Sunday, whether it be in Wentworth or Sydenham and these same gangsters are disguised as pastors, brothers and sisters. Moral fibre comes from within. You do not need anybody to tell you it is wrong to sell drugs to a child and shoot people. Get off your knees and start helping your community. When you know your neighbour does not have a job, speak to your boss and hook him up! Do not say to him I will pray for you my brother to get a job. When you go off to buy groceries at Pick & Pay, instead of buying that 2 litre Coca Cola for your brandy, buy your unemployed neighbour a few basic items. Instead of buying yourself that Levi 501 jeans at Edgar’s, ask yourself is it a need or want. Take that money and give it to the head of the squatter camp down the road to buy maize to feed a few families. His complexion should not matter. That auntie that is carrying fruit and vegetables on her head going door to door. Instead of bargaining with her, offer her your old clothes. These are the things we need to be doing in our community. Not sitting in church claiming to be rightious and then looking forward to the end of mass, to chat up a few ladies! Nothing truly wrong with that because we all need to find love somewhere, somehow, but then be honest, do a bit of introspection and say – You know what littie! I am going to make that change! Stop galvanising the community – operate your own mission! SALUTE! 👊
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Awe awe hahahaha.
I love the “love thy neighbour” sentimemt. We can definately progress by building each other up.
Perhaps we should start an initiative of this sought and encourage our friends and family to do things like what you’ve mentioned above? I tend to do it but i think alil encouragement from us to our loved ones can definately make a huger impact. Change does start with you and I doesnt it.
Leaving these folk to kill themselvses also means the loss of innocent lives; kid’s lives who we can still straighten out and who can make a difference to our current situation. There are so many innocent folk being killed because of the shooting frenzies.
Read and watch this if you have some time.
‘How can an 11-year-old know things like this?’ | IOL
http://mini.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/how-can-an-11-year-old-know-things-like-this-2019545
A kid will only know or see certain things by experiencing it or taught it. Kids dont just know moral fibre. It needs to be taught. So if we arent teaching our kids right from wrong and arent practicing it, how do we expect them to know any better… thats why I say, change starts with you and I.
And its because of this that I believe we do need God. If each of us turn to him and ask for his help, work on ourselves and change our mindset…there is hope.
I appreciate the support Deon, thank you so much for reading and commenting Xx
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My believe tough love. I never disrespected my parents so why should I allow my kids to disrespect. Most of this bad behaviour I say some us mothers and fathers are to blamed for. Why should we allow our kids to sell drugs and yes some us get happy for that loaf of bread, slices of cheese, small washing powder, airtime,smokes our drug selling kids buy. Just to share a young guy came selling g avocados and bananas on Friday while I cleaning my yard. I bought, 6
Avocs 6 for R20 and 5 bananas for R10 my neighbour also bought 3 Avocs for R10. The way that youngster was happy why can’t our kids go that. And we all having a hard time no jobs but do we have to do the wrong things. I was on venture all myself my nephew was,16 selling drugs from my mum’s home who is 82 he was being used to sell drugs my sister hus mum knew what he was doing but was scared of her son who hits her most times. When I heard my mum was getting abused stepped in well I got every morning at 5 am and made sure I was in front of my mum’s gate confront who was dropping off drugs. I even exsposed a photo and my storey on Facebook of my nephew.see no ev fear no evil my mum now is living in peace no drug selling so at her home.just to say my son.tried to give me a hard time doing wrong things when.i list my husband 12 years ago. Well tough love I threw out my home from that day he never laid his head down to sleep in my home I didn’t lose anything. I gained peace within my soul so I don’t have to answer to our saviour why I allowed my son to go wrong and yes his married works out the country. And even though his married and works I fo.t demand any thing fr him or interference his his marriage. He hated me. But now we have a good rekationship.
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This is so inspirational Alicia. Thank you for sharing your story!
You are such an inspiration perhaps stories as such need to be shared more. There are lots of mothers out there that are like your sister; Scared and Most times no men folk around or in the kids lives.
We are appealling to men and women to stand tall, do right and be God fearing. If we all had similar mindsets im close to sure these daunting statistics will drop fast!.
Thank you for reading and commenting Xx
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Identity stemming from fatherlesness and absent fathers is our greatest nemesis.
We are not coloured as a first this is the problem, you are what you name yourself and coloured is not a title we chose they chose it for us. We existed before all of them ever was, we are khoisan that is our culture, that is our identi ty they took that away from us and that is the reason we are angry, we have no identity because we have been conditioned t be ashamed if our Bushmen status, we cannot see value as a Bushmen, a Khoisan an Afrikhoi. when we take back an start to own our identity all evils in our culture will leave. Look at 2 examples when Essau realized what he did by selling his identity hus aim was to kill his brother Jacob who stole it from him, it is scary what can happen to a people who lost their identity esoecially when we did not sell it, it was stolen, taken by force from our Khoi forefathers and thats why violence grows inside a race or person without an identity. 2 Secondly look at how democracy gained its power in South Africa, They criminalised the word “kaffir” (identity restored =success), we too must criminalize and uproot the word coloured, non white etc and have our Identity restored and then gain success. I am Afrikhoi and so are you, let us all firstly accept our identity as Bushmen, Khoi, Makwenkwe and quit being ashamed of who we are and then stand united to have this status implemented in our continent and the world and then we can start building on that foundation?
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All coloureds dont all share the same ethnic backround…
Whilst I believe and agree that we need to own and accept our identity…im of the opinion that political factors affecting us are going to remain affecting us whether we refer to ourselves as coloureds, mixed-race, afrikhoi etc. N in this time do we wait until we get the name referring thing right whilst the killings, drug usage, violence continues?
As mentioned, im no expert in politics or life but these questions remain unanswered n hence I believe a change of mindset and God might help us
Thank you for reading and commenting Bradley. I appreciate the perspective. Xxx
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God’s Rainbow Nation should repent and leave their wicked ways.
Our fight is not against flesh and blood…..but it’s against powers and principalities.
We ourselves are responsible for this curse hanging over us, by actually believing what others say and think of us.
The power to break this self appointed curse…is in none other than ourselves.
It is also true that the hand that rocked the cradle (mothers) in the community United, can contribute mightily in this regard.
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Absolutely. I think if each of us take responsibility to be better human beings, follow Gods way and just work on our mindsets …no matter how tough things get; habbit will teach us another approach than drugs and violence.
Thank you reading and commenting Xx
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great article and truth in it
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Thank you so much, for reading and commenting Xx
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Great article. I’d like our col ppl to stop dragging each other down. That crabs in a bucket attitude must stop.
Support your col ppl’s budding businesses. When you get your degree, help out the next person, that you can vouch for. Network with your ppl. And when you hear that old Aunty telling that story of how her neighbours kid got a degree but he must work at shoprite. First ask the Aunty if she saw his degree & then assure her that “he might be at the tills today but tomorrow he could own the store”
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Thank you so much for reading and for the positive feedback. I absolutely agree. All this we’d like to see happen, starts with you and I.
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Dissolving a common colored identity dissolves the common colored cause which in turn dissolves the basis of our unity and therefore our strength. No one can fight the evils of an unjust system in isolation, as an individual. Every individual in history that had an impact on society enjoyed the benefit of a supporting solidarity. Yes, we were called colored by our oppressors because we are of a mixed-race heritage. And even though the racial origins of our ancestory differ, as mixed race individuals we share a common history of being discriminated against, marginalized and manipulated by others to their own ends. That is what unites us; our shared disadvantage. We can only right what is wrong together because we are all on the receiving end of the same injustice unique to our mixed heritage. So we must speak with one voice, raise one hand, take one step forward, together. Saying – ” Stop calling yourself colored” – doesn’t automatically correct the past and present injustice of being treated as colored. I like calling myself colored because it reminds me that I am not alone in my struggle and that there still is a wrong to right, not just for me and my family but for the many others who share my predicament. #ProudlyColored
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I agree Ben. I dont have an issue with being called colouref either. I think we need to embrace it and work towards uplifting ourselves, families and community
Thank you so much for reading and sharing your perspective Xx
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All i can say, is bring back the death penalty and not a sentence, an eye for an eye then all this would go away.
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Hi Andre’ thank you for sharing your perspective and reading my blog 🙂
Part of me sees your sentiment as one of the possible solutions for these abrupt murders but what about the innocent folk who get sentenced to these incorrectly…this is a concern for me personally especially with how crooked our justice system has become.
Whats you thoughts on that?
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Hi there Tay! This is one really profound article.
You see the problem with mixed folk arises from having other people speak for us. When you look in the media (and Esp on TV) our children get indoctrinate with images and words that form a misrepresentation of who we are and there are too little articles like this that debate and critically discuss our identity. We are South African and I’m all for nation building but being a group of people where most of us are 50+ non indigenous in ancestry to the continent we have to inwardly discuss ourselves as a people without others interfering. Esp with the help of the educated coloured people we can ward of people who are trying to exploit our need to belong if our identity as a group is strong.
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100% Jean, as mentioned before we need to embrace who we are and not feel the need to conform to what society wants or believes us to be.
Im overwhelmed with the support and interest in this post and im just a 26 year female who has this burning desire to do more and be more and im hoping through these kinds of posts, we each can do some self introspection and that some sought of movement can eventually occur .
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50-95% I mean
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Life is hard, no arguments there. Life as a coloured can add to your problems. It crushes my heart that in more cases than one, coloured women have to pull seven rabbits out of hats for children, and to keep the family together. I dont know what happened to our sons, their identity is something they lost or feel like they cant attain. I am at university currently, and life happened whilst I was studying. Facing adversity is not new but it seems people dont want to “muscle through” difficulty. Sometimes I feel like giving up too but I want to inspire my own nation to show young girls and boys we are more than our struggle. I hope I can do this one day. We deserve more
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I think you’rr well on your way with that mindset Tash-Lynne. Wishing you everything of the best and as mentioned in the post, instead of asking “why us” lets start asking “why not us” i know we are bigger and better than ruthless killings over drug terrortory. A shift in mindset and a will to “muscle through” starts with you and I. We have the oppotunity to contribute towards this change.
Thank u so much for reading my post and commenting. I appreciate it the perspective. XX
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Thanks for raising these issues and creating a platform on identity. I hope to use your blog for further education in this regard.
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Hi Edward, thank you so much for reading 🙂
I hope so too, this post was written with mixed emotions about situations arising in some of our communities. Im hoping to be able to be more involved in something similar as the support iv received is so unexpected and overwhelming, it would a shame not to make something great out of this. Please feel free to comment with post suggestions or topics you would like me to cover and i will best try to.
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What a sad state of affairs we find ourselves in as a people who were created in the Image and Likeness of God. It is when we turn our hearts away from God then this happens to a nation. The only way we will be able to fight this one is on our knees. True Intercessors the time has come to rise up and take ur positions like Esther and let us not be found guilty as in Ez 22 vs 30. We have the Lord Mighty in Battle on our side The Commander of the army of the Lord is waiting for Intercessors to arise and take ur territority for God. U cries and deep intecession will come up before a Holy God and He will change and transform as He is well able to do so. No amount of words and complaining will bring us out of our current situation exept our knees. Love has to flow from Him Who is Love no other way is useless. We have to sow forward in prayer and intercession for our generation and future generations. Almighty God is the author of our hearts and He is the only One that is able to change us. Our current position is critical and it has brought us to our knees for all other avenues have failed us. Today let us look to God and not our goverment for they are mere man But God He can turn our mourning into dancing Joy comes in the morning. Ending of with 2 Chronicals 7 vs 14 and the key WORD is WILL we have a choice either we do God’s word or we don’t Thanking you God bless u all Coloureds are not Cursed We cancel those words over us a a people of God in Jesus Name Amen and Amen
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Thank you for this beautiful post MA. I am absolutely behind you. We need God now more than ever.
Thank you so much for reading, commenting and for those wise words. Im not from the Christian faith but i definately agree that we need God and prayer and self-change are the 2 things we cN actually do that will work.
God bless Xx
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Hey there guys. If you’ve watched the video of young coloured girls fighting in the school bathroom, please read and share this with every young girl you know. ThanksXx
http://wp.me/p66Jf5-e8
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We tend to live the label. Break away !. Don’t retaliate. It doesn’t make you better. Gangsterism is not a sport. Don’t support. Drugs are dangerous and make communities dangerous places. Stand up to these ills. Mother’s, it’s you who can change the status quo by teaching your children to speak up and fight the social ills that besiege Coloureds. We are a beautiful people and need to go back to basics to save our children and ourselves
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Amen! I love this Joy! Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. Change really needs to happen and now hey.
Thank you for reading and commenting 😊
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I am really glad for this post Tay. I will support anything you write as long as the substance is credible and educational. Thank you for the awareness.
As the saying goes: No man can tame a lion when he knows his strength. Mixed folk had identities forced upon them like the farm boy who should only speak Afrikaans or the Cape flats gangster who can’t speak without a slang accent. I get literally (excuse my French) PISSED when anyone and especially people from other races ask me why I don’t speak Afrikaans. To me that’s another format of oppression. Our children will not move forward if they cannot communicate proprely in English. I’m not saying that one language is superior to another but in South AfriCA it will cause a literacy difficulty for anyone who has to learn independently if they cannot communicate well in English. So it irks me big time if someone expects me to communicate in a language that does not help my future. No one expects a Black, Indian or Asian person to speak the language so why us?
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I am so humbled right now ans I appreciate the support. Thank you so much.
Oh yes and I often get asked ” what type of coloured are you that you dont speak afrikaans” worse because i come from a cape malay heritage but being raised in Durban, English is medium we communicate in. So I can definately relate to that.
If you have any specific topic or concern that you would like to discuss, please dont hesitate to suggest as I am always open to new posting content.
I have posted last night, it was inspired by the video of school girls hitting another over a boyfriend. Here’s the link if you would like to have a read : http://wp.me/p66Jf5-e8
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THE STATE OF THE SO-CALLED “COLOURED” NATION IN SOUTH AFRICA MOST PERSECUTED – MOST FRAGILE AND AT-RISK COMMUNITY IN THE COUNTRY
While it is critically important that a united and detribalised front is evidentally necessary to eradicate white supremacist hegemony in the country, it can never be achieved in the short to medium term if the 2nd largest cultural group suffers from massive debilitating issues. The saying that collective strength is only measured by its weakest link rings true in this instance.
Over the last 21 years, the so-called “Coloured” community has experienced unprecedented marginalisation and maltreatment from the ruling ANC. The reasons therefore are irrelevant however, the impact is important in terms of this discussion. This misguided and misplaced attitude has allowed significant groundswell support from the so-called “Coloured” community to the Zionist Supporting Democratic Alliance, headed by a German Jew and known Zionist, Helen Zille and before her, another Zionist Jew, Tony Leon. All the political promises from the Mandela era, “A better life for all” can retrospectively be construed as a “Better life for all except so-called “Coloureds”.
The DA’s election promises fed into this snub by promising a “Fight Back” and followed by “Jobs”. Predictably, once the DA was in power, it openly claimed that there wasn’t sufficient and suitably qualified so-called “Coloured” people for critical positions within her government and continued with business as usual.
Recently, the exclusion of so-called “Coloured” players from the Bafana Bafana team (from 2010) and Fikile Mbalula’s snub at the arrival of world 400M champion, Wayde Van Niekerk as well as the impending legislation to officially exclude the group from the future Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act clearly and unequivocally spells out the ANC’s position and prejudice.
The DA on the other hand has claimed to create 100,000 jobs however, if this was and is indeed the case, it was targeted at menial positions coupled with meager income.
Crucially, the DA steers clear of developing young entrepreneurs in the so-called “Coloured” community and only hands out “preferential” treatment close to election time. If Zille’s actions were to be best described with her handling of the Hangberg issue, mass evictions in Delft, Lwandle and elsewhere in addition to the outside toilets saga, it is and has always been more of the same under a different name.
It is abundantly clear that neither the ANC nor the DA seek to re-dress/address century’s old social issues, massive societal problems and lack of improvement of the fundamental material conditions of the people.
What this discussion argues is the societal conditions prevalent in and what plagues the so-called “Coloured” community in the country and what the best way forward should be to address these issues.
Before we look at the way forward, a thorough assessment needs to be viewed contextually to understand the massive and often horrific set of problems facing this community as a collective.
To recap on the prevailing collective pathology of so-called “Coloured” people who, for more than 350 years have suffered immensely under the yoke of white supremacist genocide, various atrocities, enslavement and the complete removal of all rights in particular those cantered around the issue of land, culture, language and tradition – today the so-called “Coloured” collective occupy a position on the very fringes of South African society, oftentimes even in the very shadows of economic and cultural development. This has birthed a feeling of extreme helplessness and the unwitting adoption of the attitude, (right or wrongly) that it was either too black pre 1994 or too white post 1994.
This fed into the Democratic Alliance’s master plan of using the so-called “Coloured” vote to entrench their base position of continued control of the best land and access to the best facilities in the Western Cape while the masses of the electorate continue to wallow in abject poverty in dormitory slums such as Manenberg, Kewton, Hanover Park, Mitchell’s Plain, Blikkiesdorp et etc. Once this vote was secured, they then moved on to securing the “black” vote which is evident in their latest appointment of Mmusi Maime as their supposed national leader.
Meanwhile, the ideology that has been repeatedly sold to the so-called “Coloured” collective is that the Western Cape Province and particularly the Cape Town municipality are the best run in the country. Having said this, the so-called “Coloured” community continues to suffer some of the worse social, psychological and health issues on the planet in addition to being the most vulnerable community in the country.
As shocking as this is, in 2005, 3% (THREE PERCENT) of the entire total of so-called “Coloured” population we incarcerated in prisons. This group has a massively disproportionate incarceration rate of 651 per 100 000 people which is almost twice the imprisonment rate of the African population, which was 342 per 100 000 people while white and Indian populations were incarcerated at the same rate of around 60 per 100 000 people.
So-called “Coloured” people are far more likely to be murdered than any other group as per 106 murders per 100,000 to 41 per 100,000 for “Africans”. This is incidentally the HIGHEST PER CAPITA murder rate on earth! (Please see the global count here -https://en.wikipedia.org/…/List_of_countries_by_intentional…) The Western Cape and in particular, so-called “Coloureds” has a gang saturation higher than any other city on earth with 10 major gangs each with membership in the thousands, however, there are literally hundreds of smaller street and corner gangs in every township in the Cape Metro area as well as bigger rural towns in the Province.
Most gangs use/abuse the feeling of uselessness, helplessness and widespread unemployment in the community to further entrench massive drug addictions which has since the late 1970’s, virtually crippled the healthy growth and development of the community. As of 2014, 76% (SEVENTY SIX PERCENT) of the world’s production of Mandrax was consumed in the Western Cape; 42% of the total collective are addicted to Methamphetamine or Crystal Meth (known as Tik) with 1 in 5 so-called “Coloured” children (of teenage years) being addicted to this drug. This collective has a 15 times higher incidence of Meth addiction that the USA, who the second highest rate of Meth addiction on the planet. Between the ages of 13 – 20 years, 58% (FIFTY EIGHT PERCENT) of all so-called “Coloured” females are addicted to Tik (Crystal Meth), the highest incidence of female tobacco smokers on earth are so-called “Coloured”, the same young women also indicated the highest cases of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) with rates as high as 12, 2% as opposed to the global average of 0, 1 to 0, 8%.
On the subject of so-called “Coloured” woman; this group of females indicate the highest known rates of extra-family child abuse, teenage pregnancies as well as incest on earth in many instances up to 60% (SIXTY PERCENT) of the total. This is by far the highest rate of incest and child abuse on earth.
The issues facing the so-called “Coloured” collective in terms of morbidity indicates the highest reported rates of Social Anxiety Depression (SAD) in the world; highest rates of tuberculosis as well as asthma deaths on earth. Additionally, the highest alcoholism rates (naturally as a direct result of the enforced tot system of payment for labour used by farmer colonialists for centuries) and what is known as week-end alcoholism rates than any other group on earth is experienced by the so called “Coloured” collective. Second are aborigines and third are American “Indians”.
All of these issues feed into the stereotype of the so-called “Coloured” individual.
As sad and tragic as all these statistics indicate, the reality is that the ANC cannot resolve it and the DA doesn’t want to resolve it as it supports the hegemonic political control of the masses of so-called “Coloured” people.
The time has come to take a stand. Every so-called “Coloured” child and family is at risk of being swallowed by the numerous ills which plague this society and if we as the collective don’t do something about this situation, sooner rather than later, we will experience a societal meltdown of unprecedented proportions.
BE STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE A STAND NOW AND SAY IT LOUD!
Please share this message to wake our nation from their sleep.
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Wow. Brian this Is so insightful. Thank you so much for sharing. I didn’t know half of the things in here!
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I think this is so complex. It is not just Coloured people this a problem for all people in South Africa. Our youth is wasted, they feel there is no future no purpose and nothing to aspire to.
What we need to fix this is give our youth purpose. How do we accomplish this.
Firstly we need better education. Bring back trade schools educate children to be able to clean water and grow their own food.
With educated children manufacturing will return and with that purpose. What a waste to have all this energy that is not harnessed in a productive way.
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Hi Barry, firstly, thank you so much for reading and sharing your view. I really appreciate all of the perspective.
I definitely agree with you! Our youth is wasted indeed. Much to do with all you have mentioned above but also the lack of opportunity. It’s like a domino effect go horribly wrong. As a 20 something year old, trying to figure out this thing called life, I’m also trying to see what I can do to change this.
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We’re all in this together, guys. Whether we are white, coloured, Indian or fair-minded black. We are South Africans and that’s what counts. If our kids are to be proud of their country, we need to teach them to be proud of themselves.
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Hi Mo 🙂 I believe it is a universal issue, even a humanity one of you ask me, it’s just in this wake of everybody trying to help, coloured people are always stuck in the middle. We don’t qualify for certain things, we’re excluded from other initiatives and all whilst our communities are gang infested and becoming more and more dangerous.
Thank you for sharing your perspective as well as for reading my blog. Much appreciated Xxx
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Coloured’ communities face serious, but not insurmountable challenges!
Poverty is a socio-economic phenomenon characterised by a lack of basic necessities, development opportunities and social acceptance, as well as insecurity, hopelessness and a bleak existence. It cuts across skin colour, ethnicity, language, gender, religion and culture. However, the nature of poverty differs between and within communities.
Any action or intervention attempting to assist communities to overcome poverty, must take cognisance of the context within which poverty manifests itself in a particular community. If not, the intervention will bring about temporary and cosmetic relief only.
To write about the challenges of one particular community, especially in a country such as South Africa where most people struggle for survival, can be considered parochial. One could easily be accused of pursuing sectarian interests instead of focusing on the country and all its people.
It is important, however, that in our search for constructive solutions, we should consider the difference between the political, social, cultural, economic and psychological character of the different South African communities and of their histories.
The history of the ‘coloured’ community should be seen in the context of the pre-colonial experiences of the indigenous Khoi and San peoples with which it is closely linked. These experiences included their interactions with migrating black tribes, clashes with the first European (Portuguese) seafarers and settlers, and the forced and brutal shipping of slaves by the colonial authority at the Cape. The disruption caused by these experiences contributed to the disintegration of the indigenous Khoi and San communities.
Travel reports by the earliest visitors to the Cape reveal that some of these pastoralist communities were relatively affluent. Olfert Dapper (1688), for example, wrote that the Kochoquas or Saldanhars (as they were also known) kept their cattle in the middle of the town at night time – a hundred thousand heads of cattle and approximately two hundred thousand heads of sheep in total. They were settled in 15 to 16 different towns, each housing between 30 and 50 huts. These societies were also highly organised, very entrepreneurial and based on hierarchical class distinctions
Trade with the Khoi was important as they could supply large quantities of beef and mutton to scurvy-ridden crews, who for months hadn’t enjoy fresh vegetables and meat on the long and arduous sea travels they undertook. In return the Khoi received tobacco, alcohol, copper to make jewelry and iron for manufacturing their spears and arrow heads.
After the establishment of the refreshment station in 1652, these farmers were gradually forced to relinquish their grazing pastures and also their economic independence. As the settlement at the Cape expanded, violent conflict arose between the colonists and the indigenous peoples.
The loss of their cattle, the devastating impact of colonialism, inter-tribal conflicts, alcohol abuse and various epidemics, such as the smallpox outbreak of 1713, contributed to the systematic demise of the social, economic and political structures of these indigenous communities.
The importation of thousands of slaves from Africa, Madagascar, India, Indonesia, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and other countries gradually resulted in socio-economic integration between the various communities and gave rise to a new workers’ class. This new workers’ class was subjected to a social order in which skin colour, appearance and especially racial classification became the determining factors for upward social mobility.
Over time, discriminating measures and Apartheid legislation were promulgated, marginalising the community socially, politically and economically and causing widespread enslavement and economic and educational stagnation.
Numerous researchers agree that for a large segment of the ‘coloured’ community an identity of marginalisation became one of the biggest stumbling blocks for greater self-reliance and self-sustainability. Discriminatory measures and Apartheid legislation in the previous (and even the present) dispensation resulted in large scale misery and disempowerment of this community. Yet, it is particularly the aspect of marginalisation that needs to be addressed if we wish to make a significant impact on the nature and extent of ‘coloured’ poverty and decay in ‘coloured’ residential areas.
State intervention aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty does exist in the form of grants, services and opportunities to all communities. However, in too many instances chronic unemployment and poor socio-economic circumstances undermine the impact of these interventions.
More importantly, however, is that it does not address the fundamental problem, that of the identity of marginalisation.
The high drop-out rate at school level, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancies, gang involvement, high levels of brutal, gang-related crimes, poor economic achievement, low levels of tertiary education and high levels of court convictions, compared to other communities, point to a complex and deep-seated problem for which there are no obvious solutions.
According to the Medical Research Council’s research group on alcohol and drug abuse the drug Tik (Methamphetamine) is now the preferred drug on the Cape Flats and in rural towns.
Most of the teenage users of Tik are ‘coloured’ boys. Tik does not only pose serious health and social dangers, but is also the cause of the most brutal murders. It is no wonder, therefore, that the number of ‘coloured’ offenders in prison is disproportionately huge compared to the rest of the population.
A report on the state of prisons in South Africa, issued by the National Institute for Crime Prevention in April 2014, showed that 18% of the inmates are ‘coloured’, while the ‘coloured’ community comprises only 9% of the total population.
The head of Statistics South Africa, Pali Lehohla, recently expressed concern over the high drop-out rate at school level and the resulting lack of skills and high unemployment rate among ‘coloured’ youth.
Research by the Council for Higher Education indicates that the number of ‘coloured’ students at institutions of higher learning has not increased proportionately, but has decreased instead.
Acquiring post-school qualifications and pursuing a career enhance upward social mobility, as it means higher salaries and a higher standard of living. The income levels of the ‘coloured’ working class, however, are lagging far behind, a direct result of low training levels, limited employment opportunities and marginalisation.
The widespread rationalisation of teachers’ posts in ‘coloured’ communities after 1994 resulted in a massive exodus of teacher expertise. This, together with the prevailing socio-economic degeneration, is indicative of a serious crisis begging for solutions.
Development practitioners agree that communities who take control over the available economic, cultural and educational instruments themselves and who help to give content to it, have a greater prospect of achieving success. In contrast, communities who have purposefully been excluded from economic, cultural and educational networks find themselves trapped in a culture of dependency.
Such communities never overcome the identity of marginalisation and also do not succeed in creating an identity of self-worth and self-help. They are doomed to stagnation and decay.
Alison Gilchrist a well-known international community development practitioner, is of the opinion that communities and organisations “crystallize and develop in an environment of complex and dynamic social interactions”.
In some communities, however, this intricate web of dynamic interaction has stagnated. Such communities become more homogeneous, stagnant and “frozen”.
In a paper entitled ‘The well-connected community: networking to the edge of chaos’ she has the following to say: ‘Complex systems generate clusters and patterns of self-organization, some of which are more useful in a given situation and therefore more likely to survive. In human terms, groups and organizations crystallize and evolve in an environment of complex and dynamic social interactions. Complexity theory suggests that systems with low levels of connectivity and highly similar elements become ‘stagnant’ or frozen. Populations which have reached these states of isolation, fragmentation or homogeneity (either by choice or circumstances) are unable to innovate or adapt to change’.
A huge effort is required to free a large segment of the ‘coloured’ community from a state of isolation, fragmentation and homogeneity. ‘Coloured’ people in key positions in society, especially, should unlock the existing and build new economic, cultural and educational networks to promote ownership and wealth creation for the ‘coloured’ community in general. Ploughing back into communities where one has grown up, is a noble cause. It does not in any way subvert the vision of a non-racial society, in fact it seeks to strengthen the constitutional ideal of a just and egalitarian society.
Hence the terrible injustice suffered by previous generations of ‘coloured’ people in the Cape – the Khoisan and slaves – warrants extensive economic intervention grounded in self-help, self-esteem and entrepreneurship. There is an urgent need for introspection amongst ‘coloured’ intelligentsia, business and community leaders on how to go about to achieve these outcomes.
It should however not degenerate into fruitless talk shops, but rather come up with a unique financed plan with specific economic, educational and cultural outcomes to enable ‘coloured’ people to take up their rightful place in the rainbow nation. One that should enable them to compete successfully and collaborate as equals with fellow South Africans in the knowledge economy of the 21st century.
Christo van der Rheede
http://voices.news24.com/christo-van-der-rheede/2016/07/32149/
Friday, July 1, 2016
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Thank you for that informative post Christo. We know what we need to do, getting us to that point is beyond me. Being a 20 something isn’t easy and witnessing my people being oppressed by themselves and others doesn’t make it any easier hey 🙂 but we need to keep on going. Having faith and Continue doing what we can with what we have.
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Hi Tay
Please do not feel bad about your age and the way you feel. History is just that HIS STORY. The responses you have received can break or make how and what we as so called ” coloured ” communities will be in future. Thank you for doing a lot more than others would ever do by applying your mind. We all need to look at what we want in life and work towards that. We often look to what we do not want and try to put out fires. We fight drugs but dont put in the time and effort to grow the life skills of our communities to take the correct decisions. I am working on a program that assist persons that have come in conflict with the LAW and have criminal records to take back their dignity and make them employable agian. We assist with clearing of previous criminal records free of any charge from our side. We are willing to serve any community in our country if we have the means to get there. Our committment to safer more productive communities .
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Hi Wayne,
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and for reading my post. It really is much obliged. I agree with you 100%. You should feel very proud of the work that you are doing; actively making a difference. I have just but ideas however am working on some stuff myself. I wish you everything of the best. That u so much for being such an inspiration.
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A while ago i was on leave and drove through my old so called Coloured district in Durban.
It was a frightening experience and also realistic experience when i noticed how many Coloured youth are just standing around on the corners of the flats.
This really shook me and raised the question in my mind as to where are our youth going.
We really lack exposure and any governments development programes in our communities.
Contrary to seeing that i drove past Howard College and was amazed at how many Black /Indian students attending Varsity.
I remain speechless and more worried knowing i have to sons i am raising.
What worries me is that there are many bright and very intelligent youth who complete Matric but don’t stand a chance for entrance into Varsities or even Bursaries because of Affirmative action.
My question is how are our youth gonna be employed or receive Bursaries when Affirmative action is not being implemented correctly.
Our Coloured people in Parliament like Trevor Manual and so forth never mentioned the word Coloured and that is why we in this predicament.
We’ve never had any representation for our people.
One would expect that in Parliament there should be more Coloured second to Black Majority as we are the second highest race.
If Parliament cannot represent this we have a serious problem.
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I absolutely agree Gregory. I second your notion and still can’t get answers these very questions. It kinda leaves one helpless because like where do we start?? Hence why I say perhaps we should try to rewire our mindsets and see if maybe that can help.
Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. Xx
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My people let’s rise from the ashes n stand tall n let’s change our mind set. Firstly we not colouredbbut were given that title after the British settlers infiltrated our country.. We are the first inhabitants of this country.. They found us here.. We’re are the people of the South African soil.. The mguni people came from central Africa n were under the leadership of shaka zulu n lived here as well… We’re the descendants of the bushmen.. Narma.. Kurana.. Hottenton.. Khoi n san n griqua nation.. We have our history that has been destroyed by the whites n excluded from history books to suit their version of events.. We have been robbed of our land they found us living in for years n made it theirs.. My people we have our own King yes our very own Kingdom which we should rise up n acknowledge… Rise n stand together n fight for the right course. Our King Adam Kok the 5th from the Gruqua Royal House is awaiting our return n for us to acknowledge who we are n come on board n work together to reestablish our nation.
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Greetings my people once again… Let’s not allow people to define who we are… We n intelligent… Intellectual nation… We are not coloured.. I’m from griqua descent n from this very soil we were born.. Raised n educated.. We didn’t come from other countries no they found us here n here is where our history lies. This history was excluded from our history books to suit the oporesses..lol but for how long cause we did our homework n know our true history n identity… We are one of the most hard working.. Skilled.. Smart.. Intelligent n dedicated workers as well as committed n that’s the fear of many a nation cause we don’t back down or give up once we’re starta project.. We need to know n acknowledge iour strengths n work with that n together to accomplish our goals n change the mind set of the other nations inthis vcountry n work towards getting back that was stolen from us years back. Centuries ago we lost our land.. Identity.. But not our dignity n our skills n pride for who we are… Let’s first embrace our real identity then walk away from being classified n branded a oppressive given identity coloured n accept ur real identity be it griqua.. Khoi.. San… Khurana but know that you are from this soil.. Let’s join hands from all over SA.n stand up establish a group in your community for those who recognise their identity contact the Griqua Royal House my people come home.. I Unite.. Fight for the right to be included as a nation in whatever projects n development is taking place in our country. Let’s no longer sit back n b sidelined. Let’s join hands n show ourselves.. The critics.. Bad mouths that we united.. Strong n dedicated to change we want to bring about n thus be acknowledged for who we really us. Or u can stay there n continue being called coloured n all the misconceptions that goes with that identity. But as for me I’m moving up n forward.. Choice is urs.
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