Premier's Perspective: Break silence about acts of racism

Even though Anti-Racism Week, which culminated into Human Rights Day and globally as the International Day against Racial Discrimination, has come and gone, I can’t stop thinking about how racism is ravaging our nation.

I just cannot get it out of my head because I am not sure if we all realise how serious it is. Every day we are reminded of the ever-present and devastating evils of religious, ethnic, cultural racism and xenophobia and homophobia in this country and across the world.

I would submit that many of us do not realise such incidents are happening in our communities every day. If we are aware, too often we remain silent and do nothing.

Of course there are some who think it is better to block talk and incidents of racism out – better not to listen to racists. Just ignore them. Others say it is hard to talk about what is happening these days, but we know it happens. Some say they are aware of the ever-present racism, but just hope someone can do something serious about it because it is bad.

We are all responsible for a social culture that sees racism yet says and does nothing. We can all reclaim any damaged heart and mind to facilitate a healthier response to living with others.

Dr Martin Luther King jnr said: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”.

Former president Thabo Mbeki once said: “Indeed, we cannot claim to be truly free when insidious and blatant racism still exists in our society. We cannot claim to be truly free when racism still rears its ugly head.”

The racism we are witnessing today here and across the world matters and it is time to break the silence and confront this evil in our midst.

The truth is diversity is a source of richness of which bounty can only be harvested if everyone worked for the kind of society where each citizen realised their unique potential and contributed meaningfully.

As we strive to understand the scourge of apartheid in our midst, let us remind ourselves that political historians define “race” as a group of people with the same physical characteristics and with notable cultural and social similarities.

In view of this description, racism can be defined as an “attitude of prejudice, bias and intolerance” between various racial groups.

To understand the contemporary use of the concept of racism, various dictionaries and political historians teach us that racism can be seen as a belief system, or ideology, structured around three basic ideas:

lHumans are divided naturally into different physical types;

lSuch physical traits as they display are intrinsically related to their culture, personality and intelligence; and

lOn the basis of their genetic inheritance, some groups are innately superior to others.

Thus racism is the belief that humans are subdivided into hereditary groups that are innately different in their social behaviour and capacities, which therefore can be ranked as “superior” or “inferior”.

These judgments are subsequently used to legitimate the unequal distribution of the society’s resources, specifically, various forms of wealth, prestige and power, says political historians in their analysis of racism in society.

The term “racism” can also be used to describe “bias” and intolerance between ethnic and/or religious groups.

Therefore in analysing the causes of racism, three main factors can be mentioned: ideology, greed and fear. Inherent in racism is the ideology of the superiority of one’s own group and the inferiority of others.

Among many historical examples of ideological justifications of various manifestations of racism, were slavery, colonialism, genocide and of course, our own apartheid rule. So what can all of us do to embrace diversity? Work hard to change attitudes by promoting peace and celebrating diversity.

We, in the Eastern Cape government, have dedicated ourselves to building a society and communities where respect for diversity forms the basis of our thinking, where judging someone because of the colour of their skin, religion or culture, is anathema to all decent people.

Our message to those who are suffering racial harassment, is “don’t be alone”.

There are many organisations, not just the government and human rights groups, who can help you deal with harassment. To keep it bottled-up inside can be very destructive, leading to stress and a deterioration in family relationships.

Let us continue to work hard to wipe out the evil of racism by promoting peace, celebrating diversity, curb extremism and building an inclusive society where our physical differences are celebrated and diversity cherished.

Phumulo Masualle is premier of the Eastern Cape. His Twitter handle is @EC_premier