Dergs and other vile monsters

My rising sense of panic is founded on painful experience of human nature within the South African (specifically the Transkeian) context. Unfortunately the sense of urgency does nothing for my coherency or effectivity... and just appears to make me seem irrational. Too bad. I have a point.

I grew up in the Transkei, and even have (somewhere) one of the 300mm shells from the 21 gun salute on the day of independence.

People who say that the Transkei was just another bantustan really don't know much about their history: it is the cultural melting pot of the Xhosa speaking Hlubi people - and is at an intersection point of immense import - both geographically and historically.

Mandela, Biko, Tambo. . . and many other heroes of the struggle come from the Transkei kingdom. As I said, it is the geographical home to several different Xhosa speaking tribes. From what I understand of the limited historical info that is publicly available - the Thembu tribe (of which Mandela is a royal member) were the first to settle in the area. Other tribes coming down from the North-East to escape Shaka's mfecane - such as the Gcaleka - had to ask permission from the Thembu king to settle in the lands beyond theirs.

It's worth noting that the Mpondomise and the Gcaleka were the only 2 tribes in South Africa to never submit to British rule.

And so the area was referred to - in a distant sense - as the Transkei (beyond the Kei river) and was never settled (in any comfortable sense of the word)... Ever. The 9th frontier war has never actually ended here... and the dichotomy - between the modern world and the ancient - is as marked as it was 150 years ago.

After what feels like an eternity of destabilization to rid the region of the influence of Holomisa and the UDM - the ANC has embarked on their ideal of detribalizing and de-culturalizing the people. Idealogues like to think that removing class distinctions and making everyone equal under the freedom charter's idealistic version of democracy will solve all of the ancient inter-tribal conflicts that afflict all African states. Unfortunately it has been shown in countries like Ethiopia that removing the ruling class in favor of an animal farm ideology simply leads to ruinously repressive regimes and long term instability.

But to quote Stofile in his 1998 speech to the house of Traditional Leaders:

"The fact that we are in Africa does not quite make us unique. All countries of the world have had kings and chiefs. They have transformed those institutions as times changed. We have to produce our own model of transformation. One thing is certain, change is unstoppable."

The trouble I have with people like Stofile is that they can inflict catastrophic harm with their modern democratic ideals. Look at Ethiopia. The economic devastation after Selassie I. The 2 million refugees from the ruling classes... the police state... the arrests of subversive VOIP users... the arrests of journalists and the opposition... the suppression of the media.

. . . With South Africa's track record so far with telecommunications - AKA the ANC's "economic engine" on the gravy train: Telkom... and their vile actions to remove political opposition (I'm referring specifically to Transkei and Khutsong)... Well in fact the whole way in which the Transkei has been handled is the thing that really gets me.

But more anon.