5: South Africa, Prepare for Change!
By the late 1980s my own mind had been firmly made up and my concern for the future of The Salvation Army in South Africa increased.
'The time has come for The Salvation Army to prepare for the changes ahead in South Africa.' I made a proposal to the General of the day - Jarl Wahlstrom. I suggested:
- Send a representative to assess the overall situation, gauge opinions and as an act of solidarity with all South Africans
- issue a pastoral letter
- Engage in dialogue with the ANC in exile.
Should I have pressed harder then? Or was it that my time had not yet come?
We became members of The Salvation Army congregation in Upper Norwood in the 1980s. Margaret especially was involved, firstly with young people and in later years women. I played in the band and accepted the role of sergeant with special responsibility for pastoral support.
Increasing township violence, necklacing, brutal police crackdowns etc featured in the British news. I was asked to lead a prayer one Sunday morning, passionately imploring the Almighty to intervene and to give us all insight into our own attitudes including specific reference to South Africa and also Britain. The editor of All the World asked me for the text .I agreed on condition that it was published in full, but he exercised full editorial privilege, leaving out any reference to the UK. When I registered my disappointment he told me it was not the first time he had upset someone to whom he wanted to give some prominence. That's not what I wanted.
Racism is not restricted to South Africa.
I was deeply indebted to Commissioner J. Israel for his special pleading that enabled to me to get a visa for India - in my South African passport! I was able to attend the Hospital Administration Conference I had arranged in Delhi in 1984. I was also able to travel to a number of Salvation Army hospitals and clinics, but not the Punjab, closed to foreign visitors following the assassination of Prime Minister, Indra Gandhi. Indian colleagues welcomed me warmly in spite of the nationality issue which had placed some limitations on the visit. I met a number of expatriate staff, some having served in India for many years. I had nothing but admiration for them, but I did, however, detect in a few a measure of disdain, if not contempt for the country and its people which troubled me. I told Margaret I had detected racism in India during my visit. It was similar to what we had lived with in South Africa.
Racism is not purely an issue for white South Africans.
Our appointment to India in 1990 was a major change for all four of us: Catherine left behind in England, Andre a few hundred miles away in boarding school, Margaret dealing with the inhospitable climate, and me with a new task for which I felt ill-prepared. Within weeks of his arrival of the boarding school, we received a letter from Andre telling us that he was being called a racist. I contacted the head.
'Unless you deal with these unjustified accusations of racism against our son I will need to withdraw him from the school.'
He told me that our son's arrival had opened a can of worms of which he had been unaware. It had nothing to do with our son, in fact. It had exposed deeply felt attitudes.
'Leave it to me,' he replied, 'I need to deal with that.'
Racial proifiling is not purely a South African issue. It can affect us all. It shows its face in xenophobia which can easily spill over into violence and war.