I am not here to name names. I have no vendetta to start, no self-righteousness to ventilate. I am in business myself that is fighting for survival. I am not here to lecture anyone.
But I do think that those of us who worked so hard in campaigns for freedom because of our belief in universal justice and support for human rights have a right and a duty to demand accountability, honestly, openness and transparency from a country that owes its transformation to an international struggle. We need to pay closer attention to what is happening.
I believe we have a responsibility and duty to challenge practices that dishonor South Africa and all it stands for. They also dishonor our own participation over the years in the freedom fight. I for one question all the money spent on staging World Cup games while unemployment grows and misery spreads. This can easily turn into a cruel joke that the country will be paying for in years to come.
I want to see a debate on issues like this, not a coverup in the name of commerce and national pride. Do we need more bread and circuses, when the people need more bread?
If American Jews should speak out against Israeli injustice--and I believe we should-- we who fought apartheid should speak up against the emergence of a new South African self-serving elite and economic apartheid compounded by injustices and vast disparities in wealth and opportunity.
Even Hillary Clinton today justified American criticism of Israel's settlement poliicies before th AIPAC confernce, on the grounds that friends have a duty to speak out about issues they disagree with as well as those they agree on. This is the same spirit that informs campaigns that say friends don't let friends drive drunk.
I know that President Zuma was part of the struggle and I think knows what I am talking about. So do all the people I know in South Africa. But, shouldn't he be speaking out and accepting responsibility too for actions that contribute to a perception that his government and political party are irresponsible and contemptuous of its critics?
THe old regime was known for for its arrogance. Why are some in top positions in South Africa becoming like them?
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