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THE SUICIDE OF GROUP AREAS
D R . O . D . W O L L H E I M
Warden of the Cape Flats Distress Association
T H E policy of apartheid is based u p o n t h e theory that w h e r e groups of differing c u l t u r e and b a c k g r o u n d m e e t in close c o n t a c t , friction arises! Many examples are given, such as t h e tension b e t w e e n t h e English Raj and t h e Indians before i n d e p e n d e n c e , the N o t ting Hill difficulties, t h e Little R o c k r i o t , and o t h e r s . T h e apartheid r e m e d y for this friction is to p r e v e n t such points of contact e x c e p t w h e r e they are well u n d e r s t o o d , with the relationship b e t w e e n t h e differing groups an established o n e . T h e very simplicity of this sort of solution is staggering, b u t it is also indicative of t h e fundamental i m m a t u r i t y of Afrikaner Nationalist thinking.
W h e n t w o surfaces r u b b i n g t o g e t h e r generate heat, t h e n the answer is to stop t h e t w o surfaces r u b b i n g t o g e t h e r . Lubricating t h e surfaces is t o o c o m p l i c a t e d a p r o c e s s ; w h e t h e r the t w o surfaces must r u b t o g e t h e r in o r d e r to make, t h e machine w o r k , is irrelevant. Undesirable h e a t is generated, so t h e t w o surfaces are r e m o v e d from contact with o n e a n o t h e r , regardless of t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s .
T h e G r o u p Areas Act and t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of Bantustans are t h e main i n s t r u m e n t in bringing about such a separation of t h e surfaces w i t h i n t h e Union of t h e future. W h i t e s (we are t o l d ) will eventually have no rights in t h e Bantustans, and t h e G r o u p Areas Act will deal w i t h t h e polyglot r e m a i n d e r of South Africa.
T h e Act seeks to create a situation in t h e future in w h i c h separate areas on a sort of c h e q u e r - b o a r d p a t t e r n will have b e e n created in every o n e of t h e urban areas of t h e U n i o n . Each area will have been designated for the occupation of a specific racial g r o u p ; and in these areas t h e respective groups will n o t only b e expected to reside, but also to provide all the services, such as the p o l i c e , t h e hospitals, education, and the running of all industry and c o m m e r c e as well as t h e local councils.
In this way t h e apologists for apartheid imagine that they will be p r e v e n t i n g t h e generation of heat by r e m o v i n g t h e r u b b i n g surfaces from o n e a n o t h e r . Frustration will have b e e n elimi- n a t e d , because in t h e separate areas t h e r e will be no restrictions u p o n t h e ambitions of t h e inhabitants for w h o m t h e area has b e e n reserved.
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A F R I C A S O II T HIn very many areas of t h e U n i o n of South Africa it is possible to apply t h e G r o u p Areas Act with a m i n i m u m of dislocation.
Such parts are as yet comparatively n e w and w e r e only developed u n d e r a policy of strict segregation. In t h e larger urban areas of Johannesburg, P r e t o r i a and D u r b a n , h o w e v e r , in spite of a strong segregatory p r a c t i c e over all t h e years, t h e r e has been such e n o r m o u s industrial, commercial and e c o n o m i c develop- m e n t that t h e t o w n s have b e c o m e integrated residentially and economicallv.
J
W h a t used to be an out-lying location, such as Sophiatown, has b e e n swallowed up by t h e expansion of w h i t e businesses and houses in that region, so that it has b e c o m e what t h e G o v e r n m e n t t e r m s a " b l a c k s p o t " ; t h e p e r c e n t a g e of n o n - w h i t e p e o p l e e m p l o y e d in industry has risen till to-day it is r a t h e r m o r e than t w o - t h i r d s of t h e w h o l e ; t r a d e has b e c o m e so integrated that it w o u l d be almost impossible to d e t e r m i n e exactly h o w m u c h of it is c o n t r o l l e d by any o n e o r o t h e r racial g r o u p .
T h e greatest difficulty of all, t h o u g h , is being—and will increasingly b e — c r e a t e d in t h e o l d e r t o w n s of t h e W e s t e r n Cape Province and t h e City of Cape T o w n . For h u n d r e d s of years t h e r e was no m o r e than t h e n o r m a l sort of voluntary segregation of o n e social g r o u p from a n o t h e r . T h e r e has always been t h e ordinary, n o r m a l and natural flow from o n e g r o u p to a n o t h e r g r o u p , w h i c h the c o m m u n i t y has absorbed with no difficulty whatsoever.
j
This process has been going o n since 16^2 and a compulsory form of segregation has only m a d e its appearance in t h e last t w e n t y to t h i r t y years. T h e first difficulty is, t h e r e f o r e , o n e of definition. W h o is w h i t e , and w h o is black, w h o is C o l o u r e d , w h o is Malay? T h e n o r m a l m i g r a t i o n from o n e social g r o u p to a n o t h e r has been going on in t h e Cape for nearly 300 years, and it is impossible for any old-established w h i t e Cape family to claim w i t h 1 0 00/ certainty7 that t h e r e is no n o n - w h i t e blood in its ancestry. T h e r e are a c c e p t e d w h i t e families w h o have up to
2£ % ° f n o n - w h i t e blood in t h e i r veins. A clear dividing line b e t w e e n w h i t e and C o l o u r e d in Cape T o w n does n o t exist, and any definition and separation of these t w o groups from o n e a n o t h e r m u s t b e by ad hoc definition based on empirical criteria.
Similarly t h e r e is n o clear dividing line b e t w e e n C o l o u r e d and African.
In t h e residential areas of Cape T o w n u p to shortly before 1939, t h e r e w e r e many groups of C o l o u r e d p e o p l e living d o t t e d
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a b o u t t h e Cape Peninsula in areas w h i c h had been d e t e r m i n e d largely by historical factors.
T h r e e small groups of C o l o u r e d p e o p l e w e n t to live in Sea Point close on a c e n t u r y ago. T h e y started as c o a c h m e n and stable hands of t h e old Cape T o w n T r a m w a y Company w h e n i t insti- t u t e d a h o r s e - d r a w n service b e t w e e n t h e City and Sea P o i n t ; and they have since b e c o m e an integral p a r t of that c o m m u n i t y , performing essential services w i t h i n it.
O t h e r groups in t h e s o u t h e r n suburbs have b e e n t h e r e for c e n t u r i e s . Shortly after 16^2 farms w e r e handed o u t to Tree b u r g h e r s ' in what are t h e present-day suburbs of R o n d e b o s c h , Newlands, C l a r e m o n t and W y n b e r g . Simon van d e r Stel, the second G o v e r n o r of t h e Cape (and, incidentally, a C o l o u r e d m a n ) , developed a large and beautiful estate in t h e Constantia Valley.
These farms w e r e p r o v i d e d w i t h slave labour, and these c o m - m unities developed a r o u n d t h e original slave q u a r t e r s .
Areas such as these developed w h e r e they did at t h e behest of w h i t e p e o p l e , in o r d e r to provide services for w h i t e p e o p l e . If to-day they have b e c o m e " b l a c k s p o t s5' , it is n o t t h e fault of n o n - w h i t e p e o p l e ; and t h e full responsibility for t h e conse- quences, social, political and e c o n o m i c , of any t a m p e r i n g w i t h these c o m m u n i t i e s m u s t be accepted solely by those w h i t e people w h o have demanded g r o u p areas.
W h e n a g r o u p area is p r o c l a i m e d , a certain period of t i m e is set at t h e end of w h i c h all persons from t h e o t h e r groups m u s t m o v e o u t . T h e Minister may, in his discretion, issue extensions of t i m e if h e can b e satisfied that no alternative a c c o m m o d a t i o n exists. T h e p r o c l a m a t i o n of g r o u p areas in a city like Cape T o w n is t h e r e f o r e destined eventually to interfere basically w i t h t h e lives of tens of thousands of p e o p l e , to u p r o o t and displace very many large and old-established c o m m u n i t i e s from areas w h i c h have b e c o m e t h e i r traditional h o m e s over t h r e e c e n t u r i e s .
C o m m u n i t i e s develop in particular areas because t h e condi- tions are fertile for such d e v e l o p m e n t t h e r e . T h e i r speed of g r o w t h , t h e i r size and function are d e t e r m i n e d by t h e social climate, t h e e c o n o m i c need and t h e law of supply and d e m a n d . T h e r e is a social and e c o n o m i c ecology w i t h i n each c o m m u n i t y as well as b e t w e e n o n e c o m m u n i t y and a n o t h e r . Man is a social being and cannot live e x c e p t in relation to o t h e r m e n and t h e i r institutions and organizations. For this reason a c o m m u n i t y develops i n t e r l o c k i n g m u t u a l interests, and t h e social scientist realizes that it is e x t r e m e l y dangerous to t a m p e r with such
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A F R I C A S O U T Hdynamic processes.
Against t h e express wish of t h e citizens and t h e local C o u n c i l , g r o u p areas in t h e City of Cape T o w n have been proclaimed for w h i t e occupation in t h e Table M o u n t a i n , Sea P o i n t , W o o d s t o c k , Brooklyn, Maitland, G o o d w o o d , Parow and Bellville suburbs.
T h e proclamations set t i m e limits for t h e various areas, and these e x p i r e d early in 19^9 for Sea P o i n t and Table M o u n t a i n . T h e p e r i o d of grace for t h e o t h e r areas will expire at varying times b e t w e e n n o w and January, 1 9 6 3 . A t this m o m e n t t h e Act only affects a few h u n d r e d p e o p l e living in o n e p a r t of Newlands and in Sea P o i n t , b u t by 1963 t h e n u m b e r of persons affected m i g h t e x c e e d 1 0 , 0 0 0 . N o reliable figures are available.
W i t h these proclamations t h e G r o u p Areas Act has n o t even p r o p e r l y started on its task. T h e Cape Peninsula has a C o l o u r e d population of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 35-0,000. Even if t w o - t h i r d s of t h e existing p o p u l a t i o n already live in what are likely to be C o l o u r e d g r o u p areas, t h e r e will still b e in excess of 20,000 families (over 100,000 p e r s o n s ) who will have to be u p r o o t e d and dis- placed, to say n o t h i n g of t h e n u m b e r of w h i t e p e o p l e w h o will also have to m o v e .
O n e can, h o w e v e r , be reasonably certain that t h e n u m b e r of w h i t e persons to be affected by t h e G r o u p Areas Act will be small. In K i m b e r l e y , for instance, t h e G r o u p Areas Proclamation
151159 will effect approximately 1 . 5 % of t h e w h i t e people (300 p e r s o n s ) , approximately £ ° % of t h e C o l o u r e d people (over 10,000 persons), and the entire Indian and Chinese populations.
Industrial expansion in any c o u n t r y has always brought a b o u t heavy voluntary migration of p e o p l e from rural areas to the t o w n s . Many studies have shown the resultant social dislocation of this process. T o take p e o p l e o u t of an e n v i r o n m e n t to w h i c h they have b e c o m e accustomed over t h e centuries and to place t h e m at short n o t i c e in a completely n e w one is to upset the n a t u r e of m a n ' s being, because he n o longer exists in relation to o t h e r m e n and m e n ' s institutions. He m u s t n o w start t h e difficult process of developing new relationships in an area w h e r e he feels like a stranger.
T h e stresses resultant upon such e n v i r o n m e n t changes inevit- ably bring with t h e m psychological difficulties and aberrated forms of behaviour. Marital relations are u p s e t and t h e divorce rate r i s e s ; parent-child relationships are m a d e difficult because of t h e father's sense of inadequacy in his n e w e n v i r o n m e n t ; t h e r e
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is a rise in juvenile d e l i n q u e n c y ; the feeling of social inadequacy leads to compensating activities and t h e r e is an increase in sexual p r o m i s c u i t y , t h e abuse of alcohol and illicit narcotic traffic.
These consequences How from the natural and voluntary migration of people responding to the law of supply and demand in an era of e c o n o m i c expansion. If t h e migration is involuntary and legally enforced against their will, with no basis in e c o n o m i c necessity but only in a completely blind p r e j u d i c e , t h e n the consequences will necessarily be much graver. O n e can therefore look forward, in t h e Union of South Africa, to a p e r i o d of increasing social dislocation which will have its roots in n o o t h e r causes but in the application of this Act. T h e r e have already been t w o C o l o u r e d suicides r e c o r d e d in Cape T o w n during t h e past six months as a d i r e c t result of t h e r e c e n t g r o u p area proclamations.
But t h e Act is n o t only socially self-destructive, it is also economically crazy. T h e e n o r m o u s Industrial expansion of o u r larger cities has resulted in a very severe shortage of housing.
All t h e major cities have slums w h e r e p e o p l e live in unbelievably o v e r - c r o w d e d conditions. It is c o m m o n for social w o r k e r s to r e p o r t on a small house of five r o o m s , a passage and a verandah occupied by five different families r e p r e s e n t i n g some ] £ p e o p l e . T h e r e is a shortage of at least 12,000 houses for C o l o u r e d families in Cape T o w n ; to this should be added the housing r e q u i r e d by approximately 7^,000 Africans, t h e majority of w h o m are migrant male unskilled w o r k e r s . T o overtake this backlog in, say, 10 years, would m e a n building at t h e r a t e of 2,000 houses p e r year o r seven p e r day in Cape T o w n alone.
If t h e houses, t o g e t h e r with services such as w a t e r , light, roads, sanitation, e t c . , and land, cost only £ 5 0 0 each, t h e e x p e n d i t u r e would b e in t h e region of £ 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 p e r year for t h e n e x t t e n years.
This would only overtake the backlog and would take no care of the present-day expansion of Cape T o w n . This has b e e n anything b u t n o r m a l , for the total p o p u l a t i o n has b e e n t r e b l e d in less than t w e n t y years. This e c o n o m i c expansion continues and the need for increased m a n - p o w e r has never stopped. If t h e city wishes to face a reasonably n o r m a l housing position in t e n years' t i m e , it w o u l d have to build at double t h e suggested r a t e , viz., 4 , 0 0 0 houses p e r year at an estimated cost of £ 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 every year for t h e next ten years,
T h e G r o u p Areas Act would displace n o t less than 100,000
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A F R I C A S O II T HC
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p e o p l e . A d m i t t e d l y s o m e of t h e m live in slums and w o u l d in any case have to b e r e h o u s e d , b u t a very large p e r c e n t a g e live in good, durable houses of m o d e s t size. T h e final application of the G r o u p Areas Act could very easily result in t h e need for yet a n o t h e r 10,000 houses for t h e displaced p e o p l e .
T h e r e is no shortage of housing for w h i t e p e o p l e , so that the p r o c l a i m e d w h i t e g r o u p areas w o u l d end up w i t h large n u m b e r s of d e r e l i c t p r o p e r t i e s of good quality previously occupied b \ C o l o u r e d p e o p l e . It w o u l d be many years before t h e p r e s e n t d e v e l o p m e n t of Cape T o w n w o u l d cause all such vacated areas to be taken over for use by w h i t e p e o p l e . T h e n e t result could easily be t h e building of 10,000 unnecessary houses w i t h a n o t h e r
10,000 standing d e r e l i c t e l s e w h e r e .
O t h e r e c o n o m i c implications are as crazy. In t h e case of Kimberley quoted above, t h e r e are 2/^0 Indian families w h o hold 440 trading licences (including h a w k e r s ' licences). These busi- nesses are mainly small family c o n c e r n s , handed d o w n from father to son for varying periods of u p to 90 years. In Johannesburg and the o t h e r Reef cities, in P r e t o r i a , D u r b a n and P i e t e r m a r i t z b u r g , Indians have n o t only developed small businesses b u t also control e n o r m o u s wholesale c o n c e r n s .
T h e G r o u p Areas Act will in due course n o t only cause t h e Indians to live in an Indian g r o u p area, but will also eventually force t h e m to close down these established places of business and find o t h e r occupations since they cannot all trade on each o t h e r . T h e area set aside for Indians in Johannesburg is at Lenasia, over 20 miles from t h e c e n t r e of Johannesburg and geographically completely isolated from t h e e c o n o m i c v o r t e x of activities b e t w e e n Johannesburg and Springs. Apart from t h e serious consequences w i t h i n t h e c o m m u n i t y of t a m p e r i n g w i t h and eliminating a c o m p l e t e l y integrated sector of its e c o n o m y , it is e c o n o m i c m u r d e r for t h e w h o l e Indian c o m m u n i t y . Apart from all the o t h e r adjustments they will have to m a k e , thev will have to start to learn n e w ways of subsisting.
It is n o w o n d e r that Alan Paton has described t h e G r o u p Areas A c t as t h e greatest sin w h i c h t h e w h i t e p e o p l e of South Africa have c o m m i t t e d . It is t h e social and e c o n o m i c ruination of millions of p e o p l e w h o have helped to build South Africa by a selfish w h i t e g r o u p ; and it blandly ignores t h e rights, t h e wishes and t h e humanity of t h e p e o p l e it will affect,
