TO FIGHT OR NOT
MARGARET NASH
I n t h e Republic of S o u t h Afrca only W h i t e males of a p p r o p r i a t e age a r e liable t o com- pulsory military service; therefore* logically, the matter of conscientious objection t o such service would seem t o b e a question for
Whites.
Paradoxically, t h e issue was raised most dra- matically in 1974 by a conference two-thirds Black in m e m b e r s h i p a n d representing Bi million Blacks as against 14 million Whites*
T h e H a m m a n s k r a a l resolution of t h e SACG was a d r a m a t i c affirmation on t h e part of
Blacks that t h e r e was still hope of peaceful change in South Africa, and t h a t a solution t o t h e conflicts and tensions should not be sought t h r o u g h use of violence — w h e t h e r SADF variety or guerilla warfare.
At t h e same time t h e resolution confronted S o u t h Africans with t h e seriousness of t h e present situation and t h e need to b r i n g an end to the violence t h a t is the daily burden of four-fifths of t h e population of this country.
( I t is not irrelevant that within a very few m o n t h s the SA G o v e r n m e n t — despite t h e in- tensity of its reaction t o t h e resolution — was openly launched on its current policy of de- tente, which in principle m e a n s conflict-reso- lution by negotiation rather than force of
a r m s . )
At present an eligible W h i t e male must do his military service or face severe p e n a l t i e s — in t h e form both of prison sentences and of social disapproval. H e is effectively compell- e d to engage actively in t h e maintenance of a system regarded t h r o u g h o u t t h e world as itself a severe form of institutionalised violence, i.e.
h e is compelled to be an agent of violence.
Non-eligible Whites ( C 3 males, a n d fe- males) are not, by contrast, free of culpability for t h i s violence. T o t h e extent that t h e apart- heid policy results in W h i t e power a n d privi- lege a n d in Black deprivation ( m a t e r i a l , soeio- cultural and p o l i t i c a l ) , it is an expression of systematic or institutionalised violence in which a m i n o r i t y are beneficiaries and t h e ma- jority a r e victims.
F r o m t h e p o i n t of view of t h e victims, t h e The Black Sash, August, 1975
FIGHT?
distinction between passive and active support of t h e system tends t o be an academic one a n d is likely to become even less relevant in a situation ranging from social unrest through urban terrorism to full-scale civil war ( w h i c h even Die Burger prophesies as inevitable if a peaceful solution is not f o u n d ) .
I n t h e cliche of t h e A m e r i c a n civil r i g h t s m o v e m e n t , " I f y o u ' r e not part of t h e solution, you a r e part of t h e p r o b l e m " . T h a t is what, increasingly. S o u t h African Blacks a r e saying to South African W h i t e s — including those of us who t h i n k we are being quite d a r i n g b y t a k i n g part in Black Sash activities.
In this situation what can be d o n e ?
9 In regard to compulsory m i l i t a r y service we can press for approved alternative forms of
national service — such forms as give priority to tackling rural development tasks in South Africa and even, possibly, participating in tech- nical aid programmes in o t h e r S o u t h e r n Afri- can countries* such as Botswana a n d Malawi (if such countries c o n s e n t e d ) .
9 In regard to passive participation in sys- lematised violence, we as W h i t e s can move thoughtfully and decisively towards " n o n - conformist life-styles'" which reduce o u r de- pendence on a n d involvement in ' ' W h i t e lux- u r y " ( h o w many of u s c o n t i n u e quietly to
Itelong to social clubs w h i c h legally are not obliged to be but. in fact, a r e exclusively W h i t e ? ) ; maximise the legitimate o p p o r t u n i -
ties which still exist for developing a non- racial " s u b - c u l t u r e " at all levels — small chil- d r e n , teenagers, a d u l t s : social, cultural, edu- cational, c o m m u n i t y service, religious and so prepare ourselves for a period of social u p h e a - val and reconstruction not u n l i k e that being faced at present i n M o z a m b i q u e and likely soon to be faced in Rhodesia.
T h e p o i n t is not what resolutions we m i g h t pass at a conference, exhorting t h e Govern- m e n t , a n d other people to change their wicked ways. T h e p o i n t is what we can a n d will DO.
individually a n d corporately, t h a t in this con- Die Swart Serp, Augustus, 1978
flict situation is peaceable a n d p e a c e m a k i n g
— r e m e m b e r i n g t h e cost that those who a r e
" i n s t r u m e n t s of p e a c e " often? ( u s u a l l y ) have t o pay.
B u t if t h a t cost s e e m s fearsome, let u s con- sider t h e price of t h e alternative — a price perhaps best illustrated in a 19th century par- able by Kierkegaard.
" A travelling circus once broke into flames just after it b a d e n c a m p e d outside a Danish village. T h e manager turned to the perfor- mers who were already dressed for t h e i r acts and sent for t h e clown to call t h e villagers t o h e l p put out t h e fire, which could not only
destroy t h e circus b u t m i g h t race t h r o u g h the dry fields a n d envelop t h e town itself.
Dashing pell-mell to t h e village square, the p a i n t e d clown shouted to everyone to come to t h e circus a n d h e l p p u t o u t t h e fire. T h e
villagers laughed a n d applauded this novel way of t r i c k i n g t h e m into c o m i n g to t h e big top.
T h e clown wept a n d pleaded. H e insisted that he was not p u t t i n g o n an act but t h a t t h e town really was in mortal danger. T h e m o r e he implored the more t h e villagers howled . . . until the fire leaped across t h e fields and spread to the town itself. Before t h e villag- ers knew it. their h o m e s had been d e s t r o y e d / '
The Pacifist by Hilaire Belloc.
Rail Ebenezer thought it wrong to fight. But Roaring Bill (who killed him) thought it right.
Mr. Janson says Mr. Janson does
MR JANSON says: There could be grave socio-economic consequences if the huge housing backlog for Africans in urban areas was not made up.
. r .
MR LEBALLO has been on the waiting list for a house in Soweto since December, 1970. He and his wife and children have been living as lodgers in someone else's house while they wait. The registered tenant of this house has left Johannesburg so the Superintendent has cancelled the tenancy and told Mr Leballo and his family that they must move out.
Mr. Leballo asked if he could take over the house in view of the long period he has been on the waiting list but this w a s refused because he is t h e wrong ethnic group for this particular area.
MR JANSON said, "Those Whites who employ a Bantu illegally must expect no mercy from my department. We will stamp out this kind of thing when Europeans play with the happiness of the Bantu people and with the future of South Africa."
MRS MATHEBULA came from Amersfoort to Johannesburg to earn a living in 1965. She was un- able to get a permit to work but stayed illegally with one employer for eight years. She then moved to Kempton Park with her employer's family. Their household was raided by inspectors from the East Rand Administration Board three times in quick succession. In spite of all her employer's efforts, she was refued registration and was sent back to Amersfoort. She is the sole breadwinner for her elderly, disabled husband and their seven children and is now unemployed.
The Black Sash, August, 1975 15 Die Swart Serp, Augustus, 1975
