Posted on 01/05/2002 4:36:14 PM PST by backhoe
Subhead: "The story you may never have been told...."
The following story was posted in a reply by Robby Noel.
It is as good and accurate a summary as I have ever seen anywhere, by a man who has seen this part of the world first-hand.
Read, and educate yourself:
Thank you for post...Maybe I shouldn't say this, but, these pictures depict what American blacks like myself would face if this country were totally run by the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
As the article points out the greater crime committed in Africa was between blacks many today look at at blacks as one faceless group...I grew up with a "nanny" most if not all families had domestic help and in many cases they became one of the "family"...they were mostly from the "Shona" tribe a peaceful people..the likes of Jackson and crew are akin to the Matabele tribe....a little history is in order
Rhodes and his Pioneers went into unknown territory, a land full dangers. The Matabele people had just recently arrived in the western region. They were a faction of the Zulu nation who had broken away after a dispute with their King, Shaka. To the east lay an area occupied by bands of wandering tribesman, the Shona, who had migrated south from the north and east.
The Shona had forcibly dispossessed the original inhabitants of the area, the gentle Kung San people, better known to Westerners as 'Bushmen'. These people were driven into modern day Botswana and Namibia, whilst the Shona settled on their ancestral land. The Matabele arriving at a later date than the Shona, in turn drove the Shona peoples from the western area of the Shona colonized Kung San lands, and colonized those lands themselves.
The initial period of white settlement met with the usual problems of establishing a new territory. During this time a short war occured with the Matabele, they were quickly pacified and subdued.
A lingering dissatisfaction among the Matabele led to an uprising in 1896, which also surprisingly involved some of the Shona people. The Shona were generally welcoming of the white men, Rhodes protected them from the ravages of the fierce Matabele, who had regularly raided them for women and cattle. If the white men had not arrived when they did, it is probable that the Shona peoples would have been driven into modern day Mozambique by the expanding Matabele.
The Matabele were quickly pacified by Rhodes, the Shona elements took a little while longer to subdue. After the uprising finished in 1897, peace reigned for a very long time. Indeed, it wasn't until 1962 that the police were again in need of a recourse to arms. This was due to black radicals, sponsored by the Soviet Bloc, using violence in their quest for founding a Marxist state in Rhodesia,
Rhodes pioneers gradually spread out over the new territory in search of gold. There were very few conflicts with the local population, as they themselves were not interested in digging in the ground for gold. They found the white mans fascination for the material very strange. The natives were happy enough though to work at this strange new task, and for the first time earn money and join in the new adventure of buying and selling. This was something which had previously been unknown to them.
Land in the new territory was extremely plentiful, the whole area of modern day Rhodesia contained only around 295,000 people. There were no problems in raising good quality crops on the fertile soils. The native peoples only used basic wooden farming implements, and so preferred to work the light sandy or loam soils. The white man on the other hand used metal agricultural implements, and so prefered the heavier soils that were of little interest to the natives.
The settlers who came to this territory were adventurers, the kind of people who thrived on a challenge, and possessed a strong will to succeed. They were filled with a passion to make a better life for themselves and their families, in this raw and untamed new land of Rhodesia.
Along with these settlers came the ideals and standards of the British Empire, a positive force for good in the world. The British introduced such concepts as, proper standards of freedom and justice, and the basics of education, health and hygiene. The new Rhodesians constructed railways, paved roads and modern infrastructure.
Due to its establishment by the British South Africa Company, Rhodesia was never governed directly from Whitehall and was not a British colony. Rather it was a self governing dominion, in the same way that Canada, Australia and New Zealand were. By the end of the First World War, Rhodesia was prospering and the people were beginning to speak of governing themselves. The economy was well managed, development was planned and there was steady progress. Race relations were harmonious and it must not be forgotten, Rhodesians had made a first class contribution to Britains war effort. With this kind of record, the British Government were extremely supportive of a move towards self government.
Following negotiations with both the British Government and the British South Africa Company, it was decided that Rhodesians should be given the option of either joining the Union of South Africa, or being granted what was termed "responsible government". This "responsible government" was described as being a unique kind of dominion status, whereby the British Government would look after Rhodesia's exterior diplomatic and foreign affairs, thus providing Rhodesia with the benefit of not having to fund expensive overseas missions around the world, yet still enable Rhodesia to attain the recognition and status of a dominion.
These two options were put to the Rhodesian people at a vote in 1922. The Rhodesian people overwhelmingly chose the route of "responsible government", with the aspiration of building a nation the equal of the other dominions.
It's now just yet another African s**thole.
Cagey, I know it's a pain in the ___, but control-d will bookmark that ( or any other page you are on ) to your browser, and when FR's works again, you can go back & add it.
That's what I remember, too- I always believed that ( left alone and given time ) the government and businesses in South Africa would realize what a huge market the coloreds represented and see the self-defeating foolishness of holding them down as second-class citizens.
That's what the old "merchant" in me saw, anyway- you want your neighbor to do better in life because everybody eventually benefits from it.
I, too, find looking at Africa almost terminally depressing- there is so much potential, but it always seems to get short-circuited by the bad side of human nature....
They really WOULD have gotten rid of Apartheid, on their own, and by now ; IF they had been left alone. Instead, a pack of tribal Commies now govern South Africa, and Mugabe, of Zimbabwe , is one of THE worst tyrants, ever .
I believe you are right, and left alone by the meddlers, SA would have found a better solution than the current near-anarchy they have. It will only get worse, more's the pity.
FYI, I posted this a while back to show a tiny bit of the "goings-on behind the scenes"--
Cubans were also in South Africa ! Mandela embraced Castro and Khaddafi ( sp ? ) . These are things which most nonSouth Africans do NOT know anything about.
Please keep me on your Africa ping list.
and you can go there to find what I have indexed.... I do add items of interest when I see them.
I got your email, and can certainly understand your concerns. SA is a gorgeous country, rich in many resources, yet plagued with a current government far worse than its last one. I greatly fear for the future of all South Africans- it looks like a slide into chaos and anarchy to me, and I don't see what will stop it. Zimbabwe is the model, and precursor.
First it was Rhodesia then SA now America paying the price of silence.
Yes, South Africa IS a beautiful country; one rich in everything BUT it's government. The entire continent, is rapidly sliding backwards, and will once more, be called "THE DARK CONTINENT ". It just breaks my heart .
The ANC has gone so far into ancient tribalism, that they have even managed to manipulate some of the Zulus ( who have always been allied with the Afrikaners ! ) into turning away from their ancient stance ; now, brther fights brother. Divide an conquer, is their Communist taught method.
In all candor, it is NOT just a black / white problem; it is a black / black problem, as well. Ancient tribal blood fueds have been reinstituted. Blacks are in a MUCH worse situation , NOW, than they were previously.
Exactly. Eventually, everyone will be worse off the way things are going.
Great link, backhoe. I bookmarked it for further reference. I wouldn't mind being put on your ping list for this region, I've been interested ever since a S. African girl shattered my preconceived notions that the American media had given me of Mandela being another MLKjr. Ever since then, I've been finding out more of the ugly truth behind the ANC. The Cuban and Soviet fiasco in Angola is something else that I believe is obfuscated in the press. I didn't get any other perspective on Angola until I read some essays by the leader of UNICA.
Neighbor, I actually don't keep lists- I usually go thru current posts and grab a few names, or do a similar operation via self-search. I did start the AfricaWatch section of the bump list:
and you can go there to find what I have indexed.... I do add items of interest when I see them.
... but I am glad you have seen past the smoke-screen generated by the usual suspects in our media. They have tried to portray the situation in southern Africa as a clone of our own civil-rights struggles when in fact just the opposite was true. Africa is degenerating into chaos and anarchy under the guise of "liberation" and "one man, one vote." All while the media here turns a blind eye to what is really happening.
What I used to tell people was that while Apartheid was an onerous, offensive system, I would prefer being a black South African under Apartheid to being a person of any color under the old Soviet system- and I still believe those words to be true and correct. Given time, the old South African government would have worked out it's problems- but it was not allowed to do so.
Today, we are seeing the results of this folly in Zimbabwe- or rather, we see what tiny bits the web and small elements of talk radio cover.
The whole story of contemporary Africa is a sad tale of tribalism, class warfare, and massive corruption- and one the media here "won't even talk about" because it does not fit within their template of acceptable ideas.
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