Prof Jansen's act of dropping charges against four students deepens the racism against black people in South Africa. He is the very first black principal of the University of Free State and has now display dismal failure to lead the institution.
The university is known of old racism against black students and employees and one had hoped that there would be chances since his appointment. Prof Jansen is an academic and is expected to understand what South Africa is going through and the risk of making decisions that are not consulted.
He has justified his act by saying that the decision promotes reconciliation in this country. It is exactly this justification that is seen to be very problematic because it undermines all reconciliation efforts and gains that South Africa should be enjoying. As an academic, Prof Jansen should be the very first person who understands that reconciliation must satisfy three requirements: consultation, accountability and responsibility. In this case, these racist students did not approached the victims to ask for an apology.
The act by Jansen puts the country at risk of chaos that might break and disturb as we have seen a number of marches by ordinary people against those in power. Clearly, there is something wrong in how those who championed racist ideas seen black people 15 years into democracy. There is no doubt that soon black people will break their silence on this subject and the outcome will not be good for the progress made by South Africa.
The university is known of old racism against black students and employees and one had hoped that there would be chances since his appointment. Prof Jansen is an academic and is expected to understand what South Africa is going through and the risk of making decisions that are not consulted.
He has justified his act by saying that the decision promotes reconciliation in this country. It is exactly this justification that is seen to be very problematic because it undermines all reconciliation efforts and gains that South Africa should be enjoying. As an academic, Prof Jansen should be the very first person who understands that reconciliation must satisfy three requirements: consultation, accountability and responsibility. In this case, these racist students did not approached the victims to ask for an apology.
The act by Jansen puts the country at risk of chaos that might break and disturb as we have seen a number of marches by ordinary people against those in power. Clearly, there is something wrong in how those who championed racist ideas seen black people 15 years into democracy. There is no doubt that soon black people will break their silence on this subject and the outcome will not be good for the progress made by South Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment