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Of course, I tried also to ‘pick the brains’ of blacks other than political leaders or well-known black achievers. In Soweto I visited Lesley Shongwe (29), a young man who had started his own business, ‘Screen-print’, with a friend from school, Isaac Mdlalose (37). They had followed a special course at the Soweto Business Development Centre, a multi-racial training program on how to start business. After finishing High School and getting an administrative job at Printmak, Lesley was dissatisfied. He wanted a business of his own. Together with Isaac he followed the SBDC instructions. Now, their dream has come true. They run their own outfit, and employ another printer and two lady assistants. ‘Screenprint’ does everything under the sun. They even print texts on T-shirts, track-suits and overalls. As soon as they pass drivers' examinations, they will buy a company car.
Lesley is mostly on the road to get printing orders. I asked him how
he was received when visiting Johannesburg companies. ‘Not always correctly,’ he said. ‘When I wait for my appointment, they will see white salesmen, that came after me, first. But since we need all the business we can get, I keep cool and wait until I am let in. There is still a lot of racism out there.’ ‘How can one fight apartheid?’ I asked. ‘I really don't know,’ said Lesley. ‘I guess you can't. But then, we managed to get a two-year contract with Anglo-American in Welkom. Sometimes
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