Listening to the silent majority

[25]

Nelson Botile (61) was mayor of Soweto from 1986 to 1988. I met him then, and I renewed our friendship in 1989. He reminisced about his former job. ‘My most urgent problem in Soweto was to try to improve

[p. 31]

the quality of life for the residents, including housing, more schools, additional hospital space, improvement of streets, lighting, sports and recreation. The University of the Witwatersrand is now building 35 additional hospital wards. I helped in raising funds. We also need more books and libraries, because our youths need places to read and study. Another colossal problem is the effort to revamp housing, especially for the elderly. They often need to modernise their lodgings, because they cannot afford to buy a new house.’

‘I had expected crime to be on top of your list,’ I said, ‘because when one reads the lists of casualties and dead after each weekend in Soweto, you ask yourself what is going on there.’ ‘Crime did disturb the daily routine of the town council,’ replied the former mayor. ‘During my term in office all kinds of violence were committed by people running amok. This prevented me very often from doing the constructive work I had wanted to undertake and knew was badly needed.’ I asked Mr Botile about certain radical groups that had been trying to recruit children as young as 15 into terrorist activities.

‘I am talking to you now as a practical politician. I will tell you how the situation is. There were actually politicians coming to me, as the mayor, telling me that youths had to be involved in decision-making. But tell me, what does a child know? I am not against young people. I am for youths to be properly trained and educated, but not for children to be included in governing. That is why there is a lot of confusion today. The Winnie Mandelas were using the children. The children they call youths are often still babies in maturity. You can't tell me that you can polarise a boy of 14. You cannot. A small boy of 14 still needs the care of his mother. He must still be taught how to spell certain words. These political leaders who try to excite and use children are acting wholly unresponsibly,’ said Nelson Botile.

I asked him whether it was a fact that the Soweto Sofasonke Party especially aimed at recruiting young kids. Botile, ‘Yes, and old ladies. And those are the people that supposedly represent the masses! If you would ask 10 to 20 pupils in Soweto. “How do you spell rent?”, they wouldn't be able to tell you. And, if you would ask them what it means to rent a house, they would not be able to tell you, because they don't know. Even the mayor himself asked one day during a town council meeting what was the meaning of the word “rent”...’ ‘Is it really that bad?’ I asked. ‘It is,’ replied Botile. ‘Some politicians make state-

[p. 32]

ments that our policies must satisfy the youths. But what do the young know? As far as I am concerned, they know nothing about politics. Let's face it, nowhere in history were children involved in decision-making organisations.’

‘Students kidnapped Sukarno of Indonesia to force him to declare independence from Holland,’ I said. ‘Yes,’ replied Botile, ‘that is a different matter. At least students have been trained. A student in political science at university level understands perhaps what I am talking about. At the age of 21, yes, those young people could be involved. But what is happening now in Soweto and elsewhere is that young children are influenced by what I call “remote control” for the revolutionary purposes of people behind the scenes. These children don't know what they are doing. I have seen on television African children of 14 and 15 with AK-47's that were said to be fighting for liberation. Those children were supposed to be in school. Take Angola. There are peaceful negotiations now. There will be peace very soon. Those children, who were given AK-47's at 14 and 15 are now 18, 19 and 20 years old. You think these young people will fit into society? Educationally they find themselves at the level of 14-year-olds. Their leaders will not recognize them now, because the country is in dire need of educated young people. If a young man comes now, and says, “I was a soldier, I was in the war for liberation”, they will have no use for that man, because he will not be able to perform in a professional way. The man has no education. He will be no asset to the nation. I am speaking of my experience in Soweto as well. These children who left school after the 1976 student revolt in order to join the so-called revolution, find themselves today in an unfavourable position. They won't even be able to hold a clerical job. They are not prepared to sweep the streets, and so on. For what else have they been prepared? They are misfits in society. So, they often end up in the drug trade and other social or criminal activities. But it is those black leaders who led them into temptation, who are truly responsible. They simply misled children of 14 and 15 years old and ruined their lives.’