Racism and Apartheid in Southern Africa - South Africa and Namibia

A book of data based on material prepared by the Anti-Apartheid Movement and published by the Unesco press.

Reviewed by Brian Anderson

Any right-thinking' person who saw the recent film Last Grave at Dimbaza could have only been filled with abhorrence and disgust at the treatment which is presently being meted out to the black Africans by the South African authorities. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is (and its certainly a popular platform for excuse), most people, although painfully aware that the situation exists, are quite prepared to forget about it until the stark realities of the situation are brought home to them. This book, serving a similar function as Last Grave at Dimbaza, does just this by presenting a reasoned, factual representation of the situation in South Africa - a presentation which would be very difficult to ignore.

As the title suggests, this book is divided into two sections. The first part deals with the situation in South Africa itself. The reader is guided through a brief outline of the historical development of apartheid in South Africa and its intimate relationship with the development of the economy in that area. Probably the most informative and most interesting section of this book is the chapter entitled 'Apartheid in Operation.' Here is outlined the apartheid policy, its aims and how, through a series of repressive legislative Acts this policy has been effected.

There are statistics and statements demonstrating the inequities between the races in South Africa. For example, the average wage of an African working in the coal mines in 1973 was 21 Rand compared with the 421 Rand which the white worker earned for doing similar work. This situation is bad enough in itself but when it is considered that the PDL (Poverty Datum Line) for a five member family is calculated to be in the region of 60-96 Rand, it is only then that the harsh realities become apparent.

The principles which govern the education policies of the South African government were laid down by Dr Verwoerd in Parliament in 1953:

Native education should be controlled in such a way that it should be in accord with the policy of the State.... If the Native in South Africa today .... is being taught to expect that he will live his adult life under a policy of equal rights, he is making a big mistake ...

In 1971-72 the South African Government expenditure per pupil per year was 25 31 Rands for Africans and 461 Rands for whites. The pupil-teacher ratio is roughly 60:1 in schools for Africans and 20:1 in schools for whites. These are only a few of the many discrepancies evidenced in this book.

There is a rundown of the pass law regulations. The policy of the South African Government to establish 'Homelands' or 'Bantustans' is outlined - apartheid has been built on an unequal division of the land (as provided for in the Native Trust and Land Act 1936) by which the whites will retain control of 86.3 percent of the land and 13.7 per cent will eventually be passed over to the Africans (although it is doubtful whether the Africans will gain complete autonomy even in these areas).

The remaining chapters in the first section of the book look at the various storms of opposition which has arisen to the policy of apartheid both within South Africa and from the world outside and the effect that these have had on that policy.

The second, shorter section of the book considers the situation in Namibia - the name given to the former territory of South West Africa by the General Assembly when the United Nations terminated the South African mandate for it in 1966. In spite of this termination of the mandate South Africa continues to effectively govern the territory, having refused to allow Namibia to become a trustee territory. "In June 1971 the International Court of Justice declared the South African presence in the territory illegal, and prescribed Member State obligations towards securing expulsion. The legal position is thus unequivocal but few practical measures have been taken to bring the real situation into line' With a few minor concessions Namibia is subject to the same apartheid policy as South Africa itself.

As a general text on apartheid, this book is excellent. It is concise, well presented and easy reading. After reading this book I am further convinced that the only way to bring pressure on the South African Government to change its apartheid policies is for other nations of the world to adopt a policy of complete isolation - both in sport and trade. For those who are still wandering around with footballs for brains I would echo the words of Chief Albert Luthuli who said:

"I would ask you to unite in demanding that your governments should honour the resolutions taken at the United Nations. I would urge that you and your government be not deterred from any action by the excuse often advanced by our oppressors - that boycotts and sanctions will bring to us blacks more suffering than to whites. We have been victims of suffering long before our boycott and sanctions call to the nations of the world. We are committed to suffering that will lead us to freedom - as it has been the lot of all oppressed people before us from time immorial. What we are determined not to do, cost what it may, is to acquiesce in a status quo that makes us semi-slaves in our country

.. the time must surely come when South Africa must emerge from the dark night of racial fanatisicm to take its place among the free nations of the world. You all - people and governments - can, to your honour, hasten this day.

.... To the nations and governments of the world ... I say: Cast aside your hypocrisy and deceit ... Do not think we will be deceived by your pious protestations as long as you are prepared to condone, assist and actively support the tyranny in our land ... The test is action - action against oppression.

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Design for the Real World

Reviewed by Brian Anderson

This article is the second of a two part series, the first of which appeared in the last issue of 1974

Professor Papanek's credentials for embarking on this project cannot be disputed. He is a Unesco International Design Expert and Dean of the School of Design at the California Institute of the Arts'. For many years he has specialised in design for the handicapped, the Third World, the sick, the poor and people in need generally.

The message contained in the book is loud and clear: the designer must be conscious of his social and moral responsibility. Design is the conscious effort to impose meaningful order and as such, according to Papanek, it is the most powerful tool yet given man with which to shape his products, his environments, and, by extension, himself.

The book is divided into two sections. The first part, 'Like It Is', attempts to define and criticize design as it is taught and practised today. Papanek is concerned, as indeed we all should be, that the artist, the craftsman and the designer no longer operate with the good of the consumer in mind—there has been a "growth of the individual expressing himself egocentrically". The problem is seen as basically being an economic one in that the fact that every part of the designer's life has been conditioned by a market-oriented, profit-directed system makes it so much harder for him to analyse the past as well as the future consequences of his acts. The dominance of the market place has so far delayed the emergence of a rational design strategy and given rise to various misconceptions which have dictated what shall be produced, how it shall be produced and who it shall be produced for. For example, it is patently easier to sell objects that are thrown away (i.e. the myth of obsolescence) than objects that are permanent and industry has done little to decide what should be thrown away and what should not.

But the book does not begin and end with theory and ideology. The author has spent his life working in the field of design and the chapters are permeated with examples which, as well as being instructive, are an amusing reflection on the human existence Did you know that a bicycle has an approximate life span of 25 years; did you also know that in the US. the actual time that a bicycle is put to use is 2 years whereas in an under-developed country it is likely to be put to use for somewhere in the region of 75 years? How many of you out there in the big wide beautiful world are busy playing with your life-size plastic, moveable Lolita doll while Papanek and his colleagues are constructing a $U.S.9 T.V. set for use in under-developed countries (a similar set incidentally would retail for $U.S.119.95) to go with their 9c nonelectric, thermocoupled, cow-dung powered radio.

Papanek's answer is that in order to work more intelligently designers can no longer be the employees of corporations, but must rather work directly for the client group—that is, the people who are in need of a product.

The second part of the book is entitled 'How It Could Be'. Here Papanek asks the basic question: 'How can we make design better?' He sees no real difficulty apart from an inherent resistance to change—"designers and students have to familiarise themselves with many other fields and, by knowing them, redefine the relevance of the designer to our society. It is a fact that the designer often has greater control over his work than he believes he does, that quality, basic new concepts and mass production could mean designing for the majority of the world's people, rather than for a small domestic market. The key is to design for the people's needs rather than for their wants, or artificially created needs.

Having got thus far, Papanek then goes on to consider how the whole concept of design can be aided by an observation of the natural world around us: "here, in the totality of biological and chemical systems, the problems mankind faces have already been met and solved, and through analogues, met and solved optimally." The idea is to study the basic principles in nature and then apply the principles and processes found there to the needs of mankind (bionics). Here again the reader is engulfed in a wealth of explanation and illustration—the aerodynamics of a seed applied to aid in fire-fighting; lichen used to paint a house.

In the concluding chapters, Papanek looks at the present teaching methods used in the area of design and comes to the conclusion that most of it is vastly out-dated. The author advocates a more durable kind of design thinking which sees the product as a linear link between man and his environment—integrated design. The observations he makes on the present assessment system in design schools and his recommendations for reform make interesting reading and would probably be relevant to most courses at most universities.

Papanek obviously set out to cover a wide field in his analysis of the design world and he succeeds in his task admirably. His conclusions are, at the very least, provocative and in my view, substantially convincing if you are a design fanatic or if you have not got the faintest idea of what design is all about then read this book. As Papanek says in the very first line 'All men are designers" and certainly all of our lives are affected by design.

Design for the Real World is published by Paladin and retails for $2.75 at Whitcoulls.