I am not sure what the judges who heard the Chinese application for an order declaring them (the Chinese) black for purposes of employment equity and other affirmative legislation including BEE legislation, had to consider. Having said that, I cannot wait until I can get a copy of the judgment (which under the circumstances must be “reportable”) so that I can at least know what I don’t know now; notwithstanding that I nonetheless write about it. So, until then all I can say is that it is not good.
Consider this; white folk arrive here some centuries ago and make the rules. The result of the rules is such that those designated black sit on the outermost of the concentric circles while those designated white get to sit in the plum of the circles, the proverbial inner circle. Those were the rules and everyone played nicely along and those who did not were dealt with. Back in the days when the rules were crafted, the designations were fairly clear and categoric; at least where the outer and the inner circles were concerned. The devil was always in the detail of the circles in between. No wonder they had to come up with the tri-cameral system. I remember reading the newspaper report (I think it was in the then Weekly Mail) and laughing hysterically at the pictorial representation of this ingenious constitutional dispensation. It was a horse-cart with three horses hitched to it. One horse on each of the 3 sides of the four-sided cart. The cart was clearly going nowhere but there it was and most people carried on to play nicely while there was an increase in the number of those who did not play along.
I apologise, I digress this is meant to be about concentric circles. Apparently somewhere in the middle circles, among the so-called coloured people and the Indians, were the Chinese people. It is the Chinese people’s contention that they were discriminated against at least to the same extent as were the so-called coloured people. They were not given opportunities to progress and so on and so forth. As I have already said I am yet to read the judgement so I am not sure what else they may have said that persuaded the court to rule in their favour. I am also wondering if their application was opposed. You see, if their application was not opposed then the court would have had to take their version of the facts as being true and uncontroverted and for that reason find in their favour. I will of course get back to you dear reader on this issue.
I remember that in the small town in which I grew up there was a doctor Chin or Achin, I am not sure which one is it. I remember him because he reminded me of Bruce Lee (yes, he of martial arts fame). I think I only ever saw him once; coming out of the house in front of my grandmother’s (what would be referred to as “front-opposite” in the township). He had his medical case and he got into his funny orange VW Beetle and drove off. I also knew where the doctor’s surgery or rooms where – they were on the town side (as opposed to the township or location side) of the small town. Back then the distinction was easily drawn – there was a gate! Not the kind you could close but there was this threshold-like structure which incidentally was the only way into and out of the location/township. On the one side of this structure was the town (where white folk lived) and on the other side was the location/township, where black folk lived. In fact in the case of my town, whites where to the east and blacks to the west. Further west but on different locations were the so-called coloured folk and Indian folk residential areas. Dr Chin lived and worked to the north of the gate.
I have not heard of any Chinese folk living anywhere but in the white areas of SA. I do not know whether they were prevented from studying at the finest of South African universities. They claim is that they were and the court granted it. This much I know is not good. Then of course there was the Chinese fella who ran the numbers, aka fafi. The least said about that the better. I have an aunt who will be very disappointed in me if I were to continue.
Did the Chinese folk have it easy in SA? Definitely not, they were not part of the volk so they could not have had it easy. Were they subjected to influx control and other social control nonsense? Probably; but Dr Chin lived and worked in a white area. I wonder where he studied. I also recall that his patients were mainly black people from the location; as were the patients of the Indian doctors. Their respective rooms were as close to the locations as possible without being inside the locations. Granted, Dr Chin’s rooms were closer. Not having read the judgement, based solely on the Chinese folk I have come to know and to know of, this much I know is not good. The beauty of being black for the Chinese folk is that they do not have to do the BEE thing so there will be no black participation in Chinatown.
I am off to go find that judgement now so that I can at least write intelligibly about this weighty matter of the rainbow coloured nation we supposedly are. Until then, hoshii, kuze kuse.
Consider this; white folk arrive here some centuries ago and make the rules. The result of the rules is such that those designated black sit on the outermost of the concentric circles while those designated white get to sit in the plum of the circles, the proverbial inner circle. Those were the rules and everyone played nicely along and those who did not were dealt with. Back in the days when the rules were crafted, the designations were fairly clear and categoric; at least where the outer and the inner circles were concerned. The devil was always in the detail of the circles in between. No wonder they had to come up with the tri-cameral system. I remember reading the newspaper report (I think it was in the then Weekly Mail) and laughing hysterically at the pictorial representation of this ingenious constitutional dispensation. It was a horse-cart with three horses hitched to it. One horse on each of the 3 sides of the four-sided cart. The cart was clearly going nowhere but there it was and most people carried on to play nicely while there was an increase in the number of those who did not play along.
I apologise, I digress this is meant to be about concentric circles. Apparently somewhere in the middle circles, among the so-called coloured people and the Indians, were the Chinese people. It is the Chinese people’s contention that they were discriminated against at least to the same extent as were the so-called coloured people. They were not given opportunities to progress and so on and so forth. As I have already said I am yet to read the judgement so I am not sure what else they may have said that persuaded the court to rule in their favour. I am also wondering if their application was opposed. You see, if their application was not opposed then the court would have had to take their version of the facts as being true and uncontroverted and for that reason find in their favour. I will of course get back to you dear reader on this issue.
I remember that in the small town in which I grew up there was a doctor Chin or Achin, I am not sure which one is it. I remember him because he reminded me of Bruce Lee (yes, he of martial arts fame). I think I only ever saw him once; coming out of the house in front of my grandmother’s (what would be referred to as “front-opposite” in the township). He had his medical case and he got into his funny orange VW Beetle and drove off. I also knew where the doctor’s surgery or rooms where – they were on the town side (as opposed to the township or location side) of the small town. Back then the distinction was easily drawn – there was a gate! Not the kind you could close but there was this threshold-like structure which incidentally was the only way into and out of the location/township. On the one side of this structure was the town (where white folk lived) and on the other side was the location/township, where black folk lived. In fact in the case of my town, whites where to the east and blacks to the west. Further west but on different locations were the so-called coloured folk and Indian folk residential areas. Dr Chin lived and worked to the north of the gate.
I have not heard of any Chinese folk living anywhere but in the white areas of SA. I do not know whether they were prevented from studying at the finest of South African universities. They claim is that they were and the court granted it. This much I know is not good. Then of course there was the Chinese fella who ran the numbers, aka fafi. The least said about that the better. I have an aunt who will be very disappointed in me if I were to continue.
Did the Chinese folk have it easy in SA? Definitely not, they were not part of the volk so they could not have had it easy. Were they subjected to influx control and other social control nonsense? Probably; but Dr Chin lived and worked in a white area. I wonder where he studied. I also recall that his patients were mainly black people from the location; as were the patients of the Indian doctors. Their respective rooms were as close to the locations as possible without being inside the locations. Granted, Dr Chin’s rooms were closer. Not having read the judgement, based solely on the Chinese folk I have come to know and to know of, this much I know is not good. The beauty of being black for the Chinese folk is that they do not have to do the BEE thing so there will be no black participation in Chinatown.
I am off to go find that judgement now so that I can at least write intelligibly about this weighty matter of the rainbow coloured nation we supposedly are. Until then, hoshii, kuze kuse.
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