“WHAT do you say to a gorilla with a machine gun?” goes the old joke. The correct answer is “Sir!” It is the Palestinians’ consistent refusal to say “Sir!” to Israel that has led to the current assault on Gaza.
After an oppressive occupation that has lasted over four decades, the Palestinian people still refuse to surrender, and this defiance has produced immense frustration in Tel Aviv and its backers in Washington.
Even though the current massacre represents a new level of escalation, it is just one more chapter in the long history of the conflict. Ever since Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, it has attempted to bludgeon and bully Palestinians into accepting its annexation of large swathes of territory. But despite the odds, Palestinians have clung to their hope of retaining their homeland, and fought back with rocks, guns and suicide attacks.
This is not to suggest that their leaders have not committed huge blunders. Much of the present misery and mayhem in Gaza can be placed at Hamas’s door: by refusing to extend the fragile truce, it gave Israel the pretext to send its planes across the tiny, over-populated territory to pulverise Hamas as well as civilian targets. Inevitably, scores of innocent women, children and non-combatants have been killed.
The causes of the conflict have been repeated too many times to be recounted here. But the fact remains that the cycle of violence is fuelled by the reality of the Israeli occupation. To pretend that Israel needs chunks of the West Bank for its security is now a bad joke: the Zionist state’s military preponderance over the Palestinians, and any combination of its neighbours, is now so great that this particular fig leaf slipped off years ago.
Currently, the Israeli assault is more to do with electoral politics than any threat Hamas’s wildly inaccurate Qassam rockets might pose to civilians. With general elections due in a few weeks, the ruling party needs to establish its tough, macho credentials. This is especially important as the extreme right-wing opposition is led by Benjamin Nethanyahu, the most hawkish politician in Israel currently. Polls show him ahead, so if the ruling Kadima party is to win the election, it feels it must flex its muscles.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to think there is a solid consensus behind the massive bombing of Gaza. A quick scan of the Israeli press reveals the ongoing debate. Similarly, American Jews are divided over the issue, even though the Zionist lobbying group AIPAC is solidly behind the hard-line policy being pursued.
There is deep anger in the Arab streets over the killings of innocent Palestinians, and pro-American governments in Cairo, Riyadh and Jordan are bracing for protests. But the biggest rallies have been held in the United States. If and when the Israeli army invades Gaza, and more casualties inevitably result, there will be even more violent protests and attacks against western targets.
Over the years, I have come to believe that despite the historic injustice that was the basis of Israel’s foundation in 1948, and the colonial nature of the Zionist state, the Palestinians and the rest of the world need to accept reality. Having said this, I also believe that Israel must return to the borders set by the UN resolution that called for the creation of the Jewish state. If it is allowed to annex parts of the West Bank and the Golan Heights, we will return to an earlier, more barbaric era when nations conquered and retained territory when they could. If the rule of international law is to prevail, then UN resolutions pressing Israel to withdraw must be honoured.
If the wanton violence being perpetrated by Israel can anger somebody like me (a secular, and hopefully reasonable, person), imagine what effect it must be having on young, impressionable minds that have been influenced by radical mullahs and militants. For all the talk about the ‘war on terror’, Americans and other western leaders continue to egg on Israel by their complicit silence.
To equate the bombing of Gaza that has killed around 400 Palestinians with the Hamas rocket attacks that have killed four Israelis is to indulge in a shameless distortion of facts. Apart from the imbalance in the casualty figures, a state must be held to different standards than a group (albeit elected) that represents an occupied and oppressed people.
The reality of the occupation is that it has driven Palestinians to desperation. This is truer of Gaza than it is of the West Bank, but the daily humiliation and deprivation Israeli check posts inflict on ordinary people has been described in graphic detail for many years. Two generations of Palestinians have been traumatised and impoverished by the occupation, and to demand that they accept their lot is to deny the heroic nature of their resistance.
Since 9/11, apologists for Israel’s harsh policies have tried to de-link them for the radicalisation of thousands of young Muslims around the world. Although numerous studies have shown a strong correlation between militant Islam and the humiliation being undergone by Muslims in places as dispersed as Palestine, Chechnya and Kashmir, analysts and politicians remain in denial. Out of all these trouble spots, Palestine stands out as the most potent symbol of Muslim pain.
Indeed, it can be argued that people like Begin, Sharon and now Olmert have done more to fill the ranks of Al Qaeda and its offshoots than Osama Bin Laden ever did. But between the compulsions of Israeli politics, and the pressure exerted by AIPAC and Christian evangelists in America, this view is shrugged off as too inconvenient to take into account.
Barack Obama will be sworn in as the next president of the United States in under three weeks, and the most urgent task he will face, apart from the dire state of the American economy, will be the perpetual Palestine problem. Thus far, Palestinians have no reason to expect a more even-handed approach from him than they got from his predecessors.
During his election campaign, he kowtowed as abjectly to the Jewish vote as did any of the other candidates. And his appointment of a Zionist to the position of his chief of staff does not inspire much confidence either. But he is much too intelligent a person not to see that the festering sore that is the Palestinian issue cannot be allowed to continue oozing its poison into world politics forever. In this realisation lies a sliver of hope.
~ By Irfan Husain
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Fearing Domination by Blacks, Indians of South Africa Switch Loyalties ...
There was nothing obviously threatening about the three black women who knocked on Neele Rajoo's door last month and said they were looking for work. Although she had no use for another housekeeper, Mrs. Rajoo, a 46-year-old shop clerk of Indian descent, offered them a seat and some water.
"They were very well dressed and very educated and spoke perfect English," Mrs. Rajoo said.
Then, matter-of-factly, as though she were buying a packet of gum, one of the women placed a two-rand coin -- about 60 cents -- into her empty cup. This, she said, was a deposit on Mrs. Rajoo's house. They would return after election day, she added, to take possession of what was rightfully theirs.
Odd encounters like this one have been reported with increasing frequency in the last few months here, part of a campaign that appears to be organized but remains mysterious in its origins. The Message Seems Clear
For Mrs. Rajoo, however, there was no mystery in the message: blacks are poised to seize not only power but just about anything else they want, confident that the future black Government will do little to stop them. And that explains why she and her sister Kogie, 47, who live together in a comfortable two-story house in one of South Africa's few racially mixed residential areas, say they expect to cast their vote later this month for the National Party, the inventors and enforcers of apartheid.
"I've lived and worked with blacks all my life, and I've always supported their struggle and supported the African National Congress," Mrs. Rajoo said. "But now we're scared. When we look at the blacks, whether it is the A.N.C. or Inkatha, all we see is violence and fighting."
The Rajoos' shift in allegiances illustrates the extraordinary changes under way here on the outskirts of Durban, a port city and commercial center of Natal Province and home to the largest concentration of Indians outside of India. Indians account for not quite 3 percent of South Africa's population of 35 million.
In yet another reverberation from the collapse of South Africa's apartheid system, the bulk of the Indian community, once considered a natural ally of the black opposition, is now inclined to support the National Party, according to recent polls and regional analyses.
For years, South Africa's one million Indians have faced a quandary. They are resented by many blacks, who see them as exploitative outsiders who treat Africans with condescension, if not outright disdain, yet they have never been accepted by whites.
At the same time, people of Indian descent have been at the forefront of those opposed to the apartheid system. India, for instance, was the first country to impose sanctions against South Africa 47 years ago and for decades the Indian Government recognized the African National Congress as the sole representative of the South African people. The congress has long had numerous Indians at every level.
Perhaps most telling, Mohandas K. Gandhi, who spent two decades here around the start of the century, established the Natal Indian Congress, now the oldest political organization in the country and among the first to mount organized resistance to the policies of successive white governments that disenfranchised blacks.
By most accounts, Gandhi took little interest in blacks, but his theories powerfully influenced the African National Congress, which was founded in 1912 and retained a creed of nonviolence for nearly half a century. Nelson Mandela has regularly invoked Gandhi as his spiritual mentor.
Given the Indian community's long history in the black resistance struggle, analysts initially assumed that Indians would line up squarely behind the black-dominated political parties, mostly the African National Congress but also the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party in Natal. But lately there appears to be a clear shift of support among them toward the National Party. A Fear of Black Domination
African National Congress officials deny any signs of disaffection by potential Indian voters. "We have people out in the community, and we know that the Indians are strongly behind us," said Jacob Zuma, the congress's senior official in Natal.
But others reject this argument. Among those who believe that the National Party is likely to win big among Indians is Mahmoud Rajab, a former member of the disbanded three-chamber Parliament, which included Indians and people of mixed race, but excluded the country's black majority of 26 million people. He is now a parliamentary candidate of the Democratic Party, traditionally the liberal opposition to the National Party. "People are supporting the National Party because they fear black domination," Mr. Rajab said,
He estimates that in Natal the National Party will win 55 to 60 percent of the Indian vote, while the Democratic Party and the African National Congress will obtain about 15 percent each. By comparison, he estimates that perhaps five years ago, the National Party would have been fortunate to get more than 15 percent of the Indian vote. Other independent polls have shown similar support for the National Party.
Sathie Naidoo, 37, a former public relations man who is now a National Party candidate, said all issues boiled down to one central question: which party can best protect the interests of the majority of Indians who, despite apartheid, have prospered, especially in comparison with blacks.
"The Indian community in South Africa lives better than Indians anywhere else in the world," Mr. Naidoo said. "There is nobody here who goes to bed without a meal in their stomach, and there is nobody here who sleeps on the street.
"The way the Indian looks at it," Mr. Naidoo added, "who does the A.N.C. represent? Do they represent the masses of blacks walking the street, unemployed and uneducated, or are they representing me, who owns a house, whose children are going to school? That's where the fear is coming from." Indians Wary of 'the List'
Similar fears have been addressed in similar fashion in the western Cape Province, where surveys show that millions of mixed-race people, whose status has traditionally been only marginally better than that of blacks, are clearly disposed toward voting for the National Party.
Mr. Naidoo said that many Indians were especially concerned that a leftist A.N.C. government would stifle their entrepreneurial skills and money-making potential. Many Indians are also said to look nervously toward the new and often vaguely outlined affirmative action policies that many companies have begun to adopt, and a concept that the African National Congress strongly supports.
Nirode Brawdaw, manager of The Leader, a weekly newspaper in Durban aimed at the Indian community, said:
"The list works like this. If you're a black woman, you're great and you can walk into any door right now. If you're a black man, you're second. Then come colored and Indian women, Indian and colored men, and then whites." He added, "People are saying, there's my son, he has a B.A. degree, but can't find a job right now because no corporation is hiring an Indian or colored." Blacks Invade Housing Tract
For Mrs. Rajoo and many other Indians, the fear of black domination is not an abstract notion. In interviews, several dozen Indians almost invariably cited the example of a housing tract of 800 cottages near here called Cato Manor, which was built for Indian families.
In November, just as the finishing touches were being put on the subdivision, several hundred blacks from an overcrowded township nearby scratched their names on the doors and moved in. Perhaps just as astonishing, Mrs. Rajoo said, neither the lame-duck white authorities nor the future black Government leaders made any effort to evict the invaders.
The blacks felt they should be entitled to the houses, and they were adamant about it, Mrs. Rajoo said. "They wrote down on the doors, remember the 1949 riots," she said, a pointed allusion to the massacre in which 142 Indians died when black resentment over their treatment by Indian landlords exploded in an orgy of killing centered on Cato Manor.
"Cato Manor taught Indians a lesson that we'll never forget," Mrs. Rajoo said. "We have to look after our own interests first."
Maps show the location of Pheonix, South Africa. ~Fearing Domination by Blacks, Indians of South Africa Switch Loyalties
By KENNETH B. NOBLE - Published: Friday, April 22, 1994
There was nothing obviously threatening about the three black women who knocked on Neele Rajoo's door last month and said they were looking for work. Although she had no use for another housekeeper, Mrs. Rajoo, a 46-year-old shop clerk of Indian descent, offered them a seat and some water.
"They were very well dressed and very educated and spoke perfect English," Mrs. Rajoo said.
Then, matter-of-factly, as though she were buying a packet of gum, one of the women placed a two-rand coin -- about 60 cents -- into her empty cup. This, she said, was a deposit on Mrs. Rajoo's house. They would return after election day, she added, to take possession of what was rightfully theirs.
Odd encounters like this one have been reported with increasing frequency in the last few months here, part of a campaign that appears to be organized but remains mysterious in its origins. The Message Seems Clear
For Mrs. Rajoo, however, there was no mystery in the message: blacks are poised to seize not only power but just about anything else they want, confident that the future black Government will do little to stop them. And that explains why she and her sister Kogie, 47, who live together in a comfortable two-story house in one of South Africa's few racially mixed residential areas, say they expect to cast their vote later this month for the National Party, the inventors and enforcers of apartheid.
"I've lived and worked with blacks all my life, and I've always supported their struggle and supported the African National Congress," Mrs. Rajoo said. "But now we're scared. When we look at the blacks, whether it is the A.N.C. or Inkatha, all we see is violence and fighting."
The Rajoos' shift in allegiances illustrates the extraordinary changes under way here on the outskirts of Durban, a port city and commercial center of Natal Province and home to the largest concentration of Indians outside of India. Indians account for not quite 3 percent of South Africa's population of 35 million.
In yet another reverberation from the collapse of South Africa's apartheid system, the bulk of the Indian community, once considered a natural ally of the black opposition, is now inclined to support the National Party, according to recent polls and regional analyses.
For years, South Africa's one million Indians have faced a quandary. They are resented by many blacks, who see them as exploitative outsiders who treat Africans with condescension, if not outright disdain, yet they have never been accepted by whites.
At the same time, people of Indian descent have been at the forefront of those opposed to the apartheid system. India, for instance, was the first country to impose sanctions against South Africa 47 years ago and for decades the Indian Government recognized the African National Congress as the sole representative of the South African people. The congress has long had numerous Indians at every level.
Perhaps most telling, Mohandas K. Gandhi, who spent two decades here around the start of the century, established the Natal Indian Congress, now the oldest political organization in the country and among the first to mount organized resistance to the policies of successive white governments that disenfranchised blacks.
By most accounts, Gandhi took little interest in blacks, but his theories powerfully influenced the African National Congress, which was founded in 1912 and retained a creed of nonviolence for nearly half a century. Nelson Mandela has regularly invoked Gandhi as his spiritual mentor.
Given the Indian community's long history in the black resistance struggle, analysts initially assumed that Indians would line up squarely behind the black-dominated political parties, mostly the African National Congress but also the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party in Natal. But lately there appears to be a clear shift of support among them toward the National Party. A Fear of Black Domination
African National Congress officials deny any signs of disaffection by potential Indian voters. "We have people out in the community, and we know that the Indians are strongly behind us," said Jacob Zuma, the congress's senior official in Natal.
But others reject this argument. Among those who believe that the National Party is likely to win big among Indians is Mahmoud Rajab, a former member of the disbanded three-chamber Parliament, which included Indians and people of mixed race, but excluded the country's black majority of 26 million people. He is now a parliamentary candidate of the Democratic Party, traditionally the liberal opposition to the National Party. "People are supporting the National Party because they fear black domination," Mr. Rajab said,
He estimates that in Natal the National Party will win 55 to 60 percent of the Indian vote, while the Democratic Party and the African National Congress will obtain about 15 percent each. By comparison, he estimates that perhaps five years ago, the National Party would have been fortunate to get more than 15 percent of the Indian vote. Other independent polls have shown similar support for the National Party.
Sathie Naidoo, 37, a former public relations man who is now a National Party candidate, said all issues boiled down to one central question: which party can best protect the interests of the majority of Indians who, despite apartheid, have prospered, especially in comparison with blacks.
"The Indian community in South Africa lives better than Indians anywhere else in the world," Mr. Naidoo said. "There is nobody here who goes to bed without a meal in their stomach, and there is nobody here who sleeps on the street.
"The way the Indian looks at it," Mr. Naidoo added, "who does the A.N.C. represent? Do they represent the masses of blacks walking the street, unemployed and uneducated, or are they representing me, who owns a house, whose children are going to school? That's where the fear is coming from." Indians Wary of 'the List'
Similar fears have been addressed in similar fashion in the western Cape Province, where surveys show that millions of mixed-race people, whose status has traditionally been only marginally better than that of blacks, are clearly disposed toward voting for the National Party.
Mr. Naidoo said that many Indians were especially concerned that a leftist A.N.C. government would stifle their entrepreneurial skills and money-making potential. Many Indians are also said to look nervously toward the new and often vaguely outlined affirmative action policies that many companies have begun to adopt, and a concept that the African National Congress strongly supports.
Nirode Brawdaw, manager of The Leader, a weekly newspaper in Durban aimed at the Indian community, said:
"The list works like this. If you're a black woman, you're great and you can walk into any door right now. If you're a black man, you're second. Then come colored and Indian women, Indian and colored men, and then whites." He added, "People are saying, there's my son, he has a B.A. degree, but can't find a job right now because no corporation is hiring an Indian or colored." Blacks Invade Housing Tract
For Mrs. Rajoo and many other Indians, the fear of black domination is not an abstract notion. In interviews, several dozen Indians almost invariably cited the example of a housing tract of 800 cottages near here called Cato Manor, which was built for Indian families.
In November, just as the finishing touches were being put on the subdivision, several hundred blacks from an overcrowded township nearby scratched their names on the doors and moved in. Perhaps just as astonishing, Mrs. Rajoo said, neither the lame-duck white authorities nor the future black Government leaders made any effort to evict the invaders.
The blacks felt they should be entitled to the houses, and they were adamant about it, Mrs. Rajoo said. "They wrote down on the doors, remember the 1949 riots," she said, a pointed allusion to the massacre in which 142 Indians died when black resentment over their treatment by Indian landlords exploded in an orgy of killing centered on Cato Manor.
"Cato Manor taught Indians a lesson that we'll never forget," Mrs. Rajoo said. "We have to look after our own interests first."
Maps show the location of Pheonix, South Africa.
~By Kenneth B. Noble - Published: Friday, April 22, 1994
"They were very well dressed and very educated and spoke perfect English," Mrs. Rajoo said.
Then, matter-of-factly, as though she were buying a packet of gum, one of the women placed a two-rand coin -- about 60 cents -- into her empty cup. This, she said, was a deposit on Mrs. Rajoo's house. They would return after election day, she added, to take possession of what was rightfully theirs.
Odd encounters like this one have been reported with increasing frequency in the last few months here, part of a campaign that appears to be organized but remains mysterious in its origins. The Message Seems Clear
For Mrs. Rajoo, however, there was no mystery in the message: blacks are poised to seize not only power but just about anything else they want, confident that the future black Government will do little to stop them. And that explains why she and her sister Kogie, 47, who live together in a comfortable two-story house in one of South Africa's few racially mixed residential areas, say they expect to cast their vote later this month for the National Party, the inventors and enforcers of apartheid.
"I've lived and worked with blacks all my life, and I've always supported their struggle and supported the African National Congress," Mrs. Rajoo said. "But now we're scared. When we look at the blacks, whether it is the A.N.C. or Inkatha, all we see is violence and fighting."
The Rajoos' shift in allegiances illustrates the extraordinary changes under way here on the outskirts of Durban, a port city and commercial center of Natal Province and home to the largest concentration of Indians outside of India. Indians account for not quite 3 percent of South Africa's population of 35 million.
In yet another reverberation from the collapse of South Africa's apartheid system, the bulk of the Indian community, once considered a natural ally of the black opposition, is now inclined to support the National Party, according to recent polls and regional analyses.
For years, South Africa's one million Indians have faced a quandary. They are resented by many blacks, who see them as exploitative outsiders who treat Africans with condescension, if not outright disdain, yet they have never been accepted by whites.
At the same time, people of Indian descent have been at the forefront of those opposed to the apartheid system. India, for instance, was the first country to impose sanctions against South Africa 47 years ago and for decades the Indian Government recognized the African National Congress as the sole representative of the South African people. The congress has long had numerous Indians at every level.
Perhaps most telling, Mohandas K. Gandhi, who spent two decades here around the start of the century, established the Natal Indian Congress, now the oldest political organization in the country and among the first to mount organized resistance to the policies of successive white governments that disenfranchised blacks.
By most accounts, Gandhi took little interest in blacks, but his theories powerfully influenced the African National Congress, which was founded in 1912 and retained a creed of nonviolence for nearly half a century. Nelson Mandela has regularly invoked Gandhi as his spiritual mentor.
Given the Indian community's long history in the black resistance struggle, analysts initially assumed that Indians would line up squarely behind the black-dominated political parties, mostly the African National Congress but also the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party in Natal. But lately there appears to be a clear shift of support among them toward the National Party. A Fear of Black Domination
African National Congress officials deny any signs of disaffection by potential Indian voters. "We have people out in the community, and we know that the Indians are strongly behind us," said Jacob Zuma, the congress's senior official in Natal.
But others reject this argument. Among those who believe that the National Party is likely to win big among Indians is Mahmoud Rajab, a former member of the disbanded three-chamber Parliament, which included Indians and people of mixed race, but excluded the country's black majority of 26 million people. He is now a parliamentary candidate of the Democratic Party, traditionally the liberal opposition to the National Party. "People are supporting the National Party because they fear black domination," Mr. Rajab said,
He estimates that in Natal the National Party will win 55 to 60 percent of the Indian vote, while the Democratic Party and the African National Congress will obtain about 15 percent each. By comparison, he estimates that perhaps five years ago, the National Party would have been fortunate to get more than 15 percent of the Indian vote. Other independent polls have shown similar support for the National Party.
Sathie Naidoo, 37, a former public relations man who is now a National Party candidate, said all issues boiled down to one central question: which party can best protect the interests of the majority of Indians who, despite apartheid, have prospered, especially in comparison with blacks.
"The Indian community in South Africa lives better than Indians anywhere else in the world," Mr. Naidoo said. "There is nobody here who goes to bed without a meal in their stomach, and there is nobody here who sleeps on the street.
"The way the Indian looks at it," Mr. Naidoo added, "who does the A.N.C. represent? Do they represent the masses of blacks walking the street, unemployed and uneducated, or are they representing me, who owns a house, whose children are going to school? That's where the fear is coming from." Indians Wary of 'the List'
Similar fears have been addressed in similar fashion in the western Cape Province, where surveys show that millions of mixed-race people, whose status has traditionally been only marginally better than that of blacks, are clearly disposed toward voting for the National Party.
Mr. Naidoo said that many Indians were especially concerned that a leftist A.N.C. government would stifle their entrepreneurial skills and money-making potential. Many Indians are also said to look nervously toward the new and often vaguely outlined affirmative action policies that many companies have begun to adopt, and a concept that the African National Congress strongly supports.
Nirode Brawdaw, manager of The Leader, a weekly newspaper in Durban aimed at the Indian community, said:
"The list works like this. If you're a black woman, you're great and you can walk into any door right now. If you're a black man, you're second. Then come colored and Indian women, Indian and colored men, and then whites." He added, "People are saying, there's my son, he has a B.A. degree, but can't find a job right now because no corporation is hiring an Indian or colored." Blacks Invade Housing Tract
For Mrs. Rajoo and many other Indians, the fear of black domination is not an abstract notion. In interviews, several dozen Indians almost invariably cited the example of a housing tract of 800 cottages near here called Cato Manor, which was built for Indian families.
In November, just as the finishing touches were being put on the subdivision, several hundred blacks from an overcrowded township nearby scratched their names on the doors and moved in. Perhaps just as astonishing, Mrs. Rajoo said, neither the lame-duck white authorities nor the future black Government leaders made any effort to evict the invaders.
The blacks felt they should be entitled to the houses, and they were adamant about it, Mrs. Rajoo said. "They wrote down on the doors, remember the 1949 riots," she said, a pointed allusion to the massacre in which 142 Indians died when black resentment over their treatment by Indian landlords exploded in an orgy of killing centered on Cato Manor.
"Cato Manor taught Indians a lesson that we'll never forget," Mrs. Rajoo said. "We have to look after our own interests first."
Maps show the location of Pheonix, South Africa. ~Fearing Domination by Blacks, Indians of South Africa Switch Loyalties
By KENNETH B. NOBLE - Published: Friday, April 22, 1994
There was nothing obviously threatening about the three black women who knocked on Neele Rajoo's door last month and said they were looking for work. Although she had no use for another housekeeper, Mrs. Rajoo, a 46-year-old shop clerk of Indian descent, offered them a seat and some water.
"They were very well dressed and very educated and spoke perfect English," Mrs. Rajoo said.
Then, matter-of-factly, as though she were buying a packet of gum, one of the women placed a two-rand coin -- about 60 cents -- into her empty cup. This, she said, was a deposit on Mrs. Rajoo's house. They would return after election day, she added, to take possession of what was rightfully theirs.
Odd encounters like this one have been reported with increasing frequency in the last few months here, part of a campaign that appears to be organized but remains mysterious in its origins. The Message Seems Clear
For Mrs. Rajoo, however, there was no mystery in the message: blacks are poised to seize not only power but just about anything else they want, confident that the future black Government will do little to stop them. And that explains why she and her sister Kogie, 47, who live together in a comfortable two-story house in one of South Africa's few racially mixed residential areas, say they expect to cast their vote later this month for the National Party, the inventors and enforcers of apartheid.
"I've lived and worked with blacks all my life, and I've always supported their struggle and supported the African National Congress," Mrs. Rajoo said. "But now we're scared. When we look at the blacks, whether it is the A.N.C. or Inkatha, all we see is violence and fighting."
The Rajoos' shift in allegiances illustrates the extraordinary changes under way here on the outskirts of Durban, a port city and commercial center of Natal Province and home to the largest concentration of Indians outside of India. Indians account for not quite 3 percent of South Africa's population of 35 million.
In yet another reverberation from the collapse of South Africa's apartheid system, the bulk of the Indian community, once considered a natural ally of the black opposition, is now inclined to support the National Party, according to recent polls and regional analyses.
For years, South Africa's one million Indians have faced a quandary. They are resented by many blacks, who see them as exploitative outsiders who treat Africans with condescension, if not outright disdain, yet they have never been accepted by whites.
At the same time, people of Indian descent have been at the forefront of those opposed to the apartheid system. India, for instance, was the first country to impose sanctions against South Africa 47 years ago and for decades the Indian Government recognized the African National Congress as the sole representative of the South African people. The congress has long had numerous Indians at every level.
Perhaps most telling, Mohandas K. Gandhi, who spent two decades here around the start of the century, established the Natal Indian Congress, now the oldest political organization in the country and among the first to mount organized resistance to the policies of successive white governments that disenfranchised blacks.
By most accounts, Gandhi took little interest in blacks, but his theories powerfully influenced the African National Congress, which was founded in 1912 and retained a creed of nonviolence for nearly half a century. Nelson Mandela has regularly invoked Gandhi as his spiritual mentor.
Given the Indian community's long history in the black resistance struggle, analysts initially assumed that Indians would line up squarely behind the black-dominated political parties, mostly the African National Congress but also the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party in Natal. But lately there appears to be a clear shift of support among them toward the National Party. A Fear of Black Domination
African National Congress officials deny any signs of disaffection by potential Indian voters. "We have people out in the community, and we know that the Indians are strongly behind us," said Jacob Zuma, the congress's senior official in Natal.
But others reject this argument. Among those who believe that the National Party is likely to win big among Indians is Mahmoud Rajab, a former member of the disbanded three-chamber Parliament, which included Indians and people of mixed race, but excluded the country's black majority of 26 million people. He is now a parliamentary candidate of the Democratic Party, traditionally the liberal opposition to the National Party. "People are supporting the National Party because they fear black domination," Mr. Rajab said,
He estimates that in Natal the National Party will win 55 to 60 percent of the Indian vote, while the Democratic Party and the African National Congress will obtain about 15 percent each. By comparison, he estimates that perhaps five years ago, the National Party would have been fortunate to get more than 15 percent of the Indian vote. Other independent polls have shown similar support for the National Party.
Sathie Naidoo, 37, a former public relations man who is now a National Party candidate, said all issues boiled down to one central question: which party can best protect the interests of the majority of Indians who, despite apartheid, have prospered, especially in comparison with blacks.
"The Indian community in South Africa lives better than Indians anywhere else in the world," Mr. Naidoo said. "There is nobody here who goes to bed without a meal in their stomach, and there is nobody here who sleeps on the street.
"The way the Indian looks at it," Mr. Naidoo added, "who does the A.N.C. represent? Do they represent the masses of blacks walking the street, unemployed and uneducated, or are they representing me, who owns a house, whose children are going to school? That's where the fear is coming from." Indians Wary of 'the List'
Similar fears have been addressed in similar fashion in the western Cape Province, where surveys show that millions of mixed-race people, whose status has traditionally been only marginally better than that of blacks, are clearly disposed toward voting for the National Party.
Mr. Naidoo said that many Indians were especially concerned that a leftist A.N.C. government would stifle their entrepreneurial skills and money-making potential. Many Indians are also said to look nervously toward the new and often vaguely outlined affirmative action policies that many companies have begun to adopt, and a concept that the African National Congress strongly supports.
Nirode Brawdaw, manager of The Leader, a weekly newspaper in Durban aimed at the Indian community, said:
"The list works like this. If you're a black woman, you're great and you can walk into any door right now. If you're a black man, you're second. Then come colored and Indian women, Indian and colored men, and then whites." He added, "People are saying, there's my son, he has a B.A. degree, but can't find a job right now because no corporation is hiring an Indian or colored." Blacks Invade Housing Tract
For Mrs. Rajoo and many other Indians, the fear of black domination is not an abstract notion. In interviews, several dozen Indians almost invariably cited the example of a housing tract of 800 cottages near here called Cato Manor, which was built for Indian families.
In November, just as the finishing touches were being put on the subdivision, several hundred blacks from an overcrowded township nearby scratched their names on the doors and moved in. Perhaps just as astonishing, Mrs. Rajoo said, neither the lame-duck white authorities nor the future black Government leaders made any effort to evict the invaders.
The blacks felt they should be entitled to the houses, and they were adamant about it, Mrs. Rajoo said. "They wrote down on the doors, remember the 1949 riots," she said, a pointed allusion to the massacre in which 142 Indians died when black resentment over their treatment by Indian landlords exploded in an orgy of killing centered on Cato Manor.
"Cato Manor taught Indians a lesson that we'll never forget," Mrs. Rajoo said. "We have to look after our own interests first."
Maps show the location of Pheonix, South Africa.
~By Kenneth B. Noble - Published: Friday, April 22, 1994
The Uncomfortable Definition of an Infidel....
This is very powerful message and lesson to learn for all non-muslims,you have to think about your future generation
Allah or the Lord Jesus Christ? The Muslim religion is by far the fastest growing religion in the UK .
Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.
I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video.
After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.
When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: 'Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?'
There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, 'Non-believers!'
I responded, 'So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?'
The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of 'a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.'
He sheepishly replied, 'Yes.'
I then stated, 'Well, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope Benedict commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in heaven!'
The Imam was speechless!
I continued, 'I also have a problem with being your 'friend' when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question. Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me?'
You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam remained speechless.
Needless to say, the organizers and promoters of the 'Diversification' training seminar were not happy with this way of dealing with the Islamic Imam and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.
Within twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.K. to elect a government of their choice, complete with sharia law
I think everyone in the U.K. should be required to read this, but with the Liberal justice system, liberal media and political correctness madness, there is no way this will be widely publicised.
Please pass this on to all your e-mail contacts.
~John Harrison MBE. MIDSc
This incident happened in London
Allah or the Lord Jesus Christ? The Muslim religion is by far the fastest growing religion in the UK .
Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.
I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video.
After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.
When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: 'Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?'
There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, 'Non-believers!'
I responded, 'So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?'
The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of 'a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.'
He sheepishly replied, 'Yes.'
I then stated, 'Well, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope Benedict commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in heaven!'
The Imam was speechless!
I continued, 'I also have a problem with being your 'friend' when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question. Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me?'
You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam remained speechless.
Needless to say, the organizers and promoters of the 'Diversification' training seminar were not happy with this way of dealing with the Islamic Imam and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.
Within twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.K. to elect a government of their choice, complete with sharia law
I think everyone in the U.K. should be required to read this, but with the Liberal justice system, liberal media and political correctness madness, there is no way this will be widely publicised.
Please pass this on to all your e-mail contacts.
~John Harrison MBE. MIDSc
This incident happened in London
Facing The Truth ...
Even in my remote bit of paradise, news of distant disasters filters through: above the steady sound of waves breaking on the sandy beach in Sri Lanka, I was informed by several news channels about the sickening attacks on Mumbai. My Internet connection is erratic and slow, but nevertheless, I have been bombarded with emails, asking me for my take on this latest atrocity.
Over the last few years, I have travelled to several countries across four continents. Everywhere I go, I am asked why Pakistan is now the focal point of Islamic extremism and terrorism, and why successive governments have allowed this cancer to fester and grow. As a Pakistani, it is obviously embarrassing to be put on the spot, but I can see why people everywhere are concerned. In virtually every Islamic terrorist plot, whether it is successful or not, there is a Pakistani angle. Often, foreign terrorists have trained at camps in the tribal areas; others have been brainwashed in madressahs; and many more have been radicalised by the poisonous teachings of so-called religious leaders.
Madeline Albright, the ex-US secretary of state, has called Pakistan ‘An International Migraine’, saying it was a cause for global concern as it had nuclear weapons, terrorism, religious extremists, corruption, extreme poverty, and was located in a very important part of the world.
While none of this makes pleasant reading for a Pakistani, Ms Albright’s summation is hard to refute. Often, the truth is painful, but most Pakistanis refuse to see it.
Instead of confronting reality, we are in a permanent state of denial. This ostrich-like posture has made things even worse.
Most Pakistanis, when presented with the fact that our country is now the breeding ground for the most violent ideologies, and the most vicious gangs of thugs who kill in the name of religion, go back in history to explain and justify their presence in our country. They refer to the Afghan war, and the creation of an army of holy warriors to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Then they go on to complain that the Americans quit the region soon after the Soviets did, leaving us saddled with the problem of jihadi fighters from all over the Muslim world camped on our soil.
What we conveniently forget is that for most of the last two decades, the army and the ISI used these very jihadis to further their agenda in Kashmir and Afghanistan. This long official link has given various terror groups legitimacy and a domestic base that has now come to haunt us.
Another aspect to this problem is the support these extremists enjoy among conservative Pakistani and Arab donors. Claiming they are fighting for Islamic causes, they attract significant amounts from Muslim businessmen here and abroad. And almost certainly, they also benefited from official Saudi largesse until 9/11.
Now that government policy is to distance itself from these jihadis, we find that many retired army officers have continued to train them in camps being run in many parts of Pakistan. A few weeks ago, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a prominent (and very loud) minister under both Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf, openly boasted on TV of running a camp for Kashmiri fighters on his own land just outside Rawalpindi a few years ago. If such camps can be set up a few miles from army headquarters, what’s to stop them from operating in remote areas?Many foreign and local journalists have exposed aspects of the terror network that has long flourished in Pakistan. Names, dates and addresses have been published and broadcast. But each allegation has been met with a brazen denial from every level of officialdom. Just as we denied the existence of our nuclear weapons programme for years, so too do we refuse to accept the presence of extremist terrorists.For years, it suited the army and the ISI to secretly harbour and support these groups in Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan. While officially denying that they had anything to do with these jihadis, money and arms from secret sources would reach them regularly. Despite our spooks maintaining plausible deniability, enough information about this covert support for jihadis has emerged for the fig-leaf to slip. And even if the intelligence community has now cut its links with these terrorists, the genie is out of the bottle.
Each time an atrocity like Mumbai occurs, and Pakistan is accused of being involved, the defensive mantra chanted by the chorus of official spokesmen is: “Show us the proof.”
The reality is that in terrorist operations planned in secret, there is not much of a paper trail left behind. Nine times out of ten, the perpetrators do not survive to give evidence before a court. But in this case, one terrorist did survive, and Ajmal Amir Kamal’s story points to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. The sophistication of the attack is testimony to careful planning and rigorous training.
This was no hit-and-run operation, but was intended to cause the maximum loss of life.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said that Pakistan, too, is a victim of terrorism. While this is certainly true, the rest of the world wants to know whey we aren’t doing more to root out the training camps, and lock up those involved. Given the vast un-audited amounts from the exchequer sundry intelligence agencies lay claim to, their failure to be more effective against internal terrorism is either a sign of incompetence, or of criminal collusion.
Benazir Bhutto’s murder, after an earlier attempt and many warnings, is a reminder of how poorly we are served by our intelligence agencies. And while the diplomatic fallout from the Mumbai attack spreads and threatens to escalate into an armed confrontation, the biggest winners are those who carried out the butchery of so many innocent people. It is to their advantage to prevent India and Pakistan from coordinating their fight against terrorism.
Tension between the two neighbours suits them, while peace and cooperation threatens their very existence.The world is naturally concerned about the danger posed by these terror groups to other countries.
However, the biggest threat they pose is to Pakistan itself. Until Pakistanis grasp this brutal reality and muster up the resolve necessary to crush them, these killers will tear the country apart. ~Irfan Husain
Over the last few years, I have travelled to several countries across four continents. Everywhere I go, I am asked why Pakistan is now the focal point of Islamic extremism and terrorism, and why successive governments have allowed this cancer to fester and grow. As a Pakistani, it is obviously embarrassing to be put on the spot, but I can see why people everywhere are concerned. In virtually every Islamic terrorist plot, whether it is successful or not, there is a Pakistani angle. Often, foreign terrorists have trained at camps in the tribal areas; others have been brainwashed in madressahs; and many more have been radicalised by the poisonous teachings of so-called religious leaders.
Madeline Albright, the ex-US secretary of state, has called Pakistan ‘An International Migraine’, saying it was a cause for global concern as it had nuclear weapons, terrorism, religious extremists, corruption, extreme poverty, and was located in a very important part of the world.
While none of this makes pleasant reading for a Pakistani, Ms Albright’s summation is hard to refute. Often, the truth is painful, but most Pakistanis refuse to see it.
Instead of confronting reality, we are in a permanent state of denial. This ostrich-like posture has made things even worse.
Most Pakistanis, when presented with the fact that our country is now the breeding ground for the most violent ideologies, and the most vicious gangs of thugs who kill in the name of religion, go back in history to explain and justify their presence in our country. They refer to the Afghan war, and the creation of an army of holy warriors to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Then they go on to complain that the Americans quit the region soon after the Soviets did, leaving us saddled with the problem of jihadi fighters from all over the Muslim world camped on our soil.
What we conveniently forget is that for most of the last two decades, the army and the ISI used these very jihadis to further their agenda in Kashmir and Afghanistan. This long official link has given various terror groups legitimacy and a domestic base that has now come to haunt us.
Another aspect to this problem is the support these extremists enjoy among conservative Pakistani and Arab donors. Claiming they are fighting for Islamic causes, they attract significant amounts from Muslim businessmen here and abroad. And almost certainly, they also benefited from official Saudi largesse until 9/11.
Now that government policy is to distance itself from these jihadis, we find that many retired army officers have continued to train them in camps being run in many parts of Pakistan. A few weeks ago, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a prominent (and very loud) minister under both Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf, openly boasted on TV of running a camp for Kashmiri fighters on his own land just outside Rawalpindi a few years ago. If such camps can be set up a few miles from army headquarters, what’s to stop them from operating in remote areas?Many foreign and local journalists have exposed aspects of the terror network that has long flourished in Pakistan. Names, dates and addresses have been published and broadcast. But each allegation has been met with a brazen denial from every level of officialdom. Just as we denied the existence of our nuclear weapons programme for years, so too do we refuse to accept the presence of extremist terrorists.For years, it suited the army and the ISI to secretly harbour and support these groups in Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan. While officially denying that they had anything to do with these jihadis, money and arms from secret sources would reach them regularly. Despite our spooks maintaining plausible deniability, enough information about this covert support for jihadis has emerged for the fig-leaf to slip. And even if the intelligence community has now cut its links with these terrorists, the genie is out of the bottle.
Each time an atrocity like Mumbai occurs, and Pakistan is accused of being involved, the defensive mantra chanted by the chorus of official spokesmen is: “Show us the proof.”
The reality is that in terrorist operations planned in secret, there is not much of a paper trail left behind. Nine times out of ten, the perpetrators do not survive to give evidence before a court. But in this case, one terrorist did survive, and Ajmal Amir Kamal’s story points to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. The sophistication of the attack is testimony to careful planning and rigorous training.
This was no hit-and-run operation, but was intended to cause the maximum loss of life.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said that Pakistan, too, is a victim of terrorism. While this is certainly true, the rest of the world wants to know whey we aren’t doing more to root out the training camps, and lock up those involved. Given the vast un-audited amounts from the exchequer sundry intelligence agencies lay claim to, their failure to be more effective against internal terrorism is either a sign of incompetence, or of criminal collusion.
Benazir Bhutto’s murder, after an earlier attempt and many warnings, is a reminder of how poorly we are served by our intelligence agencies. And while the diplomatic fallout from the Mumbai attack spreads and threatens to escalate into an armed confrontation, the biggest winners are those who carried out the butchery of so many innocent people. It is to their advantage to prevent India and Pakistan from coordinating their fight against terrorism.
Tension between the two neighbours suits them, while peace and cooperation threatens their very existence.The world is naturally concerned about the danger posed by these terror groups to other countries.
However, the biggest threat they pose is to Pakistan itself. Until Pakistanis grasp this brutal reality and muster up the resolve necessary to crush them, these killers will tear the country apart. ~Irfan Husain
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