Biko’s son says SA has much to learn from Jewish community

TALI FEINBERG

Biko, who spoke at an event hosted by the Cape Council of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) last week, is also the son of Dr Mamphela Ramphele, who was five months pregnant with him when the anti-apartheid leader was killed in police custody.

The Cape SAJBD event is the first of a series aimed at building relationships with fellow South Africans to improve society, said board member Rael Koping.

Cape board Chairperson Rael Kaimowitz said that after a harrowing week in South Africa which included xenophobic violence, it was important to remember that the Jewish community had also been immigrants.

It was fitting that the event was held in the synagogue section of the South African Jewish Museum – the first shul built in South Africa. “We are all seeking to make South Africa a better place, which is why the Cape board is pushing its campaign, ‘No place for hate’,” said Kaimowitz.

Biko said that his recent book, Africa Re-imagined, was about asking “whether this country is worth saving”, and examines how people can empower themselves to become their own “change agents”. He said the Jewish community had demonstrated this in a number of ways, the first being our emphasis on empowerment and education in spite of circumstances.

“South Africa has a deficit in empowerment at the moment,” Biko said, explaining that high expectations force people to go beyond their limitations. Giving time, mentoring, networking, and identifying talent are essential ingredients for this.

Second, the value that the Jewish community places on institutions is an important lesson to learn. “We need to have reverence for our institutions, otherwise they die,” he said. “An institution is an anchor, and helps us to value order.” He believes resistance of apartheid led to a culture of chaos and disorder. For example, in 1985, Thabo Mbeki called on the youth to “make the townships ungovernable”. This was important at the time, but it left a legacy of avoiding order, institutions, and defying social rules, which needs to be corrected.

Third, Biko admires the Jewish community’s emphasis on family. He said he got his first “big break” after attending a Shabbat dinner, where he met Michael Phelps, who later employed him. “The entry point was the family,” which, once again, provides a space for high expectation and achievement.

Also present at the discussion was Sihle Ngobese of the Institute of Race Relations, and Professor Kosheek Sewchurran of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. Ngobese, best known by his Twitter handle “Big Daddy Liberty” hosted the discussion. He agreed that the destruction of the family unit due to apartheid, migrant labour, crime, and economic circumstances had dire consequences for South Africa.

He pointed out that 62% of births registered in South Africa last year had no mention of the father. This gaping hole in the family unit led to a lack of economic stability, and undermined health and security. It is a key reason for young boys being recruited into gangs. “Rebuilding the family unit is vital for South Africa’s future,” Ngobese said.

Biko said South Africa was the most urbanised country on the continent. Work should be done in the rural areas to allow people to “go home”, be with their families, and work the land. “Subsistence farming is another crucial way of anchoring the family,” he said. South Africans could look to the Jewish community’s way of passing down culture, customs, and heritage as a way of strengthening identity and the family unit as a whole.

While there was much work to be done, South Africans must look past political rhetoric to recognise the country’s successes, Ngobese said. He added that the black middle class now outnumbered the white middle class three to one, leading to greater access to private healthcare and education.

In comments from the audience, Cape Town city councillor Brandon Golding said that if you want to understand persecution and how to rise above it, you need only look around the room at the Jewish community and its history. At the same time, he emphasised that religious differences aren’t an issue in the country, and Jews shouldn’t be seen as separate to other South Africans.

Biko agreed, saying that it is important to look at our shared history, and to realise that Jews have always existed in Africa. “What the African National Congress [ANC] has done badly is to fail its founding fathers who saw diversity as an asset,” he said, even though he is an ANC member. He later pointed out that a positive aspect of the ANC was that everyone in a room was equal, and leaders could debate openly with party members.

Looking to the legacy of his parents, Biko said it was important to honour our country’s heroes while they are still alive, and to recognise those who have shaped our country even if we have political differences with them. For example, his father was never an ANC member, but the ANC has still honoured him, as it has honoured Jewish anti-apartheid activists. He hopes to continue engaging with the Jewish community going forward.