Experiencing Apartheid Readings (1)

Experiences Under Apartheid

Writer's Account

• Mtutuzeli Matshoba provides a firsthand narrative detailing life under apartheid.

• Focus on a personal story involving Vusi, a friend of the writer who faces severe consequences of apartheid policies.

Vusi's Background

• Vusi has lived in a segregated township for Africans, known as a location.

• The friendship between the narrator and Vusi is marked by shared childhood memories:

  • Making trains out of mealie (corn) cobs.

  • Hunting birds on forbidden land.

  • Swimming in the Klip rivulet after rains.

  • Playing soccer with boys from other streets.

• Vusi left school early to support himself by selling apples and sweets on trains.

The Police Encounter

• One early Wednesday morning, police arrive at Vusi's home, creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.

• Vusi reflects on how merely existing as a black man can be viewed as a crime under apartheid.

• Vusi's mother confronts the police with dignity, reflecting the cultural respect for the elderly.

Forced Removal and Homelessness

• The police inform Vusi’s mother that they must take her to the office, suggesting trouble lies ahead.

• Vusi's mother insists she has never missed a rent payment but learns she is considered in arrears.

• The harsh reality of the superintendent's demand: pay or be evicted.

  • A bribe system is revealed, where wealthier individuals can easily acquire housing.

• Eventually, Vusi and his mother are ordered to vacate their home, leading to a traumatic experience of forced removal.

Community Response

• Neighbors observe the eviction with sympathy; they attempt to offer support to Vusi’s family.

• There is communal mourning for the loss of a longtime neighbor as they come together in grief.

A Wife's Lament

Women's Experiences during Apartheid

• Black South African women faced unique challenges under apartheid, including separation from their spouses due to labor laws.

• Married women suffered under restrictive pass laws, limiting their ability to live with their husbands outside bantustans.

  • The passbook system impeded many families' ability to stay together.

• The government routinely arrested black South Africans, including women, for pass-related offenses.

Impact on Families

• Many women had to endure raising children alone while husbands worked far away, often leading to emotional turmoil.

• An interview excerpts highlight the personal struggles faced:

  • Women felt abandoned and trapped by marriage, with men finding companionship outside their marriages.

  • There’s a recognition of the pain caused by having to share their husbands with other women.

The Struggles of Abandonment

• Women would often go without communication or financial support from their husbands, leading to dire situations for their families.

• One story illustrates the lengths a wife would go to in search of her husband:

  • After months of silence and financial hardship, she travels a long distance only to find her husband living with another woman.

  • Feelings of betrayal and inadequacy are emphasized as she faces the reality of her husband’s new life.