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Articles By Zubeida
Articles By Zubeida
| SURVEY SHOWS A SHIFT IN RACIAL ATTITUDES |
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| Written by Administrator |
| Sunday, 12 April 2009 21:27 |
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Survey shows surprising shifts in racial attitudes Coloured community embraces diversity Zubeida Jaffer There is a shift afoot in the coloured community. It dominates attitudinal change in race relations over the past year. The SA Reconciliation Barometer's recent results show that South Africans - with the exception of the coloured community - continue to struggle to understand their fellow citizens from diverse racial backgrounds. Close examination of the data indicates that while there is little variation in white attitudes ranging from 40 to 45% who claim not to understand their fellow citizens over the past year, or in black attitudes that range from 65 to 67% over the same period, the levels in the coloured community have dropped from 43 to 29%. On its own, this statistic might have been ignored, but other elements of the survey point in a similar direction. Other data reports the extent to which South Africans find people of other races untrustworthy. While whites revealed a significant upswing in inter-racial distrust of 8% during the course of last year, the coloured community recently dropped by 7%. The data also shows that coloureds display the greatest enthusiasm for integrated neighbourhoods. Approval in the coloured community stands at 80%, compared with white approval ratings at 48%, black at 53% and Indian at 71%. While more than two-thirds of South Africans approve of integrated schools, the figure in the coloured community stands at 89%. Only 16% of whites approve of mixed marriages, while coloureds have over the past year shown a 10% increase in approval, raising their rating to 77%. These results stem from three national surveys conducted in March-April 2003, October-November 2003 and April-May 2004. In all three the exact same sampling methodology, questionnaires and interviewing techniques were used, allowing for maximum comparability. Face-to-face interviews were done with socially and racially representative samples of 3 498, 3 499 and 3 498 South Africans respectively. Interviews were conducted in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, including informal settlements and deep rural areas. Respondents were interviewed in the language of their choice, by an interviewer of the same race as themselves. The surveys all complied with the usual scientific requirements and the results provide a highly representative basis for describing the views of South Africans. Why these significant shifts 10 years into the new democracy? They probably have to be attributed to numerous factors and require more consistent study before coming to easy conclusions. However, the persistence of the shift across different areas of public life definitely confirms a trend towards healthier attitudes in race relations within the coloured community. The vast majority of this community resides in the Western Cape. The dramatic change in the political landscape recently certainly must have played a part in changing attitudes. As it imploded, the New National Party did convey to its constituency (partly coloured) that working with black people was now no longer taboo. It is irrelevant in this context whether it did so for political expediency or as a commitment to racial tolerance. The SA Reconciliation Barometer results show that there has been a shift and it is very likely that this could partly be attributed to the ANC/NNP pact. Ten years ago, when the new democracy was born, the NNP whipped up racial fears among coloured people. With this fear factor now firmly removed, the way is open for greater co-operation between communities at the local level. There have also been concerted interventions in the past year to bring coloured communities into across-racial city initiatives. Take the Klipfontein Corridor project, which the provincial government has launched. This corridor will link the different racial group areas from Rondebosch, through Athlone, and into Gugulethu. While it is essentially about upgrading transport facilities and infrastructure, it will also enhance business opportunities in the process. It is also important to examine what has happened at the level of school integration. Large numbers of black children have been successfully integrated into former coloured schools. At Glendale Senior Secondary School in Mitchell's Plain, half the children come from Mitchell's Plain and half from Khayelitsha. According to the school principal and teachers, there has not been one major incident of racial conflict in the past 10 years. The school has had to work hard at combining the learners racially and involving them in numerous activities where they integrate. Despite the voices of doom and gloom, these small but significant efforts at local level appear to have paid off. Those intent on sowing the seeds of division are not winning. Instead, it is the consistent commitment to nonracialism that has persevered and at this point dominates the results. While the trends are particularly significant for the coloured community, the figures for other communities show a consistency that cannot be seen as a backward shift. Instead, there appears to be a stabilisation in attitudes. Interestingly, the white community has shifted most when it comes to accepting integrated schools. While they continue to display the lowest approval ratings, they have also undergone the greatest change, with almost 20% more whites in support of racially mixed schools in April this year than in November last year. Improvement is also indicated in support for racially mixed neighbourhoods. Between November last year and April this year, the proportion of whites who approved of racially mixed neighbourhoods has increased by 13 % from 35 to 48%. For the Western Cape, the shifts in the coloured community provide an interesting indicator that perhaps the social programmes of government and non-government organisations are paying dividends. Should this trend in the barometer results continue next year, it should be a strong indicator that interventionist efforts of government and non-government institutions are paying dividends. Those committed to the building of a nonracial democracy will do well to watch this space keenly. <li><i>Jaffer is a political analyst with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town. This article is part of a monthly IJR series in this newspaper.</i>
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| Last Updated on Sunday, 12 April 2009 21:29 |
