Nick Koornhof reflects on white privilege and calls for accountability
By Mapaballo Borotho
F. W. de Klerk’s former adviser has penned a lengthy, thought-provoking essay, apologising for the heinous acts inflicted on black people during the deadly apartheid era in South Africa.
Now 70 years old, Nick Koornhof says he has had plenty of time to reflect on how his life was always smooth because of his skin colour, and how he never had to struggle or start from the bottom to get what he wanted or needed simply because he was a white Afrikaner in South Africa.
Speaking on Kaya 959’s Point of View, Koornhof told Phemelo Motene that he wrote the letter for himself, as well as for his black and coloured friends.
“I also wrote it for my fellow Afrikaners. Many of them, not the majority, still want to ‘photoshop’ the past and think that people who were affected by apartheid must get over it after 30 years of the ANC’s rule, and that we must simply move on. That is why I wrote that letter,” said Koornhof.
Koornhof says apartheid was a very bad past, and no one wants to be reminded of it.
“I was getting the feeling that many South Africans don’t want to be reminded about the past, and I think it is wrong. We should know the past, and we should take responsibility.”
In his essay, he emphasises how having white skin in South Africa meant easy access, even if you were not from a wealthy family.
He said your life would still be easier than that of a black or coloured South African.
He added that it is very important for white Afrikaners who benefitted from apartheid to stop living in denial and claiming that they worked hard for everything they have.
Koornhof cited author André Brink as an example of how even poor white families benefited during apartheid.
Brink explained that despite growing up with limited means, his father had a stable job, access to a whites-only medical scheme, free rail travel, and free education privileges not afforded to other South Africans.
In his Rapport, Brink said:
“Even though my father never earned a big salary, he had a steady job and an income. The railways had a very good medical scheme, and it was only for whites.
Every year, my father also received a free rail pass for all of us. This means we could travel by train anywhere in South Africa, no matter the distance. The free pass was only for white employees.
The schools I attended were all free, and all white children under 16 were required to attend school. That requirement did not apply to other South Africans”.
Koornhof said he hopes his generation will take a step back, stop living in denial, and acknowledge that they and, therefore, their children materially benefitted from apartheid.
He also believes it is time for South Africa to reprogramme what BBBEE should be.
“I think it is time we change some of the redress policies. Instead of companies creating wealth for a small portion of people, it is time they take young people to schools and universities to learn and become better South Africans.
On the land issue, that must be addressed legally. What people are saying that others can just show up and take your land is nonsense. It is not true.”
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