Values in Revolt Author(s): Robert Young Source: Africa Today, Vol. 8, No. 9, Economics of Apartheid (Nov., 1961), pp. 4-7+11 Published by: Indiana University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4184259 . Accessed: 14/06/2014 21:18 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Indiana University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Africa Today. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 188.72.126.88 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 21:18:07 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Transcript
Values in RevoltAuthor(s): Robert YoungSource: Africa Today, Vol. 8, No. 9, Economics of Apartheid (Nov., 1961), pp. 4-7+11Published by: Indiana University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4184259 .
Accessed: 14/06/2014 21:18
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
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Indiana University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Africa Today.
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U NDER COVER OF DARKNESS on the night of July 11, Charles Dorkins and I, in the company of seven
Angolan rebels, crossed the Congo border into north- ern Angola. For the next 20 days we marched more than 300 miles through jungles and across mountains, sharing the lives of the people who are in revolt against the Portuguese. What we saw and filmed was the basis of a television program, NBC White Paper #7: "Angola, Journey to a War," televised over the NBC network on September 19, 1961.
In the film we tried to focus on the reasons for the revolt and on the nature of the struggle. As reporters, we limited ourselves to what our cameras and tape recorders had witnessed. There were a number of thoughts that came out of the experience that had no place in the film. They are strictly my own private reflections on what I saw and on what happened. It is of these thoughts that I now write. On our first day in Angola with the rebels, as we sat around the morning campfire in a little jungle clearing, roasting peanuts, manioc, and bananas for our breakfast, I eagerly studied our companions. They had been char- acterized as terrorists, savages, and Communists by the Portuguese press, and even fellow journalists had warned us not to trust the Africans who lived in the bush. They said we would never come back from such
a foolhardy adventure. Only the missionaries and the American Committee on Africa encouraged us in our plan and shared our expectations that the Angolan rebels would be friendly. Now we were face to face with the people we had heard so much about. Out- wardly they looked like rag pickers. There was not one suit of clothing without holes; everything was old, worn, at least second-hand-the tired, castoff gar- ments of the world in their final use. On one of the men who pressed close to the fire was an incredibly old, blue, pin-striped jacket. Its lining gleamed through the tattered cloth and padding was bursting out at the shoulders. Inside, the silk label testified that this was a Weber and Heilbronner suit. I thought if I could learn the complete story of that jacket-how it had gotten to Africa, who had sold it, for what price, to whom, or if it was a gift then for what rea- son and how it was received-if I could only know the complete story of that jacket I felt I would know very much about life in Angola, for that second-hand
ROBERT YOUNG is a film-maker whose previous films include Sit-In, and a full-length documentary, Secret of the Reefs. He and Charles Dorkins, were the first Western observers behind rebel lines.
4 AF R I CA TODAY
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jacket, worn and tattered, suggested the fabric of their everyday lives. Almost everything the people had was second-hand, both their material possessions and their culture. In the course of our wanderings we saw no drums, no carvings, no dancing; there was very little music. It seemed that there was hardly any African culture left in this area. The people we met were Christian, and the few books we saw were in Portuguese. We were told that what schooling they had was in Portuguese, and that their African lan- guage was not allowed to be taught in school. But in spite of the effacement of their own culture and the awkward, ragged clothing, the people themselves were naturally graceful and direct.
There is so much more to communication than lan- guage, and by sharing their lives we got to know the people. We had placed ourselves in their hands and our safety and survival depended on them. We carried no provisions, but lived the way they did. We shared the same food, eating it together as we huddled around the campfire. At night we lay upon the ground sharing the same pallet of reeds. At times, we ran together from the attacks of Portuguese aircraft. We dealt only with essentials. We talked about our children, our wives, our work, about the war. We spoke of what it is like to be an African in Angola and of how they felt about the Portuguese. We talked about white skins and black skins and the nature of man. My colleague, Charlie Dorkins, is an American Negro, and he shared my feeling that the Angolan rebels are not fighting a racial war against whites, but simply against the P-ortuguese, with some anger left over for the Spanish and South Africans. Charlie and I felt that we were both treated the same and without the slightest hint of prejudice. In fact I have never been greeted with greater warmth and enthusiasm. Everywhere we went people pressed forward to shake our hands and say hello. If I had counted handshakes I would have made a complete census o'f the people who lived in the places we visited. Old people, bent over with age, were led from their huts to shake and kiss our hands. Boys and girls grasped our fingers in their little fists, mothers
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feod a y ie the lanted ,o thed, hrdsip everythem
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ins aorte gagso repeaing the rwoa oevn arms they carre dut ar in their yu a.T y side that the larn ha
tben tsarken fomu threm tt wethe sucorntugets waerers fun atheir iforet toe pandt offte and that they wer
ingbd thecausemloies tofee. Mothesy spoke of thtok i
his labor gandgof,arepairate code rofaws, maevna toheep
themed black af lber w idt thoa their macthaet thnds ofi thes lol ple Po antd the Portuguese a miiTratpor,lte Choeofe duferiPosto. nyfo h winga sall their alage dieep in the jnes war, oldmyan icrie out tof eu e. They told of being
"Fk thra! athaer Iuwto harve as white betar arerd fiv ldor aen ht a suferaed For 5e 0 yars we to the
fer lae. gan re igingt the one and thei saufheten forriev ter r Weh ge t phey ford ev rtheing. Ean the
aren of the lac ma whoais wth in the Portuguese of-
then woerld Andst now siance Machffwe areha bhein kiled. O,ing tecsuffe rn thefe Now, as I ha talki vi laesr are brning. Mutitue desp have bee kiled. to
oth ianther! auh. Wori wigho bhure aus ?he Iwe t ave
wuferwan. SAlvation!gW are boniund.n Whois goingrito
unbvin us? We dna'e they th Port uesting atn the
hands of the blckal wholicean wortlssi the Potgeses ad-
ministratorrin, the Chefeerig P ow,asItmtakig Inasalrfgevillage, aebrigMutudees inave beengkiles, Old
odman cried nout toe benu ure,btsr:eiglf "Fainther Father Ih whoin hav bur whit Ifbear hand
five chriendshletethmfhelpeu. Fond0 eardnc s wehave suferedn. Salvtonre wegongt coniuend thois suffering unbing s? We we ho'ave the Pafor.uus Only Godraes
NOVEMBER 1961 5
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and we have taken an oath-even if it means dying. All we are asking for is freedom. Is that not so, my brothers ?"
When the pent-up feelings of years of repression burst forth on March 15 of this year the result was a bloody one. Throughout northern Angola isolated Portuguese outposts and houses were attacked and destroyed. In a few days the death toll reached almost a thousand, and included were numbers of women and children. It is no doubt true, as the Portuguese assert, that there was much brutality and that many innocent people were killed. Killing always leads to terrible
nated, the Angolans' chances for self-government are destroyed. They believe their revolt is an act of survival.
At the moment, the situation is desperate for the rebels. The Portuguese have been trying with all their might to put down the rebellion. During our march through northern Angola we saw that anything that moved on the ground was game for Portuguese air- craft. They were trying to extirpate revolt by bombing it out of existence. In the more peaceful, though still restless, back areas they have been arresting potential "trouble makers" in an attempt to forestall revolt.
excesses that cannot be excused or justified. The hor- rors and the loss cannot be undone. But with no avenues of political expression open to the Africans, violence seemed the only way to bring about change. The Portuguese reaction was swift, equally brutal, and more effective. Soldiers, vigilantes, and aircraft retaliated against African villages. Almost 150,00G Angolans were forced to flee to the safety of the Congo, and estimates of African dead range from 30 to 50 thousand. One cannot condone violence in the name of freedom or order. The Portuguese have had a chance to provide a government that would be re- sponsive to people's needs. They have failed to do this, though they have had the benefit of countless examples in other colonial countries of what can happen when a people is exploited. In Angola we saw a system of inequality that condemns people to forced labor, physi- cal oppression, limited opportunities, and early death.
Many Angolans told me that the most compelling reason for the revolt is the Portuguese policy of eliminating people who can read and write because they might be potential leaders in a future African nation. I repeat this charge because many Angolans, as well as several missionaries, gave me names and accounts of educated people taken away by the Portu- guese authorities, never to be seen again. If the liter- ate Africans, and there are not too many, are elimi-
They have announced reforms that will make citizens of all the people, although the requirements for voting will keep the African majority from exercising their franchise. And nothing has been said about the sys- tem of contract labor. So, at the moment, there seems little hope of a peaceful solution, and the suffering will probably go on.
I think that the only chance the Portuguese have of holding Angola is to institute drastic reforms that will affect the Africans at once. But the Salazar Gov- ernment is not noted for liberality at home, and I don't think such reforms are likely in Angola. The African rebels have sworn that they will fight until they have independence, and though the latest Portu- guese reports claim that the rebellion is effectively over, I believe the Angolans will still fight on in the bush. Eventually they will receive aid from other African nations and the struggle will again grow in- tense. The Angolan rebels have gained an awareness from which there is no retreat. They have been held prisoner by the images and values of a society that has not respected their culture or their individual worth; it has been interested only in their labor. They have been treated as inferiors for so long that perhaps many could not escape the thought that there might be a basis in fact for the white attitude of racial superiority. Freedom in the new African countries,
6 AFRICA TODAY
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especially in the neighboring Congo where many Angolans have lived, has given back to Africans their self-esteem and dignity. This has not been lost on the Angolan rebels, for they now see themselves against the panorama of events taking place in Africa, and they do not want to be left behind. By rebellion they assert their own worth. They are losing the image of themselves as inferior and servile, and from this realization there is no turning back.
I think it is particularly significant that the rebel- lion is not being carried on by very "primitive" tribes, but by the Bakongo people who are advanced in West- ern ways. They are Christian and very much like us. Charlie remarked that for him being in Angola was like being in rural Alabama. And because they are like us they can't put up with a system that degrades them and limits their development. They have been taken advantage of because they are black. If they had been white our world would never have stood for the way they have been treated.
The Angolan rebels we met were members of the UPA (Union of the Peoples of Angola) party, and their leader is Holden Roberto. Roberto seems to be a responsible person who believes in political democ- racy. He is not a Communist as the Portuguese some- times claim. When I saw him in Leopoldville he struck me as a sincere person who is trying to help his peo- ple. He spoke with moderation and did not castigate all the Portuguese, only the policies that have been unfair to the African. H.e is, of course, a strong pro- ponent of African independence in Angola, but he says that UPA's policy is not to drive out all of the Portuguese. He recognizes that some Portuguese are also Angolans by birth, and he promises that their rights shall be guaranteed the same as those of the Africans.
Though the revolution is directed from Leopold- ville, it is not completely controlled from there. There is much autonomy and a great sense of participation by the people who are engaged in the struggle in Angola. But in the face of superior military strength and recent military losses the rebels face many dan- gers. In an attempt to make their fighting machine more efficient, the army elements in UTPA may try to exert a strong discipline on the party and on the
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people who now are loosely joined into a fighting force. No doubt some discipline is necessary, but the strength of the Angolan rebels is in their assertion of their dignity as individuals, and they are willing to stand up against the Portuguese to make this point even if it means to die. There is a great sense of shar- ing in the decisions and in creating a new future among the people. They need this sense. It is vital to their development. If the movement gets out of the hands of the people, into the strong hands of military- minded men, it is possible that a different tyranny could supplant the rule of the Portuguese. Revolu- tionaries are one thing, terrorists another; only self- restraint separates the two. Revolutions are con- stantly in need of their initial inspiration, the re- minder that the spark of humanity that I am asserting exists in all men. The act of rebellion is an affirma- tion of life and of what is sacred in man. But if in the act of pursuing his own freedom man destroys the freedom of another he has done the very thing against which he has been protesting. In Angola, the African has felt forced to take up violence, but where will it end? What will happen to the character of the revolt ?
At this moment the Angolan rebels look to us for support. Many of them have been influenced by Prot- estant missionaries from Britain, Canada, and the United States who have given the Africans a sense of their own individual worth, and therefore of the great disparities between the way the social order is and the way it ought to be. Now they turn to us asking that we help them assert their worth. What will our
(Continued on Page 11) NOVEMBER 1961 7
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In Port Elizabeth, I talked to two people who cer- tainly don't know each other. Mrs. R. said: "Angola will be nothing compared to here once the blood starts flowing." Later that day, Mr. P. volunteered: "This place will make Angola look like an afternoon braaiv- leis (barbecue)." This stupid, blind, bloodthirsty fatalism made me shiver with sorrow and anger. Both thought that the Europeans would win a few initial battles, but that the Africans would eventually tri- umph. It was as if they were viewing their own head- less corpses with some sort of pleasure.
Militarily, the Afrikaners are strong but spread out too thinly. Like hawks they must watch the Mozam- bique and Angola borders; and even the sealanes are patrolled. A merchant marine friend tells me that all coastal movements from the West are closely watched. Bombers, equipped with excellent radar systems ob-
South Africa had all the means to make the Republic wealthy, said the Minister of Finance, Dr. T. E. Donges, at the Transvaal Nationalist Party Congress. The balance of payment difficul- ties arose from the ferment throughout Africa and the persistent undermining of the country. But the economy remained strong. Dr. Donges admitted that unemployment had increased. The reasons were that building accommodation for urban Bantu was largely completed and that en- trepeneurs were afraid when there were uncer- tain rumors. . . . All that was necessary for pros- perity, said Dr. Donges, was to work harder, save more and have confidence.
-South African Press Digest #32 (Aug. 24, 1961)
The decision of the Johannesburg Non-Euro- pean Affairs Department to stop issuing permits to Africans from other areas to seek work in the city marks the first official admission that Afri- can unemployment has become grave. However, to those with eyes in their heads it has been im- possible to ignore the sharp rise in unemploy- ment among all races which has taken place since May 31.
The Liberal Party knows of many families in townships all of whose members have been out of work for months. Firms and factories report a noticeable rise in the number of job applicants. On July 25 at least 1,500 whites, colored and Asians gathered outside the Bree Street office of the Department of Labor to draw unemployment benefits. One passerby said: "It looked like one of those things you see in films of a depression overseas."
-CONTACT (Cape Town), Aug. 24, 1961
tained last year from the US, spot and buzz the most innocent of merchant ships. The South African Air Force, incidentally, will soon be receiving several hun- dred French Mystere fighters-a 1,600-MPH plane. The French Panhard firm has also licensed the govern- ment to manufacture their armored cars in South Africa. These cars weigh 41/2 tons, carry a 90 mm cannon or a machinegun with a 60 mm mortar. The government clearly intends to arm as many able-bodied whites as will cooperate. Ten thousand citizens are annually trained in the use of modern weapons. This
nation of bullies is going quite methodically about pro- voking a civil war. The opposition has gradually aban- doned the notion of nonviolent action as a tactical weapon. It is tragic, but one must take the face of one's enemy if one is to succeed.
There will be no pitched battles in the civil war. The first phase-sabotage-has already started. In early September the press reported that large fires swept through Natal sugar cane plantations, burning almost 5,000 pounds of sugar in one night. The belt of destruction sliced through at least five farms. More recently, a steel tower bearing high tension wires was blown up in Johannesburg.
While on the economic front, I've picked out two items of some relevance to Americans. The first is that Del Monte and the California Fruit Growers As- sociation are canning fruits in South Africa under their own labels and selling them on the European markets. European buyers have been avoiding fruits identified as being of South African origin. The sec- ond item is that fruits destined for America are being canned under the label "Southern Pride" and shipped to southern US ports. I am told that convict labor is frequently used in the canning industry, but this quite possibly might not apply to the US firms doing busi- ness here. I will try to find out more on the subject. Convict labor, of course, is commonly used in all farming. But as the exact difference between convict and "free" labor is rather slim, this should shock no one.
To sum up the situation in South Africa today: the present is unbearable . . . the future doesn't exist.
-D. B. Johannesburg
(NIGERIA, continued from Page 3) bridging the vast and widening gap between their standard of living and ours?
As an exercise in international understanding, the Peace Corps is a splendid undertaking, provided that, when we say that its members have more to learn than to teach, we really mean it. The line between humility and superiority is a precarious one. We believe that Nigeria made a mistake in not giving Margery Michel- more a chance to show on which side of this line she would eventually have found herself. And we hope that the generals and colonels of the Peace Corps know how to recognize it.
(REVOLT, continued from Page 7) answer be? The United States voted in the United Nations for reforms in Angola, and thus demonstrated our sympathy with their aspirations. But are we will- ing to support them in their demands for an African nation, with safeguards for all of the people, both European and African? Such a position would mean an explosive break with our NATO ally Portugal and the loss of our strategic base in the Azores. This is a question we will soon be facing. If, in the name of our security, we sacrifice the Angolans' legitimate as- pirations for freedom, then we are the ones who are not worth saving. The merit of the United States has always been in her generous concern for others' wel- fare and freedom. If we choose to be cautious and not to hear the cries of those who aspire to fulfill their human potential, we shall be cutting ourselves off from the current of change that is flowing among the peoples of the world. To support the Africans in their struggle for freedom is to be true to ourselves.
NOVEMBER 1961 11
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