Ivor Markman
Apartheid- our tragic era
WHITES ONLY: Signs such as this one were once common all over South Africa. This one was at the entrance, over the lagoon, to the empty beach at Kleinmond in the Western Cape. The only black people allowed on the beach were either workers or nursemaids escorting their young white charges.
By Ivor Markman
The apartheid era was one of the most tragic eras in South Africa's history.
Not only did the system destroy black family life, but over the years it slowly destroyed the friendships of many of the members of other South African racial groups as well.
When I was growing up I moved about in a crowd of about 50 youngsters all my age.
After school they slowly drifted away, many of them emigrated to the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.
Today only one of those friends remains in Port Elizabeth.
Granted, some left to go to the bigger cities, but many left the country because of the country's apartheid policies. I can count myself among those who emigrated.
In 1986, after photographing apartheid and its effect on society, I moved to the United States as I thought the blacks, "coloureds" and whites in South Africa would never settle their differences.
In 1994, when democratic elections were held for the first time in South Africa I returned to the land of my birth especially to partake in the voting process.
Even though I was worried about the possibility of violence breaking out I was positive our country would persevere.
My prayers were answered and no longer was South Africa the pariah of the free world but a beacon of hope for other oppressed peoples around the world.
It was finally time to return home.
HUNGER STRIKERS: Protesters took to studying the Bible during their hunger strike in St George's Cathedral, Cape Town, on March 21, 1982.
ILLEGAL SQUATTER: Gladys Ndyavane, an ‘illegal' woman squatter, whose plastic and wood shelter had been destroyed and the pathetic building materials confiscated by officials of the Western Cape Administration Board, stands in the bitter cold wind in front of a portable cross, the symbol of the squatters struggle to be allowed to remain with their families in Cape Town, on August 25, 1981. They lived in constant fear of being forcefully removed and returned to the `independant' black homelands within South Africa's borders.
“Our chances (of survival) are better in the Cape,” she said.
GUARD OF HONOUR: In a scene reminiscent of the Hitler Youth of the 1930’s, pupils of the local high schools in Lydenburg, Eastern Transvaal, welcome one-time leader of the Broederbond, Dr Piet Koornhof, (in dark suit) then Minister of National Education, to the school’s sport field with a guard of honour in October, 1976. As I watched him walk down the field I thought to myself that the only things missing from the flags were the swastikas. In 1981 Koornhof accused squatters of being “intransigent, uncooperative and of taunting officialdom,” because they refused to return to the poverty-stricken bantustans. Ironically, after the Apartheid era Koornhof divorced his White wife and married a "Coloured" woman who later left him.
CRASHING DOWN: The wall of one of the remaining houses in District Six disappears in a cloud of dust.
The Director-General of Community Development, Louis Fouche, said “I am not ashamed to say I was responsible for District Six being wiped out; in fact, I’m proud of it. My aim has always been to fulfil Dr Verwoerd’s policies, especially separate development”.
REMOVING VICTIM: Watched by a large crowd and under armed police protection, firemen remove a body after a major shack fire and fighting in Guguletu, circa 1984. The fire was started during a clash between the pro-Government “Witdoeke” and the “Comrades”.
DISMANTLING SHELTER: The distress etched clearly on her face, Sisiwe Skagane helped her mother dismantle their pathetic wattle and plastic shelter near the Crossroads squatter camp on August 30, 1984. They hoped to have their “building materials” hidden before the Western Cape Administration Board officials arrived to confiscate them. The people of the “bed town” built their homes over their heads every evening and dismantled them again in the morning. Her younger brother, Xolani, looks on, clearly not understanding what was happening.
ONLY SHELTER: A destitute old man peeped out fearfully from the piece of plastic he called his home in Crossroads squatter camp on July 19, 1981. This was the only shelter he had in order to protect himself from the pouring rain. If the Western Cape Administration Board came, as expected, they would take it away from him. All his worldly possessions were with him. I kept on thinking “What would I do if he was my father?”
ARRESTING DEMONSTRATORS: Policemen arrest a group of silent protesters in Darling Street, outside Cape Town's Drill Hall, in 1985. They were protesting about the brutal tactics used by the South African Police against those opposed to the apartheid regime and the implementation of its policies.
CUTTING FENCE: One of 500 demonstrators cuts the wire mesh fence at the Ravensmead Civic Centre on August 16, 1984, after being denied admission to an “invitations only” Labour Party meeting. This incident happened in total darkness and as a passing car momentarily back-lit the scene I was able to quickly focus my camera on the top of the fence pole. Although I knew something was happening, it was only after I processed the film that I saw what I had captured on film.
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: When young men returned after their military service, some carried mental scars. This photograph was taken one night in the Gardens, Cape Town, in 1985. The future of South Africa at that moment in time seemed destined for many more years of racial conflict.
