Dylan Bettencourt
Amid the snowballing Stellenbosch University scandal last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that racism is very much still a part of everyday life in the country.
A week ago, white student Theuns du Toit broke into the room of a black student on campus and urinated on his belongings.
Ramaphosa described the incident as degrading, humiliating and a despicable act.
“We have come too far, and the sacrifices made have been too great for such appalling acts of racism to turn us against each other,” the president said.
“We must use this incident to confront the issue of race and racial inequality in our society.”
Ramaphosa said it was concerning that an act such as this comes at a higher learning institution where most of the students were born after the end of apartheid.
In addition to the urination incident, Stellenbosch University suffered a further racial attack when an Indian student requested a traditional song at a dance and was mocked by the other students.
The president admitted that the Stellenbosch saga does not stand in isolation.
“The truth is that racism is still a feature of everyday life in SA. The sooner we recognise that reality, the sooner we can change it,” Ramaphosa said.
He said South Africa as a nation still has to cross the racism bridge.
“We need to understand what kind of institutional cultures contribute to racism in the workplace, in social organisations and in communities,” he said.
“Ending racism is not just about changing attitudes, it is also about changing the material conditions that still today separate black and white South Africans.”
Image source: @Citypress
