Democratic U.S. vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris gestures as she gives remarks during an event, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 2, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
OPINION - KAMALA Harris has made history by becoming the first woman of colour to become the vice-president-elect of the US.
Her parents were immigrants.
Donald Harris, her dad, was born in Jamaica and moved to America in the early ’60s. Her mom, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was born in India and moved to the States around the same time.
The recent elections have shown that America is a country of possibilities – that gender and race are not stumbling blocks to the highest office in the land.
Does the same hold true in South Africa and, in particular, for the descendants of the indentured labourers who arrived here in November 1860?
According to our Constitution, South Africa belongs to all those who live in it and we are building a society based on fundamental human rights, including equality. But, in reality, Indian South Africans feel marginalised.
In every facet of life, black economic empowerment has become the most important criteria, holding more weight than even merit.
Since Indian South Africans are not deemed black enough, they struggle to find jobs or get promoted. And so, at face value, becoming president of the Republic does not seem possible.
As a result, a growing number of people from minority communities have left South Africa or now consider it an option. But what happens to those who choose to stay?
Historically, Indian South Africans found shelter in the ANC. However, over time those bonds have weakened. What’s more, the ANC of 2020 is very different from the ANC of 1947 when the Africans and Indians pledged to work together to fight apartheid.
This partnership took the form of the Three Doctors Pact and was signed by Dr Alfred Bathini Xuma, president of the ANC, Dr Monty Naicker, president of the Natal Indian Congress, and Dr Yusuf Dadoo, president of the Transvaal Indian Congress.
These days, support for the ANC from the Indian community has dwindled.
Even fewer people play an active role in the organisation. And so, the voice of the community within the ruling party has become muted.
It is time to reclaim this space within the ruling organisation and to use every platform available to articulate the concerns of Indian South Africans.
Often, they are concerns shared by other South Africans.
One of these platforms is the judiciary.
AfriForum, the white Afrikaner lobby group, has used the courts to address injustice and in the process have strengthened our democracy.
We also need to have greater faith in our ability to succeed against the odds. It is, after all, in our genes, passed down from those who came in 1860.
As Harris recently said: “My mother never asked anyone’s permission to tell her what was possible which is why within one generation I stand here as a serious candidate for the president of the United States.”
If Harris can do it, there is no reason we can’t.
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