7 Up in South Africa
Screening on SBS television
Monday May 3, 7.30 p.m. (7 p.m. in Adelaide)
Previewed by Norm Dixon
"We have lots and lots of problems", explains seven-year-old Lunga, who lives in a township near Durban. "What are those problems?" "Like killing each other". In South Africa, kids grow up very quickly.
Inspired by the ground-breaking British 7 Up documentary series, 7 Up South Africa is an exciting undertaking. As we return every seven years, it will offer a fascinating glimpse into the lives of young South Africans and the unique challenges and obstacles they face. More, it will provide an unparalleled opportunity to study first-hand the course and consequences of a political and social revolution on the lives of young people as it unfolds.
Director David Wason and producer Angus Gibson spoke to 19 seven-year-olds from all over South Africa, from all racial groups and many social classes. What is immediately plain is the huge gulf in wealth, housing and educational opportunities between black and white.
The overwhelming impression left by the first 7 Up South Africa is that black children in the townships and squatter camps have little time for the "innocence" of childhood as we know it. Life is harsh, and they are daily confronted with prejudice, violence and death — from the police, from Inkatha and from criminals. "AK-47" is part of their everyday vocabulary. Yet they struggle on, hope for better and remain in good spirits.
Luyanda and Andiswa live in a hostel for migrant workers near Capetown. Luyanda does not go to school and wants to return home to the Transkei. Andiswa is luckier. She has been accepted into one of the decrepit, overcrowded township schools. Asked why he wants to return home, Luyanda answered, "I hate getting shot at when I've done nothing wrong". Andiswa added: "One day [the township people] were singing [freedom songs] and three police vans came. They started shooting. I went and hid between two shacks. One person was shot here", pointing to her head.
Lunga is the firebrand of the group. Nelson Mandela is his hero. He attends a "mixed" school in Durban. "I hate the gun", he tells the interviewer emphatically. "I like the person but I hate his job if he is a policeman ... A kid's uncle said [to me] 'I don't like this job, running around with a gun in your hand, shooting small, tiny children' ... I think your police force is sick."
Thembasile lives in squatter camp in Soweto with her grandmother. In 1991, Inkatha attacked the camp, and most people fled. There is no electricity or running water. She doesn't go to school. She sees her mother on Sundays. At seven years old, she seems totally defeated and has little hope. "[The police] arrest people who get into cars belonging to white people. They beat them on the face. They get swollen and start to bleed." The interviewer asks her who is the most th Africa? She answers: "There isn't one". Who is the leader of South Africa? "There is no-one."
Tsepo lives in the heart of Soweto in an area known as the "wild west". He wants to be a lawyer. "A lawyer guards at night at the hospital." He doesn't like living in Soweto because of the "fighting", the "gossips" and the noise.
The black children make barely an anti-white statement, and are remarkably conciliatory and prepared to live and learn together on equal terms.
"As you know", Bonita, the daughter of a Zulu chief in rural Natal, clears her throat and informs her questioner, "whites are people too. You see, there is only one difference between us. They speak English and we speak Zulu. Whites are still people and Indians are still people."
Claudie from Johannesburg protests when asked the difference between black and white: "We are all human beings. There is no black and white." Asked why people fight in South Africa, Nobunye — her father is white, her mother black — answers simply: "They fight for their rights".
The white kids, on the other hand, display varying degrees of racism and intolerance. Clearly it is the white children who must adjust to the new South Africa. The progress of their attitudes over the years will be intriguing.
Pat and Robbie are English speakers and attend an exclusive private school. Some black children go there. They don't mind black kids going to their school "as long as they're nice". Their black friends at school are "cool".
Tiene and Lizette go to an Afrikaans-language state school. They consider themselves "a little bit poor" and blame this on their parents having to pay "the blacks" higher wages. "Mandela and his scoundrels. That is what my father says", announces Lizette. "They should have never released that Mandela", Tiene agrees. Tiene will never allow blacks on his rugby team.
The most disturbing response comes from Willem, an Afrikaner from rural Transvaal. His school is soon to admit blacks. "There will be blacks there until first break. After break there'll be none ... We'll beat them up. They are not allowed in our school", he threatens.
7 Up South Africa should not be missed. It is both worrying and optimistic. It is funny and sad. It offers an insight to the reality of South Africa today and the challenges its people must face, challenges that are anything but simple and straightforward. These kids are the future of the new South Africa. Join them on their journey into that future.