‘Not yet in the promised land’
In part two of the feature on Struggle heroes and heroines, veteran journalist SUBRY GOVENDER writes about Bishop Rubin Phillip, who retired in December 2015 as head of the Anglican Church in KZN. He is one of the activists who made an invaluable contribution to transformation as a progressive leader of the church, a former black consciousness leader and social activist. He has worked tirelessly, without any fanfare and publicity. He is now with the SA Liaison Office working on socio-economic-political issues.
RUBIN Phillip, like other comrades, breathed a sigh of relief when political negotiations led to the downfall of the apartheid regime in April, 1994.
“I recall very clearly the day when for the first time in my life, I had to vote.
“It was a very emotional day. After having filled in my form, I was putting it into the box and I held it there for something like a minute and then, when the voting form dropped to the bottom of the box, I felt it was a deeply spiritual experience.”
Phillip was elected Bishop of the Anglican Church in KwaZulu- Natal in November, 1995.
He was ordained as bishop by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who he had befriended since his early days when studying at the Federal Theological College in Alice in the Eastern Cape.
Phillip was the first religious leader of Indian- origin to be appointed to this position in the Anglican Church in Southern Africa and has used this position to continue with his socio-economic work and spiritual duties.
Over the past two decades, since the advent of democracy, Phillip has come out in full support of Abahlali baseMjondolo, which promotes the welfare of informal dwellers.
He was critical of the fact that the new South Africa was prepared to spend billions in hosting events, including the 2010 Fifa World Cup, yet was incapable of providing decent housing, water and electricity for homeless people.
He has also been involved in the struggles by the people of Zimbabwe against Robert Mugabe rule, leading the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum.
As head of the forum, he successfully lodged an application in the Durban High Court to stop a shipment of arms and ammunition from China being transported from the Durban Harbour to Zimbabwe.
Phillip, who is still the chairman, recently held talks with some of the Zimbabwe political leaders in Pretoria.
In 2012, when nearly 48 miners were shot dead by South African police at Marikana, he spoke out strongly against the massacre.
Phillip has also been involved with organisations fighting the HIV/Aids pandemic under the auspices of the Diakonia Council of Churches and in organisations such as the Independent Projects Trust.
He has also been involved in inter- faith organisations, promoting secularism, tolerance, solidarity and peace against all forms of racism and inequalities. He has worked closely with Hindu, Muslim and Jewish leaders to promote tolerance and understanding.
Phillip believes South Africa has come a long way from the days of apartheid but there is still work to be done.
“There’s no question that since 1994 there has been much progress made in the country. However, we have not arrived in the promised land.
“We are still faced with high unemployment, the abuse of women and children, we are not united as a country and there’s still a lot of prejudice around. Added to that, we have a long way to go in terms of developing our people.
“Political freedom in our constitution has got to work itself out in touching the lives of ordinary South Africans whether they are in Phoenix, Chatsworth, Umlazi or KwaMashu.”
Phillip was concerned about the state of race relations.
“I think the other issue we have not tackled seriously is that of race relations. Instead of becoming a stronger non-racial community, there are people within our society, who have used race to gain economic benefits and political power. This has divided people along racial lines.
“The challenge for us is to turn this around because if we don’t resolve the racial discrepancies in our society, this thing can explode.”
His tireless work for the socio- economic freedom of people has not gone unnoticed.
Recently, he was given an award by a Durban Muslim organisation for his commitment to the socio- economic upliftment of the people.
In 2009, Phillip was awarded the International Bremen Peace Award in Germany for his commitment to the struggles against apartheid and his work to offer solidarity to the displaced people, victims of persecutions and detainees.
In 2010, he was handed the Diakonia Award in recognition of his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement since the 1960s and his advocacy and involvement in the Zimbabwe crisis and to his solidarity with shack dwellers.
Phillip, who also served as chairperson of Technikon Natal, was conferred with a honorary degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Administration and Social Services in 2002 in recognition of his “outstanding service to the local community, his tireless efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation and his dedicated and invaluable commitment to Technikon Natal”.
Although he retired from the ministry at the end of 2015, Phillip continues with his human rights work.
He is now involved with the South African Liaison Office, which highlights critical socio-economic-political issues.
The organisation also works with the Department of Foreign Affairs in promoting the cause of human rights in many countries, including Zimbabwe and South Sudan.
The situation of Tamils in the North and East of Sri Lanka is of concern to Phillip.
“We have been more concerned about human rights violations in our immediate vicinity and on the African continent.
“We now also have to look at situations like what is happening to the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, who have suffered human rights violations for many decades and the massacre in 2009.”
In his retirement, Phillip also wants to set aside some time researching his roots as he has good memories of his early life growing up in Clairwood, south of Durban.
“Clairwood had a wonderful community. It was vibrant and I loved that. There was a sense of belonging and sharing and it was quite cosmopolitan. There were people of all races, who lived in Clairwood.”
All his siblings are still alive, with one brother living in the Eastern Cape and one a resident in Clairwood.
His sisters live in and around Durban.
Phillip wants to visit the area where his grandparents came from.
“I know that my grandparents came from an area, which is now in Andhra Pradesh. I want to make a tour to India next year to connect with my roots.
“It would be wonderful to make this connection.”