Colonialism was about oppression

IT SEEMS strange many are arguing the merits of colonialism and the advancement of SA society and its economic progress as a result of colonialism. Colonialism was about exclusion, oppression and brutal force.

This is reminiscent of the old primary school propaganda that the white settlers brought progress and technology while the indigenous people were primitive and backward.

The indigenous people were never in government, never given the chance nor the training. In fact, the skills deficit we have in government today is largely as a result of the lapses during the colonial and apartheid eras where Africans were never expected to govern and the likes of the Zumas and Mugabes could propel themselves and take advantage of the electoral process. It was a sudden event where the ANC was told one morning to get ready to govern the country.

As for colonialism, if one looks at the state of Israel, would the urgency of Israel have come into being had it not been for Hitler’s and the Nazis’ atrocities?

Praising colonialism is the equivalent of stating at the Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust memorial) that but for the Nazi era, Israel of today would not have come into being.

Indigenous people were not in government

Glenmore Cres, Durban North