Are Indian South Africans being sidelined?

IS THERE a crisis in South Africa? According to AfriForum, the answer is a definite yes.

AfriForum is a civil rights organisation that was started 16 years ago. It aims to mobilise Afrikaners, Afrikaans-speaking people and other minority groups in South Africa with the aim of protecting their rights.

Their private prosecution unit is often in the media spotlight. It is led by Gerrie Nel, a former State prosecutor, who was nicknamed the Bulldog for his tenacious cross examination.

A few days ago, AfriForum announced it was embarking on a tour to the Netherlands and Hungary to tell the world about the crisis in South Africa. Ernest Roets, the head of policy and action at AfriForum, will meet with leaders from government, political parties and NGOs during the trip. Media interviews have also been set up.

Roets will aim to lobby these men and women to put pressure on the South African government to end certain policies, including the expropriation of land without compensation.

It is not their first trip abroad.

In 2019, Roets visited the United States of America. Included in his delegation was Mariandra Heunis, a victim of a farm attack who spoke of her ordeal. Her husband, Johann, was killed during the attack.

There is no doubt that what AfriForum does puts South Africa in a negative light. The organisation justifies this on the basis that our government will not listen to alternative perspectives.

However, there is also no doubt that AfriForum has done a lot to lobby for the interests of the Afrikaner community. In the process, others have benefited.

Given the success that AfriForum has had, is there a need for such an organisation to champion the interests of Indian South Africans? Ever increasingly, there is a perception, real or imagined, that the community is being sidelined.

In KwaZulu-Natal, Indian South Africans struggle to find jobs or get promoted. Former Indian areas are not properly maintained by municipalities, resulting in property values falling.

During the recent floods, some residents felt marginalised because eThekwini had failed to provide them with water. Most recently, there were claims of racism when a portion of a home in Chatsworth was demolished but similar action was seemingly not taken elsewhere.

Historically, the ANC was the voice of the black community, including Indians and Coloureds. But, in recent years, minority communities have shunned the ruling party. As a result, the ANC has few members from the Indian community and this, in turn, has resulted in the community having little influence within the ruling party.

That having been said, the Indian community has never been one united block. It was divided on the basis of religion and language from the time the first indentured labourers arrived in this country. Later, with the arrival of the more wealthy traders, class differences also emerged.

Political parties do play a role but no single party has or is likely to win total support given how diverse this community is.

As a result, a vacuum has been created and unfortunately it has been filled by those who shout the loudest and stir up emotions. The end result is that while there may be attempts to isolate Indian South Africans, the community is isolating itself from the broader community.

This is a crisis.