Last Update: Dec. 3, 2000
Last Update: Dec. 3, 2000 |
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Protests against Mbeki government
Washington D.C. - On Worlds Aids Day, The New York Times ran a full page open letter to President Thabo Mbeki to approve aids drugs to new born babies. American and a South African AIDS activists protested outside the South African Consulate in Los Angeles to end South Africa's treatment ban. The Los Angeles based AIDS Healthcare Foundation brought out a delegation of four representatives from the National AIDS Convention of South Africa (NICOSA) to lobby for international support. A letter to Mbeki was also delivered to the South African Consulate in L.A. to urge the South African government to immediately approve and distribute the drug, Nevirapine. "Six months ago, a prescription drug company made an extraordinary offer to developing nations. For five years the manufacture, Boehringer Ingelheim, would provide free of charge a medication shown to reduce HIV infection in newborns from 43% to only 13%. Surprisingly, South Africa has refused to distribute the medication. Yet in the six months since the offer was made almost 35,000 South African infants have needless been infected," the advertisement stated. Nevi rapine is a four dollar drug treatment that reduces mother to child HIV transmission with 30 %. "The position of the South African government has had catastrophic results" said Michael Weinstein, president and founder of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "It is hurting South Africa's entire international reputation, not only with regards to AIDS/HIV," Weinstein said. He said South Africa should be setting an example to other African countries. The Republic of Congo, and recently Senegal, have accepted the offer for free drugs. "It is shocking to us in the U.S. that a company would donate treatment, and that the Mbeki government can deny it," Weinstein said. Weinstein attended the International Conference on AIDS in Durban earlier this year. Their organization forged ties with NICOSA at the conference. Weinstein says the protests in the U.S. are aimed at attracting the international communities support and attention. "In the 90's, Nelson Mandela said apartheid could not have ended without the international communities support. We are hoping to pressure specific policies of the Mbeki government with regards to AIDS," Weinstein said. The South African delegation will visit three cities in the U.S. to lobby for support. During their Los Angeles leg of their trip, they met with Juanita Millender-Mcdonald, an African-American congresswoman from the 37th district of California. Millender-McDonald has already dispatched a staff representative to join in further protests. As a result of their meeting, the congresswoman will undertake a trip to South Africa to meet with NICOSA, and to inform herself of the HIV AIDS conditions in South Africa. The delegation also visited the Magic Johnson AIDS Clinic in Oakland, California. They delivered a presentation a private academy, The Buckley School, to collect donations for the over 300,000 AIDS orphans in South Africa at present. The delegation have also attended an aids fundraiser fashion show in trendy Beverley Hills by notable American fashion designer Nicole Miller. Next week, the South African representatives will be meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as with several other community groups and politicians during the Washington D.C.leg of their visit. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnIlda Jacobs Washington D.C. - Die wêreld is 'n mal plek, dit is wat ek agterkom. Meer crazy as wat ek ooit sou kon droom. Soms dink ek dit is beter om net op jou eie lewe - jou vriende, familie, en werk - te konsentreer. As jy gelukkig is, dan lyk alles nie so vreeeslik deurmekaar nie. Maar op die oomblik is heelwat van my Suid-Afrikaanse vriende veels te deurmekaar, ek dink dit is die groen gras in die U.S wat met hulle koppe foeter. Of dalk is dit ware liefde.dit sal tyd vir ons vertel. Klaarblyklik het die U.S Immigrasie deesdae 'n ding teen Suid-Afrikaners wat wil studente of toeriste visas kry. Hulle is bang ons word onwettige immigrante. So hulle keur links en regs visas af. Die een aupair wat op die U.S.A. verlief geraak het, vlieg onlangs na Kanada om aansoek te doen vir 'n U.S. studente visa. Die visa word afgekeur, omdat sy glo nie genoeg dokumentasie het om te bewys sy gaan eeeeendag terugkeer na Suid-Afrika nie. Haar hart was gebreek, vir 'n kort rukkie. Want die lewe bring mos die verrassings op ongewone tye. Die aupair, wat in 'n backpackers in Kanada vir drie dae gebly het, ontmoet toe 'n Israeli. Om 'n kort storie nog korter te maak: Die tweetjies besluit toe dit is ware liefde en hulle gaan binnekort die knoop deurhaak. Die aupair is nou oppad Israel toe. Sy gaan Hebreeus leer en die Joodse geloof aanneem. Die vreemde paaie - en vreemde lande - van die lewe. Maar ek is nie meer so impressed met die USA nie. By implikasie, het die Amerikaners nou 'n moroon vir 'n leier, en ek gaan nie sê wie dit is nie. 'n Mens kan net vermeld dat die verkiesings selfs in eerste wêreldslande nie so glad verloop nie. Ek wonder of die volgende President Elect, enigiets oor Suid-Afrika weet. Of hy enigsins in Afrika sal belangstel, en of sy cowboy ranch sy eerste prioriteit is. Dalk beteken dit dat die VSA ook op 'n afdraand pad is, soos vele ander lande met AIDS probleme, misdaad en allerhande stygende statistieke. Ek is gereed om te immigreer. Miskien Kuba toe, ha-ha. Ons almal dink mos die son skyn uit Amerika uit. Selfs die honde-aannemings proses in die VSA is 'n belaglike bureakrasie.Dit is strenger as kinder-aanneming in Suid-Afrika, so voel dit vir my. Amerikaanse bure wou 'n weggooi-hond aanneem, en nader toe die "Humane Society." Hulle kleuters het al klaar hulle gunsteling brakkie uitgekies gehad, maar eers moes die honde-sielkundige en sosiale werker die omgewing gaan inspekteer, want brakkie kan nie in 'n onvriendelike omgewing geplaas word nie. Toe word die Amerikaanse bure se aansoek afgewys. Daar is glo 'n stel trappe in die huis, wat on-honde-vriendelik is, en sou die kinders of die honde val, is daar die gevaar van hofsake teen die "Humane Society". Wat kan 'n mens sê. Plaas hulle maar vir weggooi brakkie 'n huis gee, waar gaan die dingetjie nou heen? En die kleuters het al klaar vir ons vertel wat die hond se kleur en naam is.Dit is nou 'n tipiese Amerikaanse sisteem. Dalk is ek net ontevrede omdat ek nog nie van Kuba vergeet het nie, daardie landjie waar die mense so warm en vriendelik is, "genuine" mense. Dit is nou alreeds drie weke terug sedert ek daardie ongeloooooflike trippie onderneem het. Die dat ek so ontevrede is met die Amerikaanse sisteme, die oordaad van Krismis liggies en al die Krismis specials wat geadverteer word. Boonop gaan dit 'n eerste Kersfees wees sonder my gesinnetjie. Ek is nie eers lus om 'n Kersboom op te slaan nie. Ek het in elk geval nie genoeg dollars om nou Krismis liggies ook te koop nie, ek het klaar te veel van daardie oranje Halloween liggies gekoop. Omdat ek wil immigreer na Kuba, sit ek nou snags in my dakkamertjie by my gloeiende oranje pampoenbedlamp, en leer Spaans uit 'n selfhelp boek. Soms probeer ek die prentjie picture: 'n langerige Suid-Afrikaner in 'n dakkamer met 'n lae dak, 'n kamer vol Kubaanse poskaarte, fotos en sigare, 'n tipies Amerikaanse Halloween gloeiende pampoenlig, en 'n Spaanse boek. Dit ruik mos na 'n identiteitskrisis. Die lot van die enkeling wat sy land verlaat. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Education Minister Asmal: most of the matrics failed More than half of the 511 474 pupils who wrote the matric exam in public schools this year failed, according to Education Minister Kader Asmal. Announcing a pass rate of 48,9 per cent, a drop from the 49,3 per cent of 1998 on Thursday, he said this was, however, cause for "sober reflection" rather than major disappointment. The rate was 47,4 per cent in 1997 and 54,4 per cent in 1996. At a media briefing in Cape Town where comparative results for all nine provinces were released, he said 1 036 schools recorded a pass rate of between nought and 20 per cent, while 1134 registered passes of 80 to 100 per cent. Just over 12 per cent of those who wrote the exam got matric exemption, a small decrease on the figure for 1998. Three provinces - Northern Province, which had the largest number of candidates, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal - improved on last year, but the other six did worse. Of these the Eastern Cape registered the biggest drop, from 45,1 to 40,2 per cent. "To the many candidates - one out of every two - who have failed this examination, let me advise them and their parents not to despair, but to work even harder and to seek out opportunities in our adult learning centres and technical colleges to complete their matriculation or school-leaving certificates," Asmal said. He said the results reflected "genuine consolidation", and that he and provincial education MECs had set themselves a target of a five per cent improvement in the results in the coming year. "I am convinced that this is possible, since the overall national performance has stabilised and the foundations are now in place for steady progress," he said. Priority would be given to schools that had performed worst and were battling against enormous historical disadvantages. Noting that the national pass rate for mathematics was only 43,4 percent, he said this subject would also get special attention. University of Cape Town professor of mathematics and science Micheal Kahn would join his ministry as a part-time special advisor in these subjects, concentrating on teacher development. Asmal said he would also institute awards for the most improved schools in each province, and one national award. He rejected suggestions that this year's teachers' strikes had materially affected the exams, saying only five teaching days had been lost and that many teachers had made this up with extra lessons. Asked if he looked forward to a strike-free 2000, he replied: "I look forward to Nirvana, a state of heavenly bliss ... but to achieve Nirvana requires hard work." He said that while the government accepted it had a responsibility to provide basic resources for teaching possible, what were needed most were higher levels of motivation, commitment and hard work from managers, teachers, pupils and parents. All schools had to begin work on the first school day, particularly Grade 12, and should start and end at the right times. Learners, teachers and principals should be punctual, attend school regularly and be highly motivated, and supervision should be provided regularly by district officials. "I am determined to beat the drum of this apparently simple message, and to help realise it while I remain minister of education," Asmal said. "To have functioning schools does not require the skills of a rocket scientist. "Heads will have to roll if schools do not open and perform throughout the year. Heads will have to roll." Asmal said the exam results had been certified by the national statutory Certification Council. There was "no repeat of the Mpumalanga debacle", in which markers last year artificially inflated results by 20 percent. His department would this year complete its investigations into setting up a national examinations service that would store a bank of question papers so provinces - which at present each set their own - could offer common exams in all or selected subjects. "In this manner I believe we will be able to create a truly national examination system," he said. In November this year, a five per cent sample of all Grade Threes would be assessed for numeracy and literacy. The pass rates that Asmal released on Thursday were for full-time candidates at public schools. A total of 23 6978 part-time candidates also registered, but the education department did not give their pass rates. It said however that in some provinces as many as 80 per cent of these candidates did not write the exam. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Homeless after all these years! 
Guest Editorial - Clifford MathesonI recently had a taste of what if feels like to be wandering in emotional limbo. With travel plans in mind, I needed to renew my SA passport, so off I went to the Consular section of the SA Embassy in Washington, DC. I had previously talked by phone with staffer Marius Moolman who had offered to renew my passport for a year and also, if I desired, to help me apply for a new passport. Finally face to face, I handed Moolman my passport. He looked at it, and then said, "Mr Matheson, you are no longer a SA citizen!" As I struggled to compose myself, Moolman walked me me through the small print in the back my of passport as he if were reading me my "Miranda rights." Then he explained in plain English that by becoming an American and not informing the SA embassy first, my status as an SA citizen had been relinquished. Whoa! "What should I do?" I asked him shakily. He advised that I could apply for reinstatement - a decision that takes three to six months and is made in Pretoria. "Come back on Monday with your U.S. certificate of Naturalization and all the forms, photos, etc. and we will apply, " he said. I asked for a receipt for my passport, but Moolman informed me that he would not issue a receipt since it was never my passport. Rather, he said, it was always the property of the government of SA. Moolman thinks my chances of retrieving my status -and a fair chunk of my identity - are fair since I received my US citizenship prior to the new act in 1996. He explained that the government had to recognise the thousands of South Africans living abroad in exile prior to 1996 and who had taken out the citizenship of another country. The idea was that they should not be penalized with the loss of their SA citizenship. Moolman then requested that I turn in my "Book of Life." What a funny idea. Fortunately I remembered that I had "lost" that! Apparently, it too no longer belongs to me. I will dutifully do as I am told. How silly of me to have expected a public servant working in the interests of the SA community abroad to exercise discretion on correctly advising me before stripping me of my critical identity and birthright. No doubt I made some faulty moves of my own. However, I will be more savvy in the future. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Toyota South Africa fires "racist emailer" The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.upheld Toyota South Africa's decision to dismiss an employee who received, transmitted and distributed racist e-mail. The content of an e-mail that depicted Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as a gorilla, was widely distributed throughout South Africa during the height of the Zimbabwean conflict. The e-mail humours the Mugabe government's take-over of farmlands. The unidentified employee who distributed the e-mail at Toyota's Pretoria offices earlier in the year, was immediately dismissed. He also made hard copies of the material and took it to a meeting to show his colleagues. The e-mail was distributed at a large motor manufacturer that employs 3500 blacks. The chairman of the motor groups shop steward committee confirmed that the picture had been brought to its office. Black employees, according to his testimony, found the cartoon offensive because it portrayed black people as apes. The Commission accepted that the cartoon picture and, to a lesser extent the caption, were offensive, racist and a representative of a stereotype developed over the centuries by white people that associates black people with primates. The e-mail showed a gorilla with the head of Mugabe superimposed on the animal, holding another gorilla also bearing Mugabe's features. The caption read "Mugabe and his right hand man. We want to the farms to grow more bananas." The Commission also indicated that the e-mail was a matter of deep moral, social and cultural sensitivity to black people. Toyota's attorney, Michael Maeso of Shepstone and Wylie, said the decision is a serious warning to employees guilty of abusing the internet and e-mail facilities in the workplace, especially with regards to offensive contents. Maeso said the key issue for the commission, was to determine whether Toyota's dismissal was an appropriate sanction. The Commission also had to determine whether the e-mail was in fact racist. Their final decision to uphold Toyota's dismissal of the employee, was groundbreaking, Pan African News Agency reports. According to Maeso, both parties involved agreed that the racist stereotype exists. In this particular case, the context within which it was used, also determined the Commission's decision. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] [ Top ] |
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