White South African

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White South African

Charlize Theron · Harry Schwarz · Trevor Immelman · Helen Zille
Total population
4,565,300 (2008) (9,2% of total population)
Regions with significant populations
All over the country but concentrated groups in big cities.
Languages
Major: Afrikaans (60%) English (39%) Portuguese and German (>1%)
Religion
Vast Majority Christianity, minorities practicing Judaism or no religion

White South Africans is a term which refers to people from South Africa who are of Caucasian descent. In linguistic, cultural and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of Dutch settlers Afrikaners and the English-speaking Anglo-Africans who share an Anglophone background.

Background

Demographics

Statistics South Africa estimates that there are about 4.3 million white people in South Africa (2008)^[1] Roughly 60% of white South Africans speak Afrikaans as their mother language and about 39% speak English. 1% of the white population speak other European languages as their mother tongue, such as German, Portuguese or Greek. Speakers of Afrikaans refer to themselves as Afrikaners. Unlike the Afrikaners, the English speakers have not constituted a coherent political or cultural entity in South Africa. Hence, the absence of a commonly accepted term to designate them, although 'English South African' or 'English-speaking South African' is used (see Anglo-African). Many white people have immigrated to South Africa from other parts of Africa following the independence of those African nations or when those nations became hostile to them. Many Portuguese from Mozambique and Angola and white Zimbabweans emigrated to South Africa when their respective countries became independent. South Africa also remains a prime destination amongst British expats. Meanwhile, many white South Africans also emigrated to Occidental countries over the past two decades, mainly to the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

Distribution

The proportion of White South Africans by municipality.

The density of the White South African population by municipality.

According to Statistics South Africa, white Africans make up about 9.2% (July 2006) of the total population in South Africa and are large minorities in many cities and provinces in South Africa; in Pretoria they are roughly 23.9%, East Rand 19.4%, in Cape Town 18.7%, in Port Elizabeth 16.5%, in Johannesburg 16%, and in Durban 8.9%. Their actual proportional share is likely to be higher, given the undercount in the 2001 census. It should also be noted that the above cities include nearby black townships, which are technically not part of the city, but politically are in the same municipality.

Romanticised painting of an account of the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck, founder of Cape Town.

Politics

White South Africans continue to participate in politics, having a presence across the whole political spectrum from left to right. In general, white people consider themselves to be just as African as the non-white majority in South Africa.^{[citation needed]} Former president Thabo Mbeki stated in one his speeches to the nation that: "South Africa belongs to everyone who lives in it. Black and White." The history of white people in South Africa dates back to the 17th century.

There has been some rivalry and bitter feeling between Afrikaners and English-speaking Anglo-Africans. This is due in part to the Second Boer War, Britain's attempt to anglicize the country during the first half of the 20th century, and Afrikaner nationalism.

Prior to 1994, the white minority held complete political power under a system of racial segregation called apartheid. Many white people supported this policy, but some others opposed; During apartheid, immigrants from Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan were considered honorary whites in the country, as the government had and maintained diplomatic relations with these countries. These were granted the same privileges as white people, at least for purposes of residence.^[2] Black Americans were sometimes granted an 'honorary white' status as well, based on the government's belief that they were "civilized" and possessed western values.^{[citation needed]}

Today, the majority of white people support the Democratic Alliance, a liberal party led by Helen Zille, the Premier of the Western Cape.^[3]

In April 2009, ANC president Jacob Zuma caused friction over statements he made about the validity of White South Africans as "Africans". He said "Of all the white groups that are in South Africa, it is only the Afrikaners that are truly South Africans in the true sense of the word." These remarks have led to the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) laying a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against Zuma.^[4]

Current trends

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In recent decades there has been a steady proportional (and maybe even numerical) decline in the white African population, due to higher birthrates among the non-white population of South Africa.^{[citation needed]}

More recently, the improved counting of the majority black African population, the under counting of white Africans in the census figures and emigration have contributed to a sharp decline since 1994.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, upon the abolition of apartheid, white Africans comprised 13.6% of the population, compared to 11% today.^{[citation needed]} According to some previous census data, the highest proportion of white people in South Africa was around 1911, when they made up between 19-21% of the population.^{[citation needed]} It is estimated that at least 800,000 white Africans have moved abroad since 1995.^[5]

Like many other communities strongly affiliated with the West and Europe's colonial legacy in Africa, the white Africans are often economically better off than their black African neighbors, but have nonetheless surrendered political dominance to majority rule. There were also some white Africans in South Africa who lived in poverty--especially during the 1930s. Current estimates of white poverty in South Africa run as high as 12%.^{[citation needed]}

The new phenomenon of white poverty is often blamed on the government’s Affirmative Action employment legislation, which reserves 80% of new jobs for black people and favours companies owned by black people (see Black Economic Empowerment). Over 350,000 Afrikaners may be classified as poor, with some research claiming that up to 150,000 are struggling for survival.^[6][7]

There have been increasing incidents of racism against white South Africans since 1994. In particular the actions of racist police personnel towards white victims has attracted media attention.^[8] Several white South Africans who have been held in overcrowded cells because of minor offenses have also taken legal action against the South African police. In some cases, legal action has been taken against The Minister of Safety and Security as some have been raped and assaulted by other suspects (often rape and murder suspects) held in the same cell.^[9]

There are 40,000 white farmers in South Africa. Since 1994, close to 2,000 farmers have been murdered in tens of thousands farm attacks in South Africa, many brutally tortured and/or raped. Some victims have been burned with smoothing irons or had boiling water poured down their throats.^[10]

In recent years, there have been high numbers of British expats relocating to South Africa. Among the British expat population, South Africa ranks as the 6th most popular destination and is ranked as the top destination amongst British retirees and pensioners.^{[citation needed]}

By 2005, an estimated 212,000 British citizens were residing in South Africa. Since 2003, the numbers of British expats coming to South Africa has risen by 50%. An estimated 20,000 British expats moved to South Africa in 2007. The reasons cited by many expats are South Africa's family values, the weather and a better quality of life.^[11]

Several white South Africans in predominantly wealthy white suburbs such as Sandton have been affected by the 2008 13.5% rise in house robberies and associated crime.^{[citation needed]} In a study, Senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Dr. Johan Burger, said that criminals were specifically targeting "richer" suburbs. Burger revealed that several affluent suburbs are surrounded by poorer residential areas and that inhabitants in the latter often target inhabitants in the former. The Dr. also related to an entitlement complex that criminals have; "They feel they are entitled, for their own sakes, to take from those who have a lot". The report also found that residents in wealthy suburbs in Gauteng were not only at more risk of being targeted but also faced an inflated chance of being murdered during the robbery.^[12]

The current global financial crisis has slowed down the high rates of white people emigrating overseas and has led to increasing numbers of white emigrants returning to live in South Africa. Charles Luyckx, CEO of Elliot International and a board member of the Professional Movers Association said that in the past six months leading to December (2008), emigration numbers had dropped by "10%".Meanwhile he revealed that "people imports" had increased by 50%. ^[13]

Notable White South Africans

Science and Technology

• Allan McLeod Cormack, Physicist (Nobel Prize, Medicine 1979)
• Christiaan Barnard, Surgeon who performed first successful human heart transplant
• Mark Shuttleworth, Founder of Ubuntu Linux
• Max Theiler, Virologist (Nobel Prize, Medicine 1951)
• Sydney Brenner, Biologist, (Nobel Prize, Physiology/Medicine 2002)

Arts and media

• Allister Sparks, Writer and journalist
• Andre Brink, Novelist
• Antjie Krog, Writer
• Breyten Breytenbach, Writer and painter
• Charlize Theron, Academy Award-winning actress
• J. M. Coetzee, Novelist (Nobel Prize, Literature 2003)
• Nadine Gordimer, Writer (Nobel Prize, Literature 1991)
• Dave Matthews, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter
• Seether, Rock band with commercial success in the US.
• Taubie Kushlick, actress and theatre producer.
• Sonja Herholdt, recording artist
• Jani Allan, columnist and radio commentator.
• Tom Gribble, radio producer and lead singer of Lizard Larceny, the world's most famous Doors cover band.

Politics

• DF Malan former Prime Minister of South Africa
• Eugene Terre'Blanche leader of the AWB
• FW De Klerk former State President
• Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd prime minister of South Africa, primary architect of Apartheid
• Joe Slovo former leader of the South African Communist Party
• Helen Zille leader of the Democratic Alliance and Premier of the Western Cape
• PW Botha Former State President of South Africa
• Helen Suzman anti-apartheid activist and MP.

See also

• Volkstaat
• Afrikaners
• Anglo-African

References