A court on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 issued a landmark ruling classifying Chinese as black, making them eligible for benefits for those discriminated against under the former apartheid regime.
Under the apartheid rule the Chinese were classified as black, and then later on as colored. However, after the birth of democracy fourteen years ago, the Chinese were no longer recognized as any official color. With the the dawn of the new democratic government, South Africa embraced new legislation including the Black Economic Empowerment and other affirmative action policies. These were raised as support for black access to discounted shares offered by large companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Blacks were also given preference for top business positions.
To be brief, lets just say the Chinese wanted back some kind of racial recognition and fought in court in Pretoria (ZA capital) to tap into these privileges, thus be called black.
I feel this democracy is turning back in Apartheid sometimes - except the table has turned. As my comrade Salma says: You have your blacks on top, and the whites on the bottom now. Salma doesn't speak of the statistics that prove her wrong, the ones saying the typical white South African still has the upper hand. But she's referring to the mentality that cannot be measured in BBC's or CNN's numbers. The sense of entitlement is amongst many individuals oppressed during Apartheid. I just don't think we should fight back with hypocritical color systems that were once seen as unjustified.
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