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Race Relations
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Norman Sakhile Mncube (right) converses with students at his school in Wakkerstroom. Each week,
he and Themba Thusi, another tourism guide, teach students about
environmental issues and other pertinent information that can help the
students gain self esteem and move forward.
Norman had a rude awakening after finishing high school
in 1994. As the ANC came to power, promising blacks a brighter future,
he discovered that skin color would still determine his family's
future in the small rural village where he grew up. Norman became
bitter and angry as he looked for a job and for a way to obtain land
tenure for his family. "Nobody wanted to listen to me. All I wanted to
do was to help my family live a better life," he said.
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Since 1991, Norman's family has been
threatened or subjected to violence nine times by commercial farmers and
their farm workers. Last year, his brother (left, at the Mncube's house) was brutally beaten
by a group of whites who accused him of stealing and killing one of their
cows. Norman recalls how around 40 men, mostly white, arrived at his
house late one night and assualted his brother at gunpoint.
They took him for a drive, stopped to tie his hands and feet, and then
brutally beat him for three hours. No investigation followed.
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Norman grew up on a farm and watched his father (right) perform back-breaking labor
for four different white bosses. "I don't think the last boss even knew
my father's name," he said. These and other events left Norman feeling like he was not a citizen of
his own country and had nowhere to go.
Then Norman met Elna Kotze. "At first, I
thought she was the enemy and that she did not care about the blacks," he said. "I
wanted to know, "Who were these white people telling us we should be
concerned about the environment?'" However, during his training to become a tourism guide
he said, "I discovered that she is a lady very true to
what she is trying to do for the community."
Norman said he now feels that he is on a path that leads to a future. He feels empowered to
change his life and influence those around him. With each new tour
group he guides, he hopes to serve as an example and foster better
understanding of his culture. He believes tourism is the only remaining solution
to bring blacks and whites together in South Africa.
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