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<h2>Are some groups really acting in best interest of Afrikaans and Afrikaners?</h2></div><div style="vertical-align:top;height:40px"><div id="artiFunc">
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Picture: THE TIMES</div>
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<p>THIS piece was originally written in
Afrikaans. This is important not only to make clear who my target
audience is, but also to show that I am proud of my language and the
culture I associate it with.</p><p>Somebody recently asked me whether
Afrikaners have a future in SA. While I cannot answer the question, my
biggest fear is that, with our current attitude, we won’t have a future
anywhere in the world. I often stand and watch, with shock and
disbelief, how people like Steve Hofmeyr and groups like AfriForum
appoint themselves as representatives of an entire group of people, my
people, in SA.</p><p>But it is only then that I realise that these
actions are condoned by the silence of Afrikaners with a different view.
The #AfrikaansMustFall protests at the University of Pretoria raise
several issues, and it is time for a different Afrikaans perspective to
see the light of day.</p><p>Over the past few days we have witnessed
Afrikaans and nonAfrikaans-speaking students making statements on social
media, attacking one another on campuses across the country, and how a
situation that initially focused on a language policy of one university
inevitably escalated into the racial segregation that goes along with
it.</p><p>A few years ago, as a new (Afrikaans) student at the
University of Pretoria, I asked myself how the institution managed to
have only two languages of instruction — Afrikaans and English.
Arguments in favour of this approach included that the University of
Pretoria was traditionally an Afrikaans institution, and should surely
have the right to protect its heritage.</p><p>I was further told that
Afrikaans is the third ‘biggest’ language in SA, and therefore deserved
its place as a language of instruction. Notwithstanding the fact that
this argument would probably only hold up in the Western Cape, I wasn’t
convinced that a public institution could justify giving Afrikaans
special treatment in a tertiary setup.</p><p>As an Afrikaans student,
with a love for my language, I was very worried about the future of
Afrikaans. Ironically, it was one of my Afrikaans lecturers who
convinced me that a language was not preserved through formal
applications such as using it as a language of instruction, but rather
within the home, in the arts and in literature. There is a fine line
between preservation and enforcement in this context, and often it is
only a matter of perspective.</p><p>Where Afrikaans-speakers view the
language policy at the University of Pretoria as a well-intended attempt
to preserve the language, the other 90% of our population asked
themselves why they did not have the option or privilege to receive a
tertiary education in their mother tongues.</p><p>I want to make one
thing very clear, that would explain my constant emphasis on the
difference between "public" and "private". There are many differences
between public and private institutions, one of which is the receipt and
expenditure of public funds. Public funds include taxes paid by me and
you, and every other taxpayer regardless of colour, culture or language.</p><p>There
are very specific guidelines on how public funds should be spent, some
of which are prescribed by the South African Constitution and entrenched
in the Bill of Rights.</p><p>Technicalities aside, one of the
overarching objectives is to achieve equality, even in the spending of
public funds. It thus follows that a private institution would have more
freedom to develop its own policies and decide on how to spend its
funds than a public institution of the same nature. The University of
Pretoria is a public institution.</p><p>I look at the actions of
students over the past few days, and I ask myself what the purpose of
this is. The #AfrikaansMustFall students have made their demands clear —
unless all other South African languages are added as languages of
instruction, Afrikaans should be removed. A basic principle of equality.</p><p>However,
the opposing group, proudly led by AfriForum, is willing to fight for…
for what? The survival of Afrikaans? Or the perpetual implementation of a
language policy that clearly favours a small part of our population?</p><p>I
am shocked at how easily students resort to violence to oppose changes
that reflect reality. I don’t understand the purpose, the strategy. Take
a step back, do some introspection and ask yourself if it is really
necessary to resort to violence — not for the survival of our language,
but for the unjustifiable privilege to receive public tertiary education
in Afrikaans. Are you really acting in the best interest of Afrikaans,
and Afrikaners, for generations to come?</p><p>There is a famous English
quote that reads "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". I am
sure that groups such as AfriForum believe in their own twisted,
uninformed way that they are indeed acting in the best interest of
Afrikaans and Afrikaners.</p><p>However, I refuse to be represented by a
group that is often associated with racist remarks. I refuse that my
language and my culture be defined by shortsighted deeds of exclusion,
exception and superiority. If we as Afrikaners and Afrikaans-speakers
want to have a future in this country, in any country, we need to learn
to admit when we are in the wrong, to play by the rules and to stand up
for what is right — not only for ourselves, but for everyone.</p><p>While
English is not our mother tongue, is does make sense to have it as a
language of instruction. Not only is it meaningful given that most work
environments operate in English, but it is also common knowledge that it
is the language with the least amount of social baggage in the South
African context.</p><p>It is time for Afrikaners who are serious about
the future of Afrikaners, Afrikaans and SA to look into the future, to
stand up against radical groups that threaten our existence in
self-serving ways, and to become part of this debate in a constructive
manner.</p><p><a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2016/02/25/are-some-groups-really-acting-in-best-interest-of-afrikaans-and-afrikaners">http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2016/02/25/are-some-groups-really-acting-in-best-interest-of-afrikaans-and-afrikaners</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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