Some in a "colorful" community nostalgic for apartheid

ELDORADO PARK – "These are blacks, the Rainbow Nation is a big lie!" Dalene Raiters, a South African mother of the "color" community, complains.

"We are not black enough," added his sister, who has also been unemployed for years.

"We are not part of this country.We were marginalized during apartheid and even now," lamented Dalene, who threw himself into a stalemate over discrimination which she claims she's a victim.

"Our people live like mushrooms, four generations together under the same roof," said Elizabeth Raiters, sitting in the living room of the family home located in the "colorful" suburb of Eldorado Park, a remote Johannesburg suburb.

In total, nine people – soon 10 with a baby – live in the property, which has a small room and a cabin in the yard.

Elizabeth asked for social housing to alleviate the difficulties – but that was 17 years ago and she failed. She is convinced that it is because of the color of her skin.

Apartheid legally divided South Africans into white, black, Indian and "colored" groups, a term referring to persons considered to be of the same race.

The vestiges of the system were swept away a quarter of a century ago and today the notion of race remains as discredited as segregation.

Yet, the term "colorful" is still widely used today – and complaints of exclusion are commonplace.

"We are constantly in the middle," complains Elizabeth, a woman with a small frame and hair held up by a headband.

The "colored" community itself also includes several ethnic groups, including the San (Bushmen) and Nama, two indigenous peoples of southern Africa.

According to Keith Duarte, a representative of the community living in Eldorado Park, they are often referred to as the "first nation" of the country.

In 1994, when the ruling African National Congress (ANC) spearheaded the fight against apartheid, was propelled to power, "we all felt that the ANC would represent us, would be inclusive" , did he declare.

"It was the biggest mistake of all time … We have to be treated on an equal footing," he insisted.

& # 39; MOUTON FORGOTTEN & # 39;

In the suburbs of Eldorado Park, where traffic lights are sometimes orange and red at a time, the small brick houses offer an illusion of comfort.

Behind each house, there are courtyards that house cabins made of everything that is available and that welcome whole families.

To enter Chesney Van Wyk's house – a three-square-foot (30-square-foot) hut – you do not have to push the door but lift it with both hands. It has neither handle nor hinge.

Van Wyk and his partner, who share a small mattress, use a small peach tree behind the door as a bag holder. The cabin, made of cardboard covered with plastic, is flooded whenever it rains.

Chesney manages to make ends meet thanks to the small jobs entrusted to him by his neighbors.

But today, he was focused on another task.

With dozens of other locals taking away picks and picks, Van Wyk cleared a vacant lot before tagging the locations of their future homes with branches.

"We claim this land, we know it's illegal, but every time we ask for a (social) house, we have to fill in some documents and they never come back to us," he said.

"For us, it's like we're the forgotten sheep."

During apartheid, "we were not white enough and now we are not black enough," he added.

& # 39; I PREFER THE APARTHEID & # 39;

"They say we are nothing, we are bastards, we are neither white nor black," said Violet Bouwers, a woman in her 50s who was also involved in clearing land.

Young people in the area have few job opportunities and many have turned to drugs.

In the township, a highly addictive crystallized methamphetamine hit sells for 50 rand.

The drug has ravaged many lives.

In April, three mothers filed a lawsuit against their drug-abusing children for attempted murder and domestic violence, said Dereleen James of the Yellow Ribbon Foundation, which fights against drug addiction.

A mother recently killed her hooked son.

"She could not stand it anymore," said James, before starting a long car chase for a young drug addict whose mother asked to be detained.

Patients, young and old, insist that they are in a difficult situation because of the color of their skin.

There are several detox centers in the commune where many people are victims of an unfair system.

According to official figures, this image of marginalization is somewhat different.

Household income in the "colored" community is twice as high as that of the black majority, which represents 81% of the population.

The unemployment rate is 30.5% in the black labor force and 23% in the "color" community.

"People of color have always been marginalized under colonial rule and apartheid," said Jamil Khan, a researcher at the Center for Diversity Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

"Post-apartheid South Africa has not addressed this heritage sufficiently aggressively."

The feeling of injustice persisted to the point that many members of the community complained of the fall of apartheid under which "colored" people no longer had the freedom to move nor to vote.

"Blacks have every opportunity," says the wife of Pastor Janice Jacobs, 49 years old.

"We were much more comfortable during apartheid, they provided us with a school bag with all the office equipment, we had nurses in the schools. order and discipline.If you turn on a place, you end up in jail.

"The apartheid government was used to taking care of education, health, housing." (This government) does not care about us. prefers apartheid. "