CAPE TOWN TEENS RELATE CHANGING VIEWS AND GLOBAL INTEREST

In the summer of 1993, Children's Express talked with five kids from Cape Town, South Africa, while that country was still under white minority rule.

They expressed optimism that the announced multiracial elections would do away with the last traces of the racist government that had dominated South Africa for more than 300 years.

The groundbreaking elections took place last April, and when the ballots were counted, Nelson Mandela - a former political prisoner - was sworn in as South Africa's first democratically elected president.

This August, we talked again with three of those children - Lawrence Wilson, Riyaan Simon, and Carmen Louw - to find out from a kid's point of view what's happening to South Africa after the elections.

Lawrence, 18, is white; Riyaan, 15, is Asian; and Carmen, 17, is colored. All attend Westerford High School in Cape Town, a biracial school which charges tuition and is considered one of the best academic schools in South Africa.

CE: Describe your lives before and after the election. What has changed and what hasn't?

LAWRENCE WILSON: To me there wasn't any change here at all because we live in a big city and we are kind of protected from all the violence and things that happen.

I think a lot of people's attitudes have changed . . . because now they are seeing the change and they are very positive about the future. And also, there's not a lot of violence anymore like you see on TV. It's pretty much safe for all persons.

CARMEN LOUW: Because of all the violence just before the election, I was very doubtful that South Africa would ever change. But after the election, I'm much more positive and I'm optimistic and I'm excited to see what's going to happen in the future.

CE: Through your eyes, what did the multiracial elections do for South Africa and for the world?

LAWRENCE: I think we're not as isolated as we were. More people are willing to help us out, (to) invest in our country.

RIYAAN SIMON: In sports, we have joined the Commonwealth Games.

CE: What do you think the new government will do for the kids of South Africa?

RIYAAN: I think the most important (job) for the new government is probably education. A lot of black children in . . . squatter camps . . . haven't got any education in there, and that is something to look forward to.

CARMEN: Yeah, I think we've had a definite improvement in . . . education and . . . the conditions of children growing up, because our country has got a lot of poverty, and I feel realistically it's going to be a long time before conditions become better for children in South Africa.

CE: Do you see hope for South Africa in the world economic market in the future?

LAWRENCE: In the near future, I don't think so. I think maybe in a year's time it might start picking up and we'll be able to be on the par with other countries, but we are now still going through a rebuilding process.

CE: During his campaign, Mandela promised higher taxes on whites and other measures to redistribute wealth into the black community. Has he enacted any of those measures, and what effect do you think they might have?

CARMEN: He's built houses for the poor.

LAWRENCE: He hasn't started taxing and taking (white people's) houses and things like that. I'm not sure when that's going to happen, or if it's going to happen. . . .

You'll find it harder to get into universities when you're a white person, because they will purposefully let black people into universities and jobs, and so it might have quite a harsh effect on myself. I'm not really worried at the moment.

CE: What would you do if you were in Mandela's shoes? What kinds of things would you change, if anything?

CARMEN: At the moment, there isn't any proper movement of non-white people into open schools because they don't live in the same areas as the schools. . . . It's the policy of urban schools that they only allow people (in) that live in the area of the school.

I would do away with that policy and allow anyone into the schools no matter where they live, as long as they could get there and back.

CE: Where do you see South Africa 30 years from now?

LAWRENCE: I think it's changing from a third-world country, which it is now, to a more first-world country, where everyone is . . . treated equally, (with) good education, good economic standing worldwide.

CE: What do you think you can do to help South Africa in the future?

LAWRENCE: Well, I'm in my last year of school, and what I'm planning to do next year is to become a town planner, which involves designing and developing housing . . . which I think is very important for the future, because there are a lot of people without adequate housing. So that's how I'll personally feel that I can . . . help a little bit.

CARMEN: Our people must adopt a more positive attitude. . . . We mustn't be scared to open schools, and non-whites shouldn't be scared to live with white children; white children shouldn't be scared to live with non-white children.

Children's Express will continue to follow the happenings in South Africa as the country progresses toward integration and worldliness. No one can predict which way South Africa will go, but in Lawrence's words, "Now, we hope for the best."