December 8, 2006

by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean

Barely 12 years ago, it would have been impossible for me, even as Governor General of Canada, to walk freely, to sit on a bench in public, or to enter certain buildings in South Africa. At that time, if you were black, “coloured,” or of Indian descent, you faced indignities, even the total denial of your humanity, on a daily basis. Barely 12 years ago, the South African government was structured entirely on the notion of the supremacy of the white race. You have to visit the compelling Apartheid Museum, and see the places of detention, torture and degradation; go through the archives, listen to the women and men who lived through the terror, who fought it or who were its victims to fully realize the cruelty, horror, disgrace and injustices of a system that was relentlessly, fundamentally racist in all its laws, administration and entire social, economic and political structure. Just before arriving in South Africa, I was in Ghana, where I visited one of those castles on the west coast that served for over three centuries as detention centres for millions of men, women and children later deported to the Americas on slave boats.

The apartheid regime was built on the same doctrine of dehumanization. After decades of resistance and fighting, the regime fell to democracy; the formerly oppressed triumphed, and today, with a great deal of courage, wisdom and determination, they are working to heal wounds, bridge gaps, rebuild lives, have constructive dialogue, find reconciliation, and defuse resentment with a citizen emancipation pact. The will to live together, with the same rights and dignity, in a multiracial, multicultural South Africa with 11 official languages is wonderfully expressed in a constitution that unites the new social and citizenship project of a country that has a real desire to pick itself up and break free from its past. It is a great dream and a great challenge because the scars, the lines in the sand are still quite visible. They are there between the beautiful, shaded neighbourhoods with colourful gardens and the treeless colonies of shantytowns, burned by the sun. On one side, the giant, glowing, opulent infrastructure of the West, on the other, extreme misery and poverty. Apartheid left behind a very high level of tolerance for violence, and a lot of frustration and mistrust, especially towards the police. The unemployment rate is higher among black people, who were denied access to education under apartheid. There is the HIV/AIDS epidemic: five million people are infected and over two million children have been orphaned. There are great hopes for a better life and they must be addressed soon, especially the hopes of a whole generation that has never known the sting of indignity, nor the sacrifices made and the battles fought for an entire people to be free.

A number of concrete efforts are being made by both those in power and civil society. For our part, Canada supported the anti-apartheid movement, and today we still stand beside South Africa and have solid partnerships in a number of sectors; we are also involved in cooperative projects that are changing and saving lives. During my visit, I saw a number of projects that touched me, including the one supported by the Cirque du Soleil, the Zip Zap Circus; it is a circus school where seropositive children, street children and children of all races work together. We support an incredible assistance network, which allows young seropositive mothers to take action, to have access to medication, to support one another and to organize awareness campaigns. There are a number of other initiatives that show the unwavering pride of the South African people and prove that a spirit of solidarity still exists.

?tés d??A?2o4 sud avec un partenariat solide dans de nombreux secteurs, des actions de coopération qui changent et qui sauvent des vies. J’ai été témoin de projets extrêmement émouvants sur le terrain, notamment celui appuyé par le Cirque du Soleil, Zip Zap Circus, cette école du cirque qui amène des jeunes toutes races confondues, des jeunes séropositifs, des jeunes de la rue à être et à travailler ensemble. Ce magnifique réseau d’entraide que nous appuyons et qui permet à de jeunes mères séropositives d’agir, d’avoir accès aux médicaments, de s’épauler et de mener des campagnes de sensibilisation. Quantité d’autres initiatives, qui témoignent de la fierté indémontable du peuples sud africain et d’un grand esprit de solidarité encore vivant.

Barely 12 years ago, it would have been impossible for me, even as Governor General of Canada, to walk freely, to sit on a bench in public, or to enter certain buildings in South Africa. At that time, if you were black, “coloured,” or of Indian descent, you faced indignities, even the total denial of your humanity, on a daily basis. Barely 12 years ago, the South African government was structured entirely on the notion of the supremacy of the white race. You have to visit the compelling Apartheid Museum, and see the places of detention, torture and degradation; go through the archives, listen to the women and men who lived through the terror, who fought it or who were its victims to fully realize the cruelty, horror, disgrace and injustices of a system that was relentlessly, fundamentally racist in all its laws, administration and entire social, economic and political structure. Just before arriving in South Africa, I was in Ghana, where I visited one of those castles on the west coast that served for over three centuries as detention centres for millions of men, women and children later deported to the Americas on slave boats.

The apartheid regime was built on the same doctrine of dehumanization. After decades of resistance and fighting, the regime fell to democracy; the formerly oppressed triumphed, and today, with a great deal of courage, wisdom and determination, they are working to heal wounds, bridge gaps, rebuild lives, have constructive dialogue, find reconciliation, and defuse resentment with a citizen emancipation pact. The will to live together, with the same rights and dignity, in a multiracial, multicultural South Africa with 11 official languages is wonderfully expressed in a constitution that unites the new social and citizenship project of a country that has a real desire to pick itself up and break free from its past. It is a great dream and a great challenge because the scars, the lines in the sand are still quite visible. They are there between the beautiful, shaded neighbourhoods with colourful gardens and the treeless colonies of shantytowns, burned by the sun. On one side, the giant, glowing, opulent infrastructure of the West, on the other, extreme misery and poverty. Apartheid left behind a very high level of tolerance for violence, and a lot of frustration and mistrust, especially towards the police. The unemployment rate is higher among black people, who were denied access to education under apartheid. There is the HIV/AIDS epidemic: five million people are infected and over two million children have been orphaned. There are great hopes for a better life and they must be addressed soon, especially the hopes of a whole generation that has never known the sting of indignity, nor the sacrifices made and the battles fought for an entire people to be free.

A number of concrete efforts are being made by both those in power and civil society. For our part, Canada supported the anti-apartheid movement, and today we still stand beside South Africa and have solid partnerships in a number of sectors; we are also involved in cooperative projects that are changing and saving lives. During my visit, I saw a number of projects that touched me, including the one supported by the Cirque du Soleil, the Zip Zap Circus; it is a circus school where seropositive children, street children and children of all races work together. We support an incredible assistance network, which allows young seropositive mothers to take action, to have access to medication, to support one another and to organize awareness campaigns. There are a number of other initiatives that show the unwavering pride of the South African people and prove that a spirit of solidarity still exists.

?tés d??A?2o4 sud avec un partenariat solide dans de nombreux secteurs, des actions de coopération qui changent et qui sauvent des vies. J’ai été témoin de projets extrêmement émouvants sur le terrain, notamment celui appuyé par le Cirque du Soleil, Zip Zap Circus, cette école du cirque qui amène des jeunes toutes races confondues, des jeunes séropositifs, des jeunes de la rue à être et à travailler ensemble. Ce magnifique réseau d’entraide que nous appuyons et qui permet à de jeunes mères séropositives d’agir, d’avoir accès aux médicaments, de s’épauler et de mener des campagnes de sensibilisation. Quantité d’autres initiatives, qui témoignent de la fierté indémontable du peuples sud africain et d’un grand esprit de solidarité encore vivant.

by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean

Barely 12 years ago, it would have been impossible for me, even as Governor General of Canada, to walk freely, to sit on a bench in public, or to enter certain buildings in South Africa. At that time, if you were black, “coloured,” or of Indian descent, you faced indignities, even the total denial of your humanity, on a daily basis. Barely 12 years ago, the South African government was structured entirely on the notion of the supremacy of the white race. You have to visit the compelling Apartheid Museum, and see the places of detention, torture and degradation; go through the archives, listen to the women and men who lived through the terror, who fought it or who were its victims to fully realize the cruelty, horror, disgrace and injustices of a system that was relentlessly, fundamentally racist in all its laws, administration and entire social, economic and political structure. Just before arriving in South Africa, I was in Ghana, where I visited one of those castles on the west coast that served for over three centuries as detention centres for millions of men, women and children later deported to the Americas on slave boats.

The apartheid regime was built on the same doctrine of dehumanization. After decades of resistance and fighting, the regime fell to democracy; the formerly oppressed triumphed, and today, with a great deal of courage, wisdom and determination, they are working to heal wounds, bridge gaps, rebuild lives, have constructive dialogue, find reconciliation, and defuse resentment with a citizen emancipation pact. The will to live together, with the same rights and dignity, in a multiracial, multicultural South Africa with 11 official languages is wonderfully expressed in a constitution that unites the new social and citizenship project of a country that has a real desire to pick itself up and break free from its past. It is a great dream and a great challenge because the scars, the lines in the sand are still quite visible. They are there between the beautiful, shaded neighbourhoods with colourful gardens and the treeless colonies of shantytowns, burned by the sun. On one side, the giant, glowing, opulent infrastructure of the West, on the other, extreme misery and poverty. Apartheid left behind a very high level of tolerance for violence, and a lot of frustration and mistrust, especially towards the police. The unemployment rate is higher among black people, who were denied access to education under apartheid. There is the HIV/AIDS epidemic: five million people are infected and over two million children have been orphaned. There are great hopes for a better life and they must be addressed soon, especially the hopes of a whole generation that has never known the sting of indignity, nor the sacrifices made and the battles fought for an entire people to be free.

A number of concrete efforts are being made by both those in power and civil society. For our part, Canada supported the anti-apartheid movement, and today we still stand beside South Africa and have solid partnerships in a number of sectors; we are also involved in cooperative projects that are changing and saving lives. During my visit, I saw a number of projects that touched me, including the one supported by the Cirque du Soleil, the Zip Zap Circus; it is a circus school where seropositive children, street children and children of all races work together. We support an incredible assistance network, which allows young seropositive mothers to take action, to have access to medication, to support one another and to organize awareness campaigns. There are a number of other initiatives that show the unwavering pride of the South African people and prove that a spirit of solidarity still exists.