RochesterFirst

‘There’s always hope’: Key leaders in ending South African apartheid apply lessons learned to American political climate

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Apartheid became the law of the land in South Africa in 1948 and it wasn’t until nearly half a century later that the rule was lifted in the early 1990s. The system of institutionalized racial segregation took many key leaders to dismantle, including Mohammed Bhabha and Roelf Meyer.

The pair were instrumental in the negotiations to end apartheid and now they are spending their time traveling the U.S. having community conversations to help Americans apply their lessons learned to the state’s current political climate.

Bhabha is a former member of Parliament and former negotiator for the African Conference, while Meyer is the former minister of defense for South Africa, both titles which carry huge responsibilities. With their experience and knowledge, the two are sharing the South African experience on how they succeeded in overcoming the racial divides they lived through.

“As you can imagine, apartheid over centuries brought about divides, that led to a huge lot of mistrust. I came to the table in the first instance, when we started dialogue, as enemies, but through the process of talks and dialogue, and eventually negotiations, we succeeded on becoming friends,” Meyer said.

“Absolutely, if we could do it. Anybody can do it. And as Roelf says, after centuries, there’s always hope,” Bhabha agreed.

While the South African apartheid took place very far away geographically, Meyer and Bhabha explain there are many lessons that Americans take away, including how the pair who were once defined as “enemies” are now friends traveling the world, telling their story.

“I’m not just using the word enemies in a light way. We were staunch enemies, we hated each other. The fact that we can sit here gives you that sense of hope that anything can be overcome,” Meyer said. “We loved our country. And whatever we did, in whatever approach we took, we made sure that the country comes first.”

The former South African leaders are in Rochester for a community conversation at Temple Sinai in Penfield on January 24 hosted by hosted by Civic Genius, Beyond Conflict, and the University of Rochester Democracy Center. Ahead of the discussion, Bhabha and Meyer say they hope attendees can walk away knowing change is possible.

“We’ve learned so much over the years from the U.S. I came here for the first time in 1982 and I’ve always been fond of the U.S. I’ve always been in love with the US. And what I think we have observed in recent times is that there are tensions like you have in all societies at some point of time. We are not free of tensions in South Africa for different reasons today, but I think it’s that experience that we have on how to move from real factionalism, dividing society towards a point where we’re working together for the better of the country as a whole. And I think that is what we would like to share from our experience and like a moment to say, ‘give hope that it can be done.’ If we could do it, then everybody else should do it,” Meyer said.

To attend the community conversation starting at 7 p.m., can click here to reserve a spot.