THE PORTRAITS

Jeremy: “The Capetonians are fabulous people and collectively over the last 25 years, they have managed to build an exciting, multicultural city out of the ashes of Apartheid. The vast majority there are warm, welcoming, considerate human beings desperate to make a success of the future of South Africa. Notably, in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, they have so far managed to achieve something quite remarkable, which is to leave many of the road names and statues that have colonialist associations in place, these serving as a history lesson for what must never ever be allowed to happen again. Whilst political Apartheid is thankfully long dead, sadly economic Apartheid lives on. And we’ve remarked over recent visits to the country that there is a small minority of very rich white people who still flaunt their wealth as they fly in their sports cars past those in need: the beggars in the gutters and outside the fancy restaurants, most of whom come from the non-white communities. Beyond the tragedy of all this, what is scariest of all is that it surely only fans the flames of the rising movement to allow the non-white ‘have-nots’ to grab back land and possessions from the white ‘haves’. And we in the UK cannot stand in judgement either, as we too are home to a tiny minority of filthily wealthy people who hang onto their gold and pay little back in tax, to the detriment of all around them. The onus must surely be on everybody in a multicultural society to ensure they do their bit towards a fair future for all, and if not voluntarily then by persuasion. Such persuasion must always follow a balanced, legal path, but I understand that in South Africa the great fear is that it might take a violent one instead, in the process unravelling all the goodwill built up over a quarter of a century.”