African Student Apartheid Victim
SUM ZINDELA of South Africa
By THORA WILLIAMS
Emerald Feature Editor
Slim Zahahlc Derrick Zindela
came to the University the hard
way—he was smuggled out of
South Africa in the back of a
truck.
His return would be even more
difficult, because it would require
overthrow of the apartheid sys
tem of racial discrimination But
Zindela. who has been granted
political asylum by Tanganyika,
is determined to do all he can to
end the white-supremacy laws of
his homeland.
A psychology major, he has de
voted his energies to the work of
the African National Congress,
the leading organization working
to end apartheid It is under
ground in South Africa but has
exile headquarters in Tanganyika.
As Zindela quietly explained
it, "I am 39 years old. I should
be married and raising a family.
But I am here because they asked
me to come and prepare myself
for reorganizing the educational
system at home. What I will do
depends on what the organization
decides.”
Zindela. who has been arrested
and imprisoned several times be
cause of his political activities in
behalf of the non-whites in South
Africa, said that “almost all" Afri
cans and "quite a few” whites in
his country belong to the African
National Congress. Membership
is considered a criminal offense
there.
Early in 1960, under instruc
tions of the organization, Zindela
left the country with 27 other
students. Charged with illegal en
try in Southern Rhodesia, and
after two months in jail, they
were sentenced to deportation to
South Africa.
However, on the train back,
they were able to escape in the
British protectorate Bechuana
land. They made contact with the
African National Congress offices
in Tanganyika, which sent a char
tered plane for them. Within a
year, they all had scholarships.
With help from the Afro-Ameri
can Institute, Zindela entered
OSU fall term, 1963. He trans
ferred to the University winter
term.
"Are conditions in South Afri
ca as bad as we hear?” This is the
question Zindela is most frequent
ly asked. Zindela says they are.
The blacks have an inferior edu
cational system, are faced with
job restrictions, generally have a
much lower standard of living,
are required to carry passes or a
"reference book,” need permis
sion to travel, he said. They are
not allowed to vote or participate
in government.
"They are often arrested for
minor offenses, like walking at
night, and sold to farmers for
specified periods," he said. "These
people arc treated like animals,
and I don’t think they will ever
be reconciled to the idea that
whites arc human beings."
Even so, the first job of the
African National Congress, he
said, will be to “teach the ordi
nary man that the white person
is not a beast.” He said the white
rulers have waited too long "Now
it's almost impossible for the
whites and Africans to come to
an understanding.
"Now the white man has to
hold on. He fears that if he gives
the franchise to the Africans he
will lose power and get killed—
which he probably would," Zin
dela said.
Zindela has little confidence in
the effectiveness of the United
Nations in overthrowing apart
heid. “The U.N. cannot do any
thing unless all of the countries
act together, but they never do,”
he said.
Still, Zindela has confidence
that a solution will come, even
though it may not be reached
peacefully. “The English have a
way of suppressing you without
making you feel the pinch,” he
said. “But since the boers have
gained power there has been ac
tive opposition.”
He said he is only one of thou
sands of Africans throughout the
world who are dedicated to the
overthrow of apartheid in South
Africa. If they should succeed,
how would the new African rulers
look upon the Western powers?
“Why should they be friendly
to the West?" he questioned. He
said the refusal of the United
States, Britain and France to end
trade with the ruling white su
premacists has helped maintain
apartheid.
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