Page 2 Portland Observer, July 7, 1982
PSU sponsors swim m ing lessons
Feds appeal refugee release
Local youngsters ages 6 to 12 can
learn to swim like Vikings during
this summer’ s special “ V ikin g
Swim-In” at Portland State Univer
sity. The new series o f swimming
classes w ill be held during July and
August in PSU’ s Olympic-sized
pool.
Red Cross-certified instructors
who are upper-division PSU physi
cal education m ajors w ill teach
classes in three skill levels: beginner,
advanced beginner and intermedi
by C. Eddie Edmondson
The federal government says it
will appeal an order by U.S. District
Court Judge Eugene Spellman last
week to release ‘ 'fo r th w ith ” the
nearly 2,000 Haitian refugees held
in detention camps in Florida fo r
nearly a year.
In a packed courtroom last week,
the judge announced a seven-point
plan conisdered generally favorable
to the refugees. Besides ordering the
release o f the Haitians “ forthw ith,”
Spellman’s plans guaranteed im m i
gration hearings fo r the H aitians
within 30 days after their discharge
from the camps. In addition, under
the plan, the Haitians would be al
lowed to remain free if they receive
an unfavorable ruling from the INF
until all appeals were exhausted.
The plan also allows tor both in
dividual and government-approved
volunteer agency sponsorship o f
refugees, w ith emphasis being
placed on resettlement out o f the
state of Florida.
Three weeks ago, during negotia
tions between the justice department
and^ttorneys representing the Hai
tians, the federal government an
nounced its own plan for release of
the Haitians. Under that plan the
Haitian refugees could be released
from detention i f they posted a
monetary bond and obtained legal
counsel. The plan was later ruled
unacceptable.
In Washington, the Justice De
partment released this statement:
“ We believe that in issuing its own
plan the court has exceeded its au
thority. The Second Circuit (Court
o f Appeals) stressed that the discre
tionary parole authority rests by law
with the District Director—the A t - 1
torney General’ s designate—not
by John Kane-Berman
The South African economy grew
by 8 per cent in real terms in 1980
and about half that figure last year.
Despite this performance—which
was one o f the best in the w orld—
the government reported at the end
o f 1981 that black unemployment
stood at 12.4 per cent. Some demo
graphic experts believe the position
is even worse: they argue that the o f
ficial yardsticks for measuring black
unemployment arc unsatisfactory
and that the real figure could be as
high as 25 per cent. Some econo
mists say that unemployment
among blanks has grown so large
that it is now an endemic structural
problem which is affected only mar
ginally by the periodic ups and
downs o f the business cycle. One ex
pert has indeed expressed the fear
that about six m illion South A fr i
cans, nearly all o f them black, w ill
be out o f work in the year 2000—an
unemployment rate o f some 35 per
cent.
ideology before jobs
A part from the problem o f the
high birth rate among South A fr i
ca’ s 20 m illio n black people, the
economy is unable to generate or
import enough capital to finance the
thousand new jobs that need to be
created every day to keep pace with
demand. And even if there were
enough capital available for the in
vestment levels required, there exists
alongside unemployment a severe
skills shortage that makes business
men think twice before expanding
their factories.
Yet another major problem is that
apartheid ideology takes precedence
over the government’ s stated com
mitment to reducing unemploy
ment. It frequently happens that
employers have to fire black work
ers who do not have the necessary
permission to live and work in the
86 per cent o f the country designat
ed as the “ white” area. This area in
cludes most o f the main industrial
centers.
Under the pass and influx laws,
all black A fricans ate prohibited
from working in the “ white” area
without official permission recorded
in pass or reference b o o k s which
they must carry on their persons at
all times on pain o f arrest Only a
minority o f blacks possess the neces
sary permission, which is based on
place o f birth or long service or resi
dence.
own swimming suits and towels.
Free parking is available on campus.
After successfully completing the
course, Swim-In participants will be
awarded Red Cross certificates and
special Viking Swim-In tec shirts.
The V iking S w im -In is cospon
sored by the PSU A lu m n i O ffice
and PSU’ s School o f Health and
Physical Education.
For more in fo rm a tio n , call the
Alumni Office at 229-4948.
Fred Meyer
-
S h op p m q Cent«*”
»
Super Shopping Centers
Help Lower Your
Cost of Living. . .
Haitian refugees in Krome Avenue detention camp in Miami.
with the court.” The Justice Depart
ment said it would appeal Judge
Spellman’s decision.
A spokesperson fo r the Dade
County Bar Association, which has
been providing legal assistance for
the refugees, said, “ The impact (of
Judge Spellman's decision] is on the
standard o f justice and the kinds of
principles that this country should
abide by. That is a standard that ef
fectuates the release o f the Haitians
and allows the immigration hearings
to go forw ard in an orderly man
ner."
The head o f the Haitian refugee
center in M iam i, the group which
filed the first law suit against the im
prisonment o f the Haitians about a
year ago, said the happiness o f the
H aitian refugees in the detention
centers will not be complete.
Your nearby Fred Meyer Super Shopping Center is filled with "People Pleasing" services to
make your shopping more pleasant. Wide, spacious aisles, friendly helpful clerks and under
cover parcel loading are just some of the "People Pleasing" services to you. Plus
every
day low prices on thousands of items you use and need everyday help lower your cost of liv
ing.
Because we re open 9 a m. to 10 p.m. daily, including Sunday, you can shop when you
W ANT to, not when you HAVE to. Come in anytime and "funshop" in a pleasant, relaxed
atmosphere.
Walnut Park
“ Happiness in the concrete real
ity ,” he said, “ would be to get out
of these camps.”
Interstate n .
Apartheid boosts unemployment
(Editor's note: The following
article is reprinted from ILO
Information, the bulletin of the
U.N. International Labor Organ
ization 1
ate.
Parents can choose from two con
venient Swim -In sessions, July 12
to 23 or July 26 to Aug. 6. The two-
week courses are held Mondays
through Fridays. Limited to 12 stu
dents to ensure individual attention
the classes are each 45 minutes long
and begin at 7:45, 8:30 and 11:15 in
the morning. Price for ten lessons is
$15 per person.
Students must be at least 4 feet, 6
inches tall, and should bring their
Anas imposed
The rationale o f the pass system is
the authorities’ strong desire to min
imize the numbers o f blacks in the
“ white” towns and farming areas so
that the white m inority there is not
outnumbered by too great a margin.
But the rural “ homeland” areas—
the other 14 per cent o f the country
—are so overpopulated and pover
ty-stricken that thousands upon
thousands o f blacks move illegality
to the cities in search o f work. Some
are lucky enough to find it, but be
cause their passes are not in order
their employers risk a fine for hiring
them. The maximum fine was re
cently increased from R .I00 to
R.500 (equivalent to $500 at present
exchange rates), with the result that
many employers are now firin g
these "ille g a l” workers rather than
risk the higher fine.
Employers w ill not norm ally be
given permission to im port black
workers from the “ homelands” un
less they can prove that no labor is
available locally, from large urban
townships such as Soweto, near Jo
hannesburg. As these urban black
townships also have a high level o f
unemployment fewer and fewer
people from the “ homelands” are
given permission to work in the
“ white” areas. Since the higher fine
was introduced, some employers
Peninsula
w ill not even grant black job appli
cants an interview unless they can
prove that they have official permis
sion to be in the “ white” towns.
Fencing them off
Lom bard a t In te rsta te
6850 N. Lom bard
Plenty of Free and Easy Parking
O pen 9 am to 10 pm daily, includin g Sunday.
-»
The Black Sash—a voluntary o r
ganization that attempts to assist
black people who fa ll fou l o f the
pass laws, commented in a recent
report: “ It is infinitely easier for a
white man to come to South Africa
from E urope—the state w ill even
pay for him to do so— than it is for a
black South A frican to come in to
town from a rural area.”
Since it is practically impossible
fo r the high level o f black unem
ployment to be eliminated or even
significantly reduced, it appears as
if the authorities have decided for
security reasons to confine it to the
remote “ homeland” areas rather
than allow it in to the “ w h ite ”
towns.
N.E. K illin g s w o rth at U nion
«
—
Imports
At Wholesale Prices
Desk
*710 list
$462 our price
The idea o f erecting fences
around the "homelands” to prevent
people whose passes are not in order
from leaving them is now being dis
cussed in government circles. A l
ready, border posts have been set up
between the Ciskei “ homeland”
and South A fric a ’ s Cape Province
to prevent “ illeg a l” blacks from
leaving the Ciskei fo r jobs in the
"w hite” area.
é'
Flashlight
$20 our price
♦43 list
1C
!■
I l
■3 / >
1
Marble Table
*1 0 8 8 list
7
.$695 our price
*3 7 list
*1 4 4 list
Burglar
*1 8 list
9.95
our price
SOLAR COMPANY
South African youths look through fence thet seperetes them
from white community near Johannesburg.
2 8 3 -4 0 0 3
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