Stabbing of Canadian couple will reignite Huntley debate

When white South African Brandon Huntley was granted asylum in Canada after he claimed he was the victim of racist violence, many of us — Richmark Sentinel included — went pear-shaped and labelled the board who had approved it a bunch of morons who never took the time or trouble to investigate the reality of the situation.

South Africa, after all, does not condone racism in any form and had this panel bothered to check their facts they would have noticed that Huntley was one of five million whites, rather than some sort of isolated survivor from the switch from apartheid to a multiracial democracy.

The Canadian government then slammed the ruling as perverse, irrational and based on a “jaundiced assessment” of South Africa.

This however is all going to come under intense scrutiny following the stabbing of two white expatriates, now living in Canada, who were hiking in Fernkloof Nature Reserve near Hermanus.

Janet and Martin Stern were stabbed in the back, pushed to the ground — where Martin was hit in the face with a rock — robbed and then bound. They managed to break free after their assailants had left and summoned help from the Joubert family from Bloemfontein. They were hospitalised and fortunately have been released.

If you Google this story, with reference to Canada, you will find that all their newspapers have covered it and will no doubt be following it up with the Sterns upon their return home. Questions will probably be asked about the so-called “jaundiced assessment” of South Africa by the board — whether in fact it was not accurate after all.

The fact that nowhere (correct me if I’m wrong) does it appear what race the attackers were, is not going to be noticed in the clamour to regard South Africa as a no-white zone.

The Canadians are going to spin this over and over and form the opinion that South Africa is not the place to go if you are white. Their government might tell them of the reality — the South African tourism board might paint a vastly different picture, but each time we send home body bags and victims of extreme violence — the damage done to South Africa’s reputation is enormous.

Canada is by no means unique, with examples from many countries around the world.

Worse, South Africa is also not a country for black foreigners either, as the horrendous violence of xenophobia demonstrated.

Countries who risked enormous backlash from the apartheid regime in order to liberate black South Africans watched in horror as their citizens were attacked and killed, driven into sanctuaries and were subjected to verbal abuse.

It was an absolute disgrace and a kick in the teeth for South Africa’s African friends.

Recently we were even treated to claims of a new threat in the form of the “yellow peril” which makes one shudder at the thinking that has to be going on behind that one.

The answer to this national disgrace is not to tell the police to shoot anything that moves, as an innocent three-year-old boy found out recently. It lies in a credible criminal justice system underpinned by politicians who walk the talk.

A good example of this is Kader Asmal in his quest to find justice over Judge John Hlophe. Give the man a medal and pin his picture up in Parliament — there is a role model for the government to follow.

South Africans need to think long and hard about this culture of violence and intolerance so that some day they can laugh off the claims of the Brandon Huntley’s of this world. That day is unfortunately still some way off.

Merry Christmas.