'Educate yourself about SA's past': Water scientist takes on racism

A water resources scientist has lashed out against racism in the wake of the Maselspoort incident in a Twitter thread that has sparked an unexpected wave of warm responses and support for her views.

Carin Bosman, who specialises in environmental, water resource and waste management and governance in South Africa, said she battled to fall asleep on Thursday after her angry outburst but woke up on Friday to positive responses, including from academics such as Prof Jonathan Jansen .

Bosman, who grew tearful as she explained what had prompted her to write the post, told TimesLIVE: “I am not in politics, I work in water. And that makes you see things in this country that other people don’t see. So when I saw people hitting children, it really got to me. And I thought we need to stop this bullshit of lies and get to a place of understanding so we can make a difference.

“I didn’t grow up rich. But I went to a school where there was toilet paper in bathrooms that children couldn’t fall into. And now I see people living off dump sites where they have to fight off baboons for a piece of cabbage.

“It’s 2022 and people are chasing children away at a pool.”

Her message is a plea for a better understanding of South Africa’s complex past and for those who moan about infrastructure problems such as load-shedding to understand there are many people who don’t have water.

Here is Bosman’s thread, as she wrote it:

“Look, I have entertained myself today with the racists, but we as Afrikaners have to understand a few things loud and clear if we want a better future for the children of South Africa. We live in Africa — if you think that you are ‘special’ because of the lack of melanin in your DNA, then move to Russia, please.

“If you want to make a future for yourself and your family in South Africa, then start educating yourself on the history of your own damn country. Educate yourself on the history of South Africa, not just the whitewashed Nazi history that the apartheid masters wanted to teach you between the 1950s and 1980s, but the real, ugly parts of the history as well. And don't get affronted if some of those lessons show us up as the bad guys.

“Go do your own ‘research’, find out why ‘die Genoodskap van Regte Afrikaners’ (Society of True Afrikaners) gave themselves that name in 1866 ... Because yes, there were other people who also spoke Afrikaans, but who had brown skin, and they had to be excluded. Go research the reason for the Anglo-Boer War and the effect of the war, not only on white people, but also on the black people of this country. Go research the reasons for the 1914 rebellion and the reasons behind the Groot Trek, and then maybe you will start to understand...

“Understand why the ANC was established in 1916 in Bloemfontein nogal. Understand the state of a defeated people after 1902 and understand the reason for the Mine Rebellion of 1922. Understand the global context of the 1920s and 1930s, and the reason for the Nazification of many white poor, who believed that Hilter will 'help' them, in the same silly way some Dudebros thought Drumph will come and help them. Those OssewaBrandwag Dudebros (literal Nazis) came into power in 1948 and literally implemented Hilter's ‘solutions’ in South Africa from 1948 to 1994.

“Then continue to educate yourself about the stolen election of 1948, the one won by the #WhiteSupremacists calling themselves the National Party. (Wakkerstroom is a clue here) And then read what the opposition said, people like Sailor Malan, Slimjannie Smuts, NP van Wyk Louw...

“And then educate yourself about the atrocities of the apartheid government. And yes, this may be hard, because some of you or someone you know could have been involved in committing these crimes. And then ask yourself — why did this happen?

“That's the hard part, because that's when you need to start educating yourself about the legacies of apartheid that still linger today. The stench of a white mechanic who does not want the kid of a black professor to swim in the same pool with him, for one.

“Then learn about systemic racism and how it continues to persist in our society. Access to water, access to refuse removal, access to basic services, education, you name it. Things our fellow countrymen and women don't have simply because they were born with a different skin colour.

“And once you have educated yourself, then you can progress to the next step: Understanding and empathy. Understanding the need for something like BBBEE, although the implementation may be really wrong sometimes. Understanding the failure of the power grid because of two main issues: greed by some in power — yes, but also needing to provide power to 60-million people with a system designed to only produce power for 10-million (white) people. And stresses on water supply and lack of sanitation has the exact same cause — system designed for whites only.

“Once you have educated yourself and developed a better understanding, then you will be able to do something about it. Pull your hands out of your ass, stop whining about load-shedding, stop crying about 'farm murders', and do something to make South Africa a better place for everyone!

The end.”

It was this missive that sparked responses that ranged from nasty comments and a cartoon of hands ripping the South African flag to proudly display the old flag — contrasted with many warm messages of thanks and commendations for Bosman.

“What a read ... no filters. People like you should run for the presidency because you understand why things are the way they are. You’d also pull no punches in telling us black South Africans to whip our hands out of our ass and do some real work. You are my tribe Mam,” was one response.

“Just when the circumstances were starting to cause one to harden their attitude then, boom, along comes someone who brings sanity to the whole debate — proving that painting everyone with one brush is wrong. There's hope for South Africa. Racism can and will be defeated,” was another.

Reneé Pieterson responded: “Deep truth shared here, Carin Bosman. Fellow South Africans like you give lots of hope in our beloved country.”

And Michelle Torr wrote: “Thank you being brave. I had no idea so much was kept from us. I was taught only one side of our history — my father taught me the rest. I learnt as I grew older that we have so much to love and fight for. We all are responsible — good and bad.”

“Even I am learning Mama Bosman, and this thread wasn't exactly intended for me,” said another Twitter user.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.