WILLIAM GUMEDE | Nothing has been done post-apartheid to address trauma and insecurity

SA has gone the wrong way about rebuilding the state, fostering democracy, implementing development projects and combating societal violence. The results are clear: a failing state, poor development outcomes and frightening levels of everyday violence.

Rebuilding a state, fostering democracy, securing inclusive development and boosting peace in countries coming from traumatic experiences, such as apartheid, racism and civil war, need different approaches from conventional ones — used in SA since the end of formal apartheid in 1994.

The challenge is, mass trauma leaves individuals, families and communities so broken, many struggle to engage fully in the life of intimate relationships, democracy, the state, development initiatives, business and in the workplace. This makes state and democracy building difficult, undermines development efforts, stunts entrepreneurship and canlead to social breakdown. Worse, unless this is tackled, it may continue to be passed on to future generations. 

At the heart of it, is that these authoritarian regimes leave many victims with the “feeling that the self has no foundation” any more. It leaves many with pervasive, deep-seated, and persistent feelings of angst, insecurity and fear of the future. It batters self-worth, disfigures the sense of self, and makes it difficult for individuals to reach their full potential. It leads to inferiority complexes.

Traditional, cultural, communal and religious beliefs which undermine human rights, dignity and equality must be jettisoned. New beliefs, traditions and cultures based on human rights, equality, and dignity, must replace harmful ones.

The corrupt enrichment of the few and uncaring attitude by many ANC and government leaders, leaving expectant former disadvantaged communities stuck in chronic poverty, hopelessness and violence surroundings, hasreinforced the sense of insecurity among many of them.

At an individual level, it has led to inferiority complexes, self-hatred, lack of self-love, low self-esteem, low tolerance, not feeling worthy, high levels of anger, resentment and bitterness. Susanne M Dillmann writes that trauma even distorts the ability to give or receive love.

Victims of colonial, apartheid, chronic poverty, civil war and failed state trauma frequently live for the now because no future appears imaginable — and what they have, their lives and property can be taken from them in a moment by autocratic governments, local criminal gangs or vigilantes from other ethnic groups.

Societies emerging from trauma may fall into victimhood more easily — blaming former colonial powers (often rightly so), other communities that look different from them and foreigners (which is why we see the high levels of xenophobia in SA) — rather than pro-actively building a new future.

Crucially, it destroys the agency of individuals: the ability to act on one’s own will, despite the constraints of belief systems one has grown up with, others’ perceptions of one and a limiting environment. 

Unless state building, development, empowerment and workplace development programmes tackle the deep-seated insecurity that trauma leaves victims with, it will not only affect the individual, undermining their health, bringing toxicity into their personal relations, impairing their decision-making, it will also bring toxicity into the state, development and empowerment programmes and the organisations traumatised individuals work for.

Leaders or employees within the state, democratic institutions, private sector, civil society, or political parties with low self-esteem, lack individual agency and with inferiority complexes, are likely to make toxic, short-term, self-interested decisions, against the public interest and undermine development, democracy building and social order.  

Restoring the agency, the security and the sense of self of victims of oppression is one of the key conditions for democracy building, sustainable development, and violent and unsocial behaviour, that follows terror regimes. However, very little has been done by theSA state, business and civil society to the address this in the hearts of many formerly disadvantaged individuals.

In the vacuum, the danger has been that former disadvantaged individuals often deal with their insecurity, by embracing tribalism, populism and xenophobia. It has also led to violent crime, drug and alcohol abuse. Many have withdrawn from civic life. Many others have low levels of tolerance for differences.

Victims often vote for political movements and leaders from their own ethnic group, who they shared a struggle history with or who make violent threats against perceived “enemies” even if these movements and leaders are corrupt, incompetent or act against the victims’ interests.

Victims therefore regularly vote against their own interests. Trauma bond voting repeats cycles of voting for incompetence, corruption and for the continuation of poverty, which reinforce the harms of colonialism and apartheid, and their own individual insecurity.

Democrats would want the insecurity to be filled by new democratic values and cultures — and by the best (most democratic) elements of cultural, religious, and spiritual values. All organisations — the state, educational institutions, religious, sport and cultural organisations, business, civil society, and the media, will have to actively help tackle this mass insecurity left by our traumatic past.

Traditional, cultural, communal and religious beliefs which undermine human rights, dignity and equality must be jettisoned. New beliefs, traditions and cultures based on human rights, equality and dignity must replace harmful ones. Patriarchy, based on inequality in gender, social class and age, which operates as an ideology in all African countries must be got rid off.   

Self-love, self-esteem and agency assertion will have to be taught at all levels of society, whether nursery workplaces or sport clubs, given the reality of broken families — where it is unlikely to be nurtured.

This means all other areas of human interaction — social, religious, cultural, and political organisations — should include self-love, agency assertion and self-esteem, as part of their induction, training and wellness programmes.

Self-care, self-esteem, self-love should be compulsory components of all government empowerment, public works, and community building programmes. Recipients of government social grants, financial support and scholarships must be compelled to attend civic, democracy and self-esteem, self-love and self-care programmes.

It is crucial that there are more platforms where ordinary people can talk to others about their individual trauma, tell their stories and reflect with others. The state should consider deploying an army of community counsellors — which could also be a practical form of job creation — across the country to provide support.

Simple localised community-driven memorials, monuments and histories with local stories should be rolled out. Conscious breathing, meditation and volunteering are crucial tools to build self-love, self-esteem and agency that should be introduced more widely across society. We need a civil society movement to restore self-love, self-esteem and individual agency — through co-ordinated campaigns across the country.

The post-apartheid state must treat citizens with dignity, care and efficiency. The post-apartheid state, in many instances, treats disadvantaged communities with similar disdain as the apartheid state did. 

Delivering quality public services, making the country safe, creating job, business, and empowerment opportunities and strengthening democracy, will help boost the self-esteem, self-love and individual agency of the former oppressed.

Lastly, it is crucial that ordinary citizens stop voting based on the past, based on struggle credentials and based on ethnic, colour and party solidarity. They must vote on merit — for those who are honest, competent and compassionate, even if they do not share the colour, religion or past — or they and their offspring will stay stuck in feelings of insecurity, inferiority complexes and lack of agency for generations.

William Gumede is associate professor, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, and author of Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg). This article is based on a keynote address to Breathwork Africa’s Umoya Breathfest, held at the Cradle of Humankind, Johannesburg, September 18-22 2022.