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Glen Snyman, pictured, was never pale enough to call himself a “European” under the apartheid racial rule. But now, in a democratic, supposedly non-racial South Africa, he is not dark enough to call himself “African.”
The Western Cape teacher lived most of his life through racial classification, he was told who he was during apartheid, but it had never occurred to him that he would experience that humiliation again in democratic South Africa.
“I’m very tired, my head hurts non-stop. It was a traumatic experience, but I’m glad it turned out like this. What I want now is to get my life back. I’m glad I still have my job, “he said yesterday.
The 42-year-old teacher at Grootkraal primary school in the Karoo region made headlines recently when he was accused of fraud after he allegedly identified himself as “African” on his CV for a position at another school in 2017, but had indicated “colored ”In other documents.
The disciplinary charges were dropped after educational MEC Debbie Schafer stepped in and ordered an investigation, finding that Snyman had been identifying himself as “African” for years and that this “is extremely personal and sensitive.”
As the founder of People Against Race Classification, it is ironic that Snyman has become a victim of the demon he has been defending against for more than a decade. He declined to discuss the matter because he had not yet heard from the Western Cape education department.
“I learned from the news reports that the charges against me have been dropped but have received nothing official from the department. I had a lot of people calling after that, but I’m sure the department is busy with it, ”Snyman said.
Also Read: Fraud Charges Against ‘Color’ Teacher Unnecessary, Says Legal Expert
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), a Chapter 9 institution charged with promoting the protection, respect and observance of human rights, investigating violations and ensuring reparations, has launched an investigation. But CEO Tseliso Thipanyane admitted the delay in acting on the matter and said those affected were supposed to file a complaint.
He said the law allows him to act on a complaint or take his own initiative, and said he had issued a press release expressing concern about the matter but did not act.
“Those affected were supposed to file a complaint. I think that’s where there could have been a mistake, so people would assume a complaint would come. But then we said if there was a complaint or not, this is a matter that justifies our intervention, “said Thipanyane.
He said that although the Western Cape education department had dropped the charges against Snyman, this was a very sensitive issue that he would have to decide how to address. Thipanyane said the justice portfolio committee was already interested in how the commission would approach the matter.
The commission will also seek to establish whether the official use of racial categories from the apartheid era leads to human rights violations.
According to the SAHRC, the government uses a racial self-classification system in order to collect data for the national census, but it also uses apartheid-era racial categorizations to seek and measure redress for unfair discrimination, through special measures. aimed at achieving greater substantive equality.
“A delicate balance needs to be struck between the need to promote human dignity while recognizing the importance of self-identification, while simultaneously developing and implementing special measures in a comprehensive manner to achieve substantive equality,” the commission said in a statement.
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