Helen Suzman: A Light Unto the Nation

An interview with Helen Suzman

This week marks the 51st anniversary of the defiant march by South African women of all races on the Union Buildings (the executive branch of government’s headquarters) to protest against Apartheid’s iniquitous pass law system. In today’s democratic South Africa this event is officially commemorated as National Women’s day, which is used to showcase the contribution of women generally to the fight for freedom in this country. Consequently, it provides an appropriate opportunity to pay tribute to one particularly remarkable South African woman, Helen Suzman, who for over 36 years as a member of parliament confronted the architects of Apartheid’s racist laws on an almost daily basis.

Helen Suzman was born in Germiston in 1917 to Samuel and Frieda Gravronsky, Lithuanian immigrants who had come to South Africa to escape the worsening anti-Semitism of Eastern Europe. Her father, with his considerable business acumen and his strong work ethic, (a quality Helen has inherited) had become a successful businessman by the time Helen was born. In 1937 Helen married Mosie Suzman, an eminent physician, and had two daughters Frances and Patricia. Although this background is typical of South African Jews of her generation, Helen’s life has been anything but ordinary.

Determined to stop the growing ill treatment of black South Africans, in 1953 she stood and was elected to parliament. Utilising the tools afforded by the most important official organ of state in South Africa, she set about to expose the evils of the apartheid system. For 13 years she was the lone anti-apartheid voice in parliament. Nevertheless, she took every possible opportunity to speak out and ask challenging questions. Her arch adversary, Prime Minister Vorster, once complained that she was the equivalent of 12 opposition MP’s. Furthermore, she used her position to intercede with ministers and civil servants in an attempt to improve the lives of many of Apartheid’s victims. She earned the title ‘our lady of the prisons’ for her tireless efforts to improve the conditions for prisoners like Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.

In 1993 she was one of eleven South Africans appointed to the Independent Electoral Commission responsible for overseeing the country’s first democratic election. She has received numerous awards, including 27 honorary doctorates and has been nominated twice for a Nobel Prize.

Last Sunday, Helen graciously agreed to share her thoughts about current events with me over tea. Almost before I had a chance to sit down, visibly upset, Helen pointed to the front page story in one of the weekend newspapers on the worsening Zimbabwe refugee crisis. ‘Something must be done about this’, she declared. ‘We can not just stand by while these people starve to death’. Helen has been one of South Africa’s most outspoken critics of Mugabe’s wretched regime. So much so that in 2001 Mugabe declared her ‘an enemy of the state’, an ‘honour’ for which she is extremely proud.

Helen doesn’t hide her outrage at President Mbeki’s continued policy of quiet diplomacy. ‘Mbeki should threaten to instruct Eskom to turn off the lights, she insists and then adds ‘like Vorster did when Ian Smith went ahead with his unilateral declaration of independence’. But this doesn’t seem likely. Even after his mediation efforts were snubbed by Mugabe, Mbeki has continued to refuse to even condemn, let alone stop, the gross human rights abuses taking place in Zimbabwe. Helen worries that this may be indicative of the president’s tacit support for Mugabe’s policies. His anti-Western message resonates strongly with many African leaders for whom the wounds of slavery, colonialism and apartheid are still raw.

The conversation shifts to South African foreign policy more generally. Zimbabwe is not the only rogue state that South Africa has been embracing. The government’s support for regimes like Burma, Iran and Sudan in the United Nations Security Council is disturbing and represents a betrayal of the human rights based foreign policy Helen (and for that matter the ANC itself) espouses. When I added that Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma had recently visited Belarus, one of the last relics of Soviet autocracy, she just shook her head disappointingly. ‘Can you believe that they even awarded her an honorary professorship from the Belarusian State University’, I protested. With a wry smile, she replies, ‘oh well that’s one “honour” that I have missed out on’. The Belarusian State University is not exactly renowned for its support for liberalism.

Although grateful to have witnessed the repeal of Apartheid’s racist laws and the birth of democracy in South Africa, there is much (in addition to foreign policy) that Helen finds disappointing about the new dispensation. HIV/AIDS, crime and unemployment are her biggest concerns. She also criticises the government’s policy of Affirmative Action, which she believes is driving white people with much needed skills out of the country. Much of the conversation however is devoted to her pet hate our parliamentary proportional representation system. She is a strident opponent of the party list, arguing that it promotes corruption and diminishes accountability. ‘Under the old constituency system we were answerable to our constituents, she protested. ‘If you didn’t perform you were out.’

Helen readily acknowledges that increased economic growth and foreign investment over the last few years coupled with the rising black middle class are significant positive achievements. Her academic background in economics provides her with an acute understanding of how this has created greater prosperity on a macro level in South Africa. But she is deeply concerned that the economic boom is not yet benefiting the poorest South Africans. ‘How much better off is the family living in a tin shack in Diepsloot (an informal settlement outside Sandton) more than 13 years after the end of Apartheid’, she asks and warns that the protests we have seen this winter over the lack of service delivery will grow bigger and more violent in the future if the ANC does not start to fulfil its 1994 election promise of ‘a better life for all’.

Helen, although having been ‘retired’ now for almost 20 years, is still regularly sought out for her political counsel. This particular Sunday she was in great demand with old Progressive Party stalwarts phoning to congratulate her on her latest political ‘triumph’. Helen, like many other outspoken critics of the President, has been maligned as an ‘illiberal’ by Ronald Suresh Roberts in his vicious new biography, Fit to Govern: The Native Intelligence of Thabo Mbeki. In true Suzman style, she hit back by making public a 1963 letter from ANC President Albert Lutuli thanking her for her ‘heroic stand’ against Apartheid in parliament. It was published in almost every newspaper in the country. ‘Friends were worried I had mellowed’, she said jokingly after putting down the phone. As her tussle with Roberts demonstrates, Helen is as formidable a political opponent as ever.

She continues to speak out on a wide range of topics including Israel. Last year, for example, she accused Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils of fostering anti-Semitism for likening the Jewish state to the Nazis. Although never having being a member of any Zionist organisation, Helen describes herself as a passive Zionist. She has over many years contributed to Israeli causes and has had thousands of trees planted by the JNF in her name. On two occasions she has visited Israel but has yet to see the Knesset in action.

The tea cups are cleared. It’s getting late now and so as a final question, I ask how she feels about South Africa’s future. ‘Hopeful but not optimistic’, she replies. An uncharacteristically cryptic answer from a politician renowned for speaking out ‘in no uncertain terms’ but a most valuable insight. We want to believe that freedom, whether from poverty or political repression, will ultimately prevail. But a positive outcome is by no means guaranteed. It requires in every generation people of conscience, like Helen Suzman, to stand up and be heard.

Comments

[Gary]

Interesting that after years of her opposing Apartheid, the ANC now debies her role in opposing apartheid.
The letter by albert Luthuli is a very important document.
Also interesting about Luthuli is that he was far closer to Mangosutho Buthelezi than he was to Mandela, Sisulu, Tambo etc.
Luthuli was the last leader of the ANC before the ANC became a front for the SACP.
The legacy of Luthuli is much a legacy for the IFP as it is for the ANC.
Buthelezi was Luthuli's protege.

[Katherine]

Fantastic post - well done! She sounds great - it must have been great to meet her.

by the by are you two gonna keep confusing us by posting in each other's names? hmmm?

[Steve]

Hi Katherine,
That was Mike's interview. For a while the site said "posted by Steve" for every post but I finally managed to remove it about two weeks ago.

[Steve]

Hi Katherine,
That was Mike's interview. For a while the site said "posted by Steve" for every post but I finally managed to remove it about two weeks ago.

[Katherine]

:) I thought you were just trying to keep us guessing. Is there really a Mike? Are there really two posters to this blog? What is my name? :) confusion reigns!

[Ryan H]

Great Post, Great Woman.

Showing your value as a value added blog rather than a rehash of everyone elses stuff.

At least someone has her head firmly on her shoulders, as always, my hero Helen