Men who outed race video speak

2008-03-02 18:26

Bloemfontein - Two senior residents of the University of the Free State's Khayalami men's residence were surfing the network Strong DC++, Kovsies' intranet, last Monday afternoon looking for the film Jumper.

Then, Thabo Makgalagadi and MS Ngubeni (known as "MD") saw four residents of the Reitz men's residence demonstrate what they "really think of integration".

"At first we thought it was a joke. But then we realised our mothers (the cleaners who were shown on the video) were being harassed. They were bribed with alcohol to do all those terrible things."

"First, we wanted to show all the students on the campus what was going on there. Then we also sent it to e.tv, CNN and the BBC. And then to the university management."

The other residents of Khayalami were upset all over again about "the humiliation" and "the audacity" that went with the video.

In the meantime, representatives from the BBC, Swedish news services and the local media are tramping the UFS campus to talk to students about the infamous Reitz video.

"It is an absolute reflection of what is happening on campus at the moment," said a Khayalami resident.

The black students said the "video" was the straw that broke the camel's back and that it played a very small role in the bigger picture.

"At the beginning of the year, during rag, the white barmen refused to serve alcohol to black students. There isn't a trace of integration on this campus.

'Begin from the beginning'

"Forced integration, which is what they (university management) are doing now, will never work.

"They must first close everything down - all the residences. Then they can begin again."

Thabo, MD and their friends said Afrikaans also should be shown the door.

It was one of the reasons they believed integration never would work at UFS.

"The white students sit in the Afrikaans classes and the black students sit in the English classes. There is never any interaction between us."

- Rapport