Introduction

In recent years, South Africa has been through a process of political transition. This process was (and still is) indeed remarkable, since it was brought about mainly by means of dialogues, negotiations, compromises and mutual agreements between the various political parties involved. Owing to intense international and local political pressure, most of the oppressive legislation associated with the Apartheid regime had already been abandoned before 1994. Yet, it was only with the first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, that this country, for the first time in its history, achieved a legitimate democratic government.

The exclusionary and oppressive nature of previous policies demanded radical rectification or rationalisation to amend the social and political arrangement. The new political order had to be reflected in and established by means of new legislation, strategies and so forth. Terms like ‘affirmative action’, ‘redress’, and ‘historical imbalances’ became the rhetoric of the day and subsequent implementation policies literally forced many whites from their ‘pound seats’. Many blacks, on the other hand, found themselves in positions of authority, with those people whom they addressed as ‘Baas’ only a year or two previously, as their subordinates. These were (and still continue to be) drastic, dramatic and even traumatic changes, clearly implying, apart from the external, tangible changes, a severe and intense impact on the emotional lives of South African citizens.

In Part 2 I tried to illustrate the intensity and extent of this inner personal turmoil, brought about by the social and political transformation of this country. Although I have described my catharsis from the point of view of an Afrikaner, who above all, expresses a willingness to transform and adhere to the superstructural aspects, there is reason to believe that my own personal turbulent transformation process merely reflects a general phenomenon: Although the nature and the extent may vary, one can assume that most South Africans are currently engaged in processes of personal transformation.

‘Political’ and ‘personal’ transformation

There is a general tendency, especially amongst politicians, to conceive of social transformation in political terms. For many people, social transformation implies merely attending to structural aspects, neglecting and marginalising the equally important aspect of personal transformation.