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They fear the authoritarianism prevalent in much of black Africa. They fear the thought of undereducated blacks in control, though they themselves are answerable for the low level of black education in South Africa. They are afraid of being wiped out. But by their very size (4.9 million) and power, they can control the pace of black advance in a way that vastly smaller white minorities could not do elsewhere in Africa. In discussions of power sharing, they have the strength to demand a federal or confederal system in which their rights would be assured.
Among South African moderates, too, a debate has been under way for years as to where the country is heading, whether Armageddon will ever come. Many are convinced that new approaches must be tried, as demonstrated by public-opinion surveys suggesting that large numbers of whites would consider power sharing, and fully expect to live some day in an integrated society. Says Slabbert, the 45-year-old Afrikaner liberal who heads the Progressive Federal Party: "I think Afrikaners are now more willing to explore possibilities of coexistence, and that is definitely a new development." Alan Paton, the author of Cry, the Beloved Country and onetime leader of the now defunct Liberal Party, says, "The tide has turned. There are some people who expect that we're going to go from low tide to high tide in two years' time. But I have absolutely no doubt that a difficult and painful process of evolution is going on, evolution for the better." Afrikaner Theologian Nico Smith notes that some of his friends find it strange that blacks are not more appreciative of reform. Says he: "Sadly, many Afrikaners can't understand that blacks are now comparing their circumstances with those of the whites of South Africa, not the blacks of other parts of Africa."
Asked what South Africa requires today, Cape Businessman Jannie Momberg replies, "It may sound crazy, but what we need for the next ten years is enlightened dictatorship. Not for the black population, but for the whites. I think we're going to have to force through certain things against the whites for the sake of the country." If he were the President, says Momberg, "I'd bring Chief Buthelezi into my Cabinet. I'd scrap the bloody three-way Parliament and bring the whites, the Indians and the coloreds into one body, and then I'd look for a federal solution for the next phase, bringing in the blacks."
Most thoughtful whites and blacks would probably agree that somehow they must find a way to live together. Says Ntatho Motlana, a black physician in Soweto: "It's a sort of love-hate relationship. But when you get down to it, the relationship exists." A number of African leaders, including Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, have said that they accept the white South Africans as Africans. "They cannot be pushed over Table Mountain into the sea," Kaunda once said.
Jannie Momberg is also optimistic about black attitudes at home. "Blacks do not usually go around shouting 'Kill the whites,' " he says. "I've seen more black-white race hatred in the streets of New York than I have in South Africa. There is an enormous reservoir of goodwill to be found here. This is what will save this country in the end."