“When I look in the mirror, I see a woman who achieved a lot” – Lindy Purity Cwele from South Africa

In our Newsportal series “We are Hapag-Lloyd”, we aim to introduce you to some individuals who might be different at first glance – but from whom we can learn a lot about appreciating diversity and accepting each other. We are very much looking forward to your comments and thoughts.

Today, Lindile Cwele (41) tells her story. She is Senior Coordinator Finance at Hapag-Lloyd in Durban, South Africa.

Lindile, you were a kid when apartheid, a system of institutionalised racial segregation in South Africa, finally ended in the early ’90s. Do you remember any apartheid-related issues?

No. I was born in the south of the country in a very rural area. The overwhelming majority of our people were Black, and only a few farmers or shop owners were White. I don’t recall any racial discrimination.

Did this change when you moved to Durban?

It didn’t. On the contrary, I had very good experiences. After school, young people would move to a big city to find a job. So I moved to Durban to be with my mom, who was a domestic worker for a white family. This family treated me like their own daughter and paid for my college fees.

Have you ever personally experienced racism?

I have. But not to the extent that I would feel totally discriminated against. People would comment on the clothes I wear, especially cultural clothes or on my hairstyle. But this is something I easily brush off. I just saw an advertisement promoting a certain shampoo. They showed a Black woman with natural hair and quoted “dry and damaged, frizzy and dull hair” and a White woman with slick hair with quote “normal hair”. Would I ever buy this product? Surely not, as this is disrespectful against black natural hair.

Can racist patterns still be seen in South Africa? And, if so, where?

Mainly when it comes to work. The government issued a policy of “Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment” (BEE) to enhance the economic participation of Black people. It was introduced in 2003 to correct all errors of the past. But companies abuse it. As a Black person, you might be officially employed as senior manager to benefit the company’s BBE status – but you might do very basic work far below your abilities. Companies get even better BBE status for employing women in management. Honestly, if you want to become a manager as a woman, you have to work three times as hard. What I find strange about BEE is that you cant tell if you are being offered a job because you are suitably qualified for it or to improve company’s BEE status. I had a colleague a few years ago passing a comment to me that “you are aware you are being offered this job because of BEE, right” I did not know whether to believe him or not. And even worse: I did not do anything about it. That made me doubt my abilities as a Black woman.

It is more difficult for Black people to find adequate work?

I think so. We have 52 million inhabitants, and 58% of them are Black. Why are minorities still much more successful in finding work than us? I believe this still derives from apartheid, and that the government is not fixing it correctly.

Are you against quotas?

No, I’m not, as they generally help us. But look at sports, for example. By law, soccer or rugby teams have to include a number of Black members. But wouldn’t it be better to have the very best people instead of looking at skin colour? So, wouldn’t it be fair to give the Black person a job when he or she is just as qualified as any other race?

How can South Africans overcome this?

By voting intelligently. The current government is just looking out for themselves and stuffing their pockets. We need to stop this. We need leaders who look out for the people and not for themselves. This unfortunately is an issue all over Africa.

We came to talk after you read the interview with Hapag-Lloyd employee Gorm Laursen from Atlanta/USA. You said you were extremely touched by it.

Yes, It was emotional to read. And I couldn’t read it until the end. I think there is much less racism in our country than in the United States. We have learned a lot from our dark past. Most of the racists of the old South Africa are dead and gone. We are a new and different country. Today, our schools are totally mixed, and it makes me very proud to see White kids speaking Zulu and practicing Zulu dances. Kids are raised to understand each other’s culture.

So you don’t seem to be a victim of racism...

No, not at all. When I look in the mirror, I see a woman who has achieved a lot in life. I had to work my ass off when I was young. My mom had to leave her domestic work to raise my nephew, because his mom passed away while giving birth. So I had to take my mother´s job to support the new baby and family back at home. But I never gave up my dreams and ambitions. I worked Monday to Friday, and I studied Saturdays. Today, I happily work for an international company with a high reputation. I am a single mom of two kids. And you know what? I am damn proud of how far I’ve come to date.