— Canadian letter from South Africa (Canadian Ted Tafel, a member of the National Citizens Coalition, is familiar with 20 African countries and has worked in the Sudan. Recently he and wife Ginger paid their first visit to South Africa, touring that country for a month. The following are excerpts from his letters home.) FIRST IMPRESSIONS are often the best, and we can say (Johannesburg) is certainly the most progressive, modern, clean and, on the surface at least, happy city we’ve come across in Africa. Where else have we been? Well, for example: Algiers, Tunis, Lagos, Lome, Benin City, Bujum- bura, Nairobi, Ouagadouga, Younde, Cairo and a few others. Feople of ail colors seem to be gcing about their daily business and multi-racial restaurants, businesses, etc. are certainly the norm. We have yet to see any racial animosity despite the two- to-one ratio of black to white in Joburg. And we have yet to see any indication of places reserved for either black or white. Certainly, no obvious signs, etc. To suggest from the above that all is sweetrress and light vould be stretching things, obviously, but large bodies of troops or police, if present, are well behind the scenes. (Not, for example, like Israel, where the army and guns are ev- ery:vhere.) Last night we visited a family ... ‘one small portion of our conversa- tion ernbarrassed me as a Cana- dian. In order to visit their family in Canada, these very fine people had to go to London to get a visa because Canada has withdrawn its consulate. , FRIENDLY After four days in Jo’burg and now the second day in the vicinity of Capetown, not to mention the drive through central SA, we have concluded that the lousy public relations knocks this country gets are contrived by all the tourist resorts of the rest of the world get- ting together to persuade prospec- tive travellers not to come here. BEER ly. integrity. end-seek for drug users. NOEL WRIGHT ON VACATION Strong message HE RECENT ruliug that stripped Ben Johnson of two world records sends out a strong miessage to athletes there is only one way to win: honest- The anti-doping ruling, which erases the world re- cords of confessed drug-users three years retroactively, is the shot in the arm amateur sports needs. It promises that violators will get their just desserts, rewarding clean athletes for their sportsmanship and If this war ou steroids is consistent and all-encom- passing — as it should be — it could ultimately purge amateur sports of steroids. Sport would once again be 2 test of body and mind, rather than a game of hide- Ard the International Amateur Athletic Federation ruling doesn’t only speak to athletes of oz interna- tional calibre. it is both a warning and encouragement to the next generation of athletes, working their way up through community and school level sports. | BY TED TAFEL | We have classed this our favorite touring country (along with Tasmania). That takes into ac- count its wonderful, friendly, courteous peopie (black and white) and the glorious scenery, and the excellent facilities. One can travel anywhere in Soweto, but it is advisable to take a guided tour, as we did. I think one of the most serious thoughts the guide left with us as he drove through the very poor, virtually slum section: ‘‘This is the only part of Soweto the western media come to take pictures.’’ (Despite pro- paganda to the contrary, much of Soweto is residential and pro- sperous.) We were shown the beautiful, all-brick, walled-in home built by Winnie Mandela. Neither she, nor any of her family, have ever lived there, we were told. Wiy not? It seems Winnie collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from chur- ches all over the world and then built this home. Of course, that money was donated for the ‘‘poor of Soweto.”’ Apparently, the locals had second thoughts about Win- nie’s use of the money and threat- ened to necklace anyone who moved in. The house remains emp- ty. CARS CHEAP Care for another SA price? Res- taurant beer . 65 cents equivalent. Retail for a BMW car? So help me, $10,500 Canadian. ih We drove from Capetown and followed the western auto road ... and spent the night in Clanwilliam .-. we did stop in a few of the small towns to reinforce our grow- ing opinion that, regardless of race or color, the folk who live off the land respect each other and each other’s turf even more so than North Americans. Prote Mike Wakefield ANDREA MILLER of West Vancouver will be a guest speaker at Saturday’s Walk for the Environment, along with the chiefs and elders of Cache Creek’s Bonaparte Indian Band. Also heard will be Toraun- to’s Elizabeth May, environmental lawyer Thomas Berger and repre- sentatives of the Musqueam Indian Band, which is hosting the event and performing the opening ceremonies. The walk begins at 12 noon at Kitsilano Beach and winds its way to Queen Elizabeth Park, where Participants can get environmental information from a number of groups and hear the speakers and entertainers. For more information on the walk, call organizers at the Western Canadian Wilderness Committee, 683-8220. / GNDARELLD 1989. Ginger noted in passing after we had commented on the South African towns we had been coming through: ‘‘Almost every house looks like it has been freshly painted."’ And, she might have added, their gardens appear as if they have been professionally looked after; they’re so well tend- ed. GOOD SCHOOL Today we had an opportunity to question (an American) who has two children of her own in the (school) system. Here, the students al. wear uniforms and, as she points out, it is a blessing that ao one can tell by the clothing who is rich, who is poor. Also, strict clothing and personal appearance rules are enforced —: and discipline can still be applied by teachers and principals; even caning when con- sidered appropriate. Say what you like, she is adamant when she totally approves of this system which turns out polite, respectful kids. Those black kids we've come across seem to have much the same training and respect. Adults of both races who have come out of this “‘beastly’’ system are, for the most part, simply mirror images of the training their parents and schools and churches give them. Oh yes, the church is still an im- portant part of most of their lives and religious educaticn still part of the school curriculum. Both whites and blacks were most friendly and decent to us and we were never subjected to vitriolic demonstrations we might have ex- pected. South Africa may never be able to arrive at solutions that will serve the best interest of the ma- jority — but the problems are theirs and they should be permitted the courtesy of being allowed to solve them. From the July issue of OVER- VIEW, the organ of the Toronto- based National Citizens Coalition dedicated to “‘More freedom through less government.”’ cheating won’t pay. Some die-hards think Big should keep the Olympic gold Already facking credibility, Therefore the timing of this decision couldn’t have been better. Announced at the top of radio and televi- sion news, shouted from front page headiines, kids fearned the very day they returned to school that scapegoat, unfairly singled out. They still insist he’s the fastest man in the world. But that’s like saying he up later and, after all, he feit so darn bad about it. cords have been erased — an encouraging signal to young athletes who don’t need a boost from science that honesty is the IAAF’s best policy. THE VOICE OF NORTH ANG WEST VANCOUVER north shore Disptay Advertising 980-0511 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Newsroom 985-2131 Publisher ........... Peter Speck Managing Editor... Barrett Fisher Associate Editor ..... 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