I am very seriously considering immigrating to South Africa, but am worried about the BEE laws. I am not complaining about the laws, but rather concerned as to where I fit in terms of South African notions of 'race.'
I was born in Poland, to a Polish mother and Moroccan father. My father is half Arab, half Berber ('indigenous North African'). I have Canadian and Polish citizenship, and also Moroccan (and therefore African) citizenship but I do not carry a Moroccan passport.
I never call myself white; of course I am 'caucasian' if such a thing exists, but I am light 'brown'-skinned for lack of a better term.
I think if I moved to South Africa, I would be judged by employers on the basis of my father's North African/Arab heritage, or on the flipside, entirely on my being born in Europe.
If I move to South Africa, it is important that I am not recognized as being white. So how does it work? When I apply for permanent residency, do I have to specify my race and/or nationality? Do I somehow get to choose where I want to fit in? Could I fit into the classification of 'coloured'? Are Arabs viewed as white or coloured?
I would be really upset to make the far move from Canada, only to realize I am considered white and therefore barred from the majority of jobs. Here in Canada, I am very clearly a visible minority, but by African standards, I may be seen entirely as white.
Could a South African shed some light on this issue?
I was born in Poland, to a Polish mother and Moroccan father. My father is half Arab, half Berber ('indigenous North African'). I have Canadian and Polish citizenship, and also Moroccan (and therefore African) citizenship but I do not carry a Moroccan passport.
I never call myself white; of course I am 'caucasian' if such a thing exists, but I am light 'brown'-skinned for lack of a better term.
I think if I moved to South Africa, I would be judged by employers on the basis of my father's North African/Arab heritage, or on the flipside, entirely on my being born in Europe.
If I move to South Africa, it is important that I am not recognized as being white. So how does it work? When I apply for permanent residency, do I have to specify my race and/or nationality? Do I somehow get to choose where I want to fit in? Could I fit into the classification of 'coloured'? Are Arabs viewed as white or coloured?
I would be really upset to make the far move from Canada, only to realize I am considered white and therefore barred from the majority of jobs. Here in Canada, I am very clearly a visible minority, but by African standards, I may be seen entirely as white.
Could a South African shed some light on this issue?
