Ryanair’s Afrikaans’ test blunder damages Irish image in eyes of South Africans

On the morning of June 16th, 1976 thousands of schoolchildren in Soweto, Johannesburg started a peaceful march. They shouted: “Down with Afrikaans.” Soon they ran into a police barricade and a few minutes later the apartheid state’s police started to shoot indiscriminately at the students. The exact number is still not known, but it is estimated that on the day and during the horrors of the weeks that followed, about 700 children were killed. Thousands were injured.

This was to become known as the Soweto uprising and was a turning point in South Africa’s history. Since the dawn of democracy, the day has been commemorated as a public holiday.

What sparked the protests was a decree by the apartheid government that all students should be taught in Afrikaans — generally regarded as the language of the oppressor and deeply hated.

Today Afrikaans is one of the 11 official languages protected by our Constitution, but many (if not most) South Africans still treat it with disdain. After the Soweto uprising many people who were Afrikaans decided out of principle never to speak the language again.

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I was convinced that this was fake news but Ryanair responded to media inquiries confirming the questionnaire

I would never speak Afrikaans to someone (even though it is my mother tongue and home language), unless I knew for certain that they were Afrikaans and had no objections.

Imagine the shock waves that went through South Africa when it became known that Ryanair had been asking travellers carrying South African passports to complete a questionnaire of 15 questions in Afrikaans, before being allowed on to flights. Originally, I was convinced that this was fake news but Ryanair responded to media inquiries confirming the questionnaire. According to the company there had been increase in the use of fake South African passports and this was their way of screening.

“As language proficiency is the least intrusive further assessment method, this questionnaire is conducted through Afrikaans, one of South African’s most prevalent official languages,” they said.

I’m not sure who advised Ryanair on this, but whoever it was gave them the worst possible advice.

Here are the facts: South Africa has around 60 million people, of which just over 6 million (10 per cent) speak Afrikaans. Just as a comparison, 8 million speak isiXhosa and 11.6 million speak isiZulu.

Very few South Africans (of all races) who are not native Afrikaans-speakers would be able to complete any form or questionnaire in Afrikaans. In fact, of all the South African ambassadors who ever served in Ireland, I can only think of two (of whom I would be one) who would have been able to complete the Ryanair form.

The bigger problem is the racial implications of this policy. With less than 1 per cent of black South Africans able to speak Afrikaans, this policy would undoubtedly impact on black South Africans far more than other racial groups.

As a former African National Congress (ANC) MP remarked on a WhatsApp group: “This is again a way of keeping black South Africans out of Europe.”

Black people from all countries are all too familiar with being treated with a much higher level of suspicion and questioning by immigration officials in Europe than their white counterparts. I have often stood in immigration queues and watched how much longer it takes for black people to pass through immigration than white people from the same country.

Whether intended or not, Ryanair’s ill-advised and frankly idiotic questionnaire would only add further insult to injury.

Even though Ryanair is a global company, they are perceived very much as Irish and therefore this unfortunate event has damaged the image South Africans have of the Irish nation.

A number of other questions remain unanswered. First, why are airlines responsible for border control? Yes, they do have to ensure a valid travel document (ie not expired) and the necessary visas. However, unless the passport is obviously fake it is surely the job of immigration officials and not an airline to do border control?

Second, which other countries do Ryanair apply this to, or is it only to South African passport holders? If so, why? Surely, South Africa doesn’t have a monopoly on fake passports?

Third, who “marks” the tests? If I had, for example, completed the test in Afrikaans, would the person behind the check-in desk have been able to know if the answers were correct?

Although I would have loved to have dismissed this as a stupid idea by a bunch of “eejits” in Ryanair, this is a serious matter. Even though Ryanair is a global company, they are perceived very much as Irish and therefore this unfortunate event has damaged the image South Africans have of the Irish nation.

I know that Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’ Leary is not one for backing down or apologising, but this is not at the level of lost luggage or suggesting that people pay to go to the on-board toilet. This has deeply offensive racial and colonial undertones which even for Ryanair is way off the mark.

Melanie Verwoerd is an Independen political analyst and former South African ambassador to Ireland