"Hey you coolies what you doing in our area," appeared to be the bark of the dogs.

                                            MUNIEN                   KANIAMMA

DO DOGS DISPLAY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THEIR OWNERS?



The controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma's statement about people who love dogs more than human beings as "having a lack of humanity", brings another side to the issue.

I hold no brief for Zuma but his statement really brings to mind the situation during the dark days of apartheid and white "baas" mentality when dogs used to only bark at black people.

I recall my early days when my grand-mother, Mrs Kaniamma Munien, and I used to walk from Cato Manor to the Early Morning Market in Durban, we used to pass through white homes. My grand-mother, dressed in the traditional sari and carrying a basket on her arm, was one of the people who had no idea of the oppression inflicted on the black majority. All she knew was that the white man was "God" and the white woman was "madam" and we must treat them as such.

My grand-mother, descendant of indentured labourers, was married at a very early age to Munien, who arrived in South Africa at the age of nine with his aunt from a village called Damal in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Kaniamma and Munien had nine children and they eked out a livelihood in the Cato Manor area of Durban. I was the son of their eldest son, Subramoney.

As a young boy I was regular at my grand-parents home and it was during these occasions that I used to accompany my grand-mother on foot to the Early Morning Market. We used to walk up a steep hill and then join the tarred road towards the market, which was situated in the Warwick Avenue area. I remember clearly that the University of Natal was situated in this area.

When passing through the white houses, the dogs used to run towards the gate and bark loudly at us. The dogs inside the properties of the white "basses" were vicious and they used to make us feel as if we were aliens - from another planet or outer space.

All kinds of vicious dogs from almost every white home used to bark at us until we were out of sight. Reaching the market area was a relief.

My grand-mother and I were not aware at that time that the white man's dogs were just displaying the racist attitudes of their masters.

In order to avoid any mishaps, we used to keep a safe distance from the gates of the homes we walked past.

There were buses running from Cato Manor to the Durban market area but my grand-parents were so poor that they could not afford the few cents for the bus fare. We had no other option but to walk.

After my grand-mother purchased the necessary vegetables, we used to take the same route back to Cato Manor Road. Once again the dogs gave us the same treatment.

"Hey you coolies what you doing in our area," appeared to be the bark of the dogs.

At that time it did not occur to me that the dogs barked at us because we were "dark skinned"?

Now why did these dogs bark at US only? Was it not because we were dark skinned - their owners were the "baas" and we were the "servants".

Why did the dogs not bark at white men, women and children?

Then there were experiences later in our lives when we progressed in our lives and moved to stay in an area on the North Coast. In this suburb most of the people were from the middle income class - they were teachers, lawyers, doctors, clerks and shop-keepers. They also lived behind high walls, huge gates and owned vicious dogs. These dogs also displayed the attitudes and behaviour of their owners.

They used to run to the gates and bark as loud as ever whenever they saw African people walk past. Now where did these dogs learn to bark only at African people?

Since1990, I have noticed that some dogs have changed their behaviour and now bark at all people. It seems all people - whatever your colour - are regarded as potential criminals and the dogs don't discriminate anymore? But do old attitudes die hard or do they just linger on?

I don't support the latest statement by Zuma because it's not the kind of statements that a First Citizen should be making at a time when we are trying to build a new, non-racial and democratic society.

But, nevertheless, we cannot run away from the fact that in many instances dogs imbibe and display the attitudes and characteristics of their owners.