Diplomatic mix in Pretoria

Press, 28 August 1978, Page 12

Diplomatic mix in Pretoria

NZPA Pretoria One of the few private social venues where South African blacks and whites mix is on the diplomatic circuit in the South African capital reports the Chicago “Sun-Times.”

Diplomats, interestel in hearing all points of view, regularly invite blacks, often the black leadership, to the same parties where they entertain senior South African officials.

Mixing on the neutral grounds of a diplomat’s home often proves an interesting and socially new experience. And according to diplomats involved, it is usually the South African white who is at a loss for words when confronted by a black on an equal social standing. South Africans’ only regular experience with blacks is either giving them orders at work or giving domestic servants orders at home. It is difficult for them to

engage in normal conversation, one diplomat said. He added that it is usually the blacks who initiate conversation, and the whites who are shocked at how well they get along with their black countrymen.