African Family Life​—Industrialization Takes Its Toll

By “Awake!” correspondent in South Africa

A SMALL cluster of huts surrounds an open courtyard. Chickens and pigs freely roam the corn patch flanking the village. All is peaceful.

For generations, this was the setting in which African families thrived. Rural life bred close-knit families. When children grew up, they did not venture out on their own but simply added their huts to the kraal (village). There they lived under the undisputed patriarchal authority of their father or grandfather. Nevertheless, this idyllic picture has been shattered by the drastic changes that modern industrial development has brought.

True, industrialization has provided African families with some material benefits. The rural way of life was often plagued by droughts and unpredictable markets. Families often subsisted on the barest of essentials. Industrial development, however, has made it possible for African families to obtain better housing and furniture. It has offered better educational and job opportunities. But to take advantage of these benefits, Africans have had to abandon their quiet villages and flock to the cities. There they have found not only hard cash but serious problems.

Crowded Cities

The most immediate problem has been that of housing. As the South African newspaper The Star put it: “The industrial slums in Britain during the Victorian era and the squatter settlements in present-day South Africa have a common origin​—people arrived seeking work in big cities which did not have the houses to accommodate them.”

African townships soon became overcrowded, and slums developed. Once peaceful townships became hotbeds of crime and violence. Housing simply could not be built fast enough to keep up with the steady influx of people. Compounds built to house men working at mines or in industry were not big enough to accommodate their wives and children. Governments therefore had little choice but to enforce influx controls to stem the tide. But the laws fostered resentment, and many chose to defy them​—even if it meant living in constant fear of being arrested.

The new city-dwellers soon felt the effects of urban life on their families. Men were often forced to work overtime. Wives, too, entered the labour market, leaving children to their own devices. A bumper crop of juvenile delinquents was produced as unsupervised children roamed the streets for hours.

Fractured Families

Of course, not all joined the exodus to the cities. Some two thirds of the black population of South Africa, for example, still live in their rural areas. However, they, too, feel the ravages of industrialization. Many men have left their families behind to serve as migrant workers on a yearly contract basis. The effects of this are devastating. Not only are their children left fatherless but the men and their wives are exposed to the temptations of immorality. Indeed, in many of the huge compounds that house the workers by the thousands, immorality​—including homosexuality—​has become rampant.

Further, many men are tempted to work overtime so as to augment their income. But does this income benefit their families back home? Not always. Many frankly show little concern for their families and squander their money on themselves. Their headship role is diminished to that of distant breadwinner.

Further family fragmentation takes place when parents, realizing the poor prospects for their children in rural areas, send them to the towns either to work or to gain a better education.

But perhaps one of the greatest evils the family has suffered is the neglect of elderly parents. Traditionally, the aged could always count on family care, and they, in turn, would contribute much to the spiritual and moral welfare of the family. The Western custom of institutionalizing the aged was absolutely unheard of in Africa! But the urban way of life has undermined this traditional respect for the elderly. All too often they are left behind as the young venture out to the cities. Reports The Star: “At a recent meeting in Lagos [Nigeria], health officials said some of the problems of the elderly were a result of not feeling needed and not being part of society.”

How Christian Families Cope

Obviously, industrialization presents serious challenges to the Christian. How have they avoided becoming ensnared in the rat race for material gain? Many have allowed their thinking to be moulded by Jesus’ words at Matthew 6:33: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other [material] things will be added to you.”

Applying this principle has not been easy. But even observers have noted its practical benefits. Says Norman Long in the book Christianity in Tropical Africa: “Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, do not see their secular style of life as separate from their religious ways. . . . To be a member . . . means spiritual advancement and promise of a new life, but it also implies a certain practical orientation towards life in this world.”​—Italics ours.

To illustrate, a Witness in Lesotho was forced by economic circumstances to seek work in the mines of a neighbouring country. Later he married a girl in his native Lesotho but left her behind and returned to the mines. Soon he and his wife, however, realized that such an arrangement did not accord with Christian standards.

So he purchased two used sewing machines and sent them to his wife. Meanwhile, a fellow employee taught him to sew garments. Finishing his mine contract, he returned home to work with his wife, who already had started making a popular type of skirt. This little venture prospered, and in time another five Christian men and women were able to join them. This made it possible for them to stay with their families and help the small local group of Jehovah’s Witnesses to become two flourishing congregations.

But what of Christian families that live in the urban areas? How are they able to maintain family unity? Some have found that it is much easier to obtain part-time work or to be self-employed in urban areas. By taking advantage of these opportunities, Witnesses often find that they have much better control over their time and can give their families the necessary attention. But what of family heads who must work full time? Often they find that by avoiding overtime and not demanding that their wives also work, they are able to care for the spiritual needs of their families properly.

The Future?

‘Millions more will stream to the cities’ was the prediction of experts in urbanization. They added that the developing nations faced a problem of “even higher migrant influx, a low standard of living, unemployment and housing shortages.” So the future looks bleak for family life in Africa.

While applying Bible principles can help one cope with the pressures of industrialization, a permanent solution will come only when God’s heavenly government takes over the management of earth’s affairs.​—Matthew 6:10.

[Pictures on page 16, 17]

Rural Africa is giving way to industrialized Africa