Tolerance at work
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=1114
Celean Jacobson
South African publishers have placed restrictions on the comic book ‘Tintin in the Congo’ following complaints of racism in Britain.
The Afrikaans publisher of the popular Tintin series, Human and Rousseau, has decided not to release an Afrikaans version of the book, SABC radio reported on Saturday.
“We felt that it depicted indigenous African people in an unflattering … stereotypical fashion, said spokesperson Carina Diedericks-Hugo.
“We realised that the creator, Herge, did comment on various treatments of indigenous peoples, such as the Chinese in Tintin and ‘The Blue Lotus’ and also in ‘Tintin in America’, with the Indians. “But we felt that we have a particular situation in South Africa and that depiction of indigenous people, we can’t agree with that,” she was quoted as saying on the SABC news website.
Penguin Books will also be placing notices on the English version of the book, warning potential buyers of the racial sensitivity of its contents, the website reported.
Alison Lowry, the CEO of Penguin Books, said the English translation of the French original would still be distributed.
Earlier this month bookstore chain Borders said it was removing the book from the children’s section of its stores in Britain after a http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=1184 complained the work was racist.
http://iafrica.com/news/sa/291637.htm