Miss South Africa

Many people were surprised when Brooke van der Wyk was named Miss South Africa this year. It wasn't because she is stunning: that's typical in the beauty pagent world. And it wasn't even because she's white: now that apartheid has been gone for years, the country is more comfortable with its multi-racial face. And all would agree that with her long blonde hair, bright green eyes and supermodel physique, Brooke was the personification of a white beauty.

No, the real shock wasn't Brooke is but what her father was: the minister responsible for the administration of the apartheid regime in the 1980s. He was known to occasionally display his young blonde daughter at rallies and even on television, identifying her as his motivation to maintain the racist apparatus of his government. He would darkly allude to a coming war in South Africa and to the danger to her honor and very life if there were any relaxation of the system.

The old man's paranoia of black revolt never came to pass, and Brooke grew up in a largely safe and tolerant society. Upon being crowned Miss South Africa, she demonstrated her liberal sensibilities and distanced herself from her father by making racial reconciliation a priority, and pledging to further connect South Africa with the rest of the continent. When she won, some welcomed it as a symbol of the nation's increasing confidence. But others disapproved, comparing it to the elevation of a relative of Hitler as a symbol of German beauty.

Brooke worked to fight through those notions, and has arranged to visit the troubled nation of Lamumba as part of her mission to foster better relations with Africans. She has brought along a friend, a 22 year-old redheaded, blue-eyed Englishwoman named Debbie White, a photographer with killer body, who could be a beauty queen too and is at home in front of and behind the camera. Debbie has always been interested in Africa: her grandfather was a colonial administrator before independence and her family has large commercial holdings in Africa.

The South African embassy reports that Brooke and Debbie safely arrived in the country, where there met their local driver and bodyguard. Andre, their driver, is tall and thin and wears thick glasses. Njau, the bodyguard, is squat, fat and dour.

Brooke and Debbie walk out of the airport and notice a tall, thin black man holding a sign that reads "Brooke van der Wyk: Miss South Africa". There is a gang of men standing close by, no doubt wanting to get a glimpse of a celebrity. Brooke walks up and smiles brightly. "Hi!" she says. A murmer goes through the crowd, and some of the crowd takes pictures with cameras and cellphones.

The man with the sign smiles and bows. "I am Andre, miss, your driver. Welcome to my country. This is your bodyguard, Njau," indicating a frowning fat man to his side.

Debbie is nervous. Some of the crowd is smiling but a few stare at them with open contempt, even hatred. The crowd surges forward to get a closer look, and the bodyguard stands still, allowing the girls to be approached.