A Crazy Game of Musical Chairs

Everyone in South Africa is classified by race, placed at birth into one of nine racial categories that determine where he can live and work. But people can have their classification changed if they can prove they were put in a wrong group. The result is apartheid's own crazy game of musical chairs, as illustrated last week by Home Affairs Minister Stoffel Botha's announcement of last year's racial reclassifications:

Nine whites became colored, 506 coloreds became white, two whites became Malay, 14 Malays became white, nine Indians became white, seven Chinese became white, one Griqua became white, 40 coloreds became black, 666 blacks became colored, 87 coloreds became Indian, 67 Indians became colored, 26 coloreds ^ became Malay, 50 Malays became Indian, 61 Indians became Malay, four coloreds became Griqua, four Griquas became colored, two Griquas became black, 18 blacks became Griquas, twelve coloreds became Chinese, ten blacks became Indians, two blacks became other Asian, two other coloreds became Indian, and one other colored became black.

According to Botha, no blacks applied to become white, and no whites became black.