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As a South African architect I have experienced at first hand aspects of this dilemma in projects of varying scale over several decades, both during and post-apartheid era. As did many others in my profession who did not support apartheid, I used what opportunities I had to prevent or minimize that policy being cast in concrete. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. I believe we made a positive difference to the lives of the buildings' users. To work within any system is an opportunity to understand it in ways impossible to envision from the exterior, and, if it is negative, to subvert it to the positive as far as one is able. It is an opportunity to do something practical about it and subsequently to voice an informed opinion that can be respected as grounded in experience and reality. Although political and cultural sanctions had some small effect against the apartheid regime, my observations are that it hardened the regime's stance into resisting any and all external influence and only made it more creative and effective in 'sanctions-busting' techniques. A prime example is the highly sophisticated South African armament industry and the 'strategic atomic weapons' research (which was attributed to have achieved 'bomb' status before South Africa voluntarily dismantled the program after 1994) that would never have progressed as they did but for sanctions. These programs drained resources from other areas into a military bottomless pit. Had South Africa instead been assisted in resisting the spread of Soviets into Africa, our history would perhaps have been very different. Mandela was released and Apartheid fell because the Soviet Union fell, international sanctions had a far smaller part in the equation than their proponents would today like to believe. Sanctions are a useless violence that primarily props up one's conscience. Better to engage in amicable dialogue and interaction. A quick glance at their track record in Tibet should tell anyone that (political) China is functionally impervious to both subtle and direct violence. Take any opportunity to be socially responsible, envision a future better than now. It is an opportunity for those individuals on the client's side to be exposed to your world view. Perhaps they might revise theirs.

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