Remembering the Mission - even when in Comfort

My relationship with Poetry is somewhat complicated; I left her in 2010 while trying to make it work with Actuarial Science and we are yet to properly reconcile. The betrayal is not something I am proud of for I almost lost the very essence of my being in the process. We met while I was still in high-school and I started actively engaging with her during my unplanned ‘gap-year’ in 2008. It was while intoxicated with the ecstasy of this love-affair that I was introduced to a poem titled ‘You will forget’ by Chenjerai Hove. The poem came to mind a few months ago while attending an event at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation here in Cape Town. One of the panelists was a woman I met while studying in the Free State and the conversation that ensued between us was a very interesting one, an eye-opener. I shared with her my challenges of being new in the area. One of these challenges was that of finding my place at the University of Cape Town and finding my way around Cape Town as my new home. I guess part of the struggle was due in part to the advice I had received before setting off for the big city. I was warned not to fall prey to the 'white and liberal' bug. Although I deeply doubt the possibility of this, I was still worried. I was worried that in the comfort of this city I would forget about the concerns of my fellow Africans. I was worried that in the comfort of the city and that of my own privilege I would forget about my own personal mission to play an active role in Africa’s Renaissance.

I count this poem among my very personal favorites:

You will forget - Chenjerai Hove

If you stay in comfort too long

You will not know

The weight of a water pot

On the bald head of the village woman

You will forget

The weight of three bundles of thatch grass

On the sinewy neck of the woman

Whose baby cries on her back

For a blade of grass in its eyes

Sure, if you stay in comfort too long

You will not know the pain

Of child birth without a nurse in white

You will forget

The thirst, the cracked dusty lips

Of the woman in the valley

On her way to the headman who isn’t there

You will forget

The pouring pain of a thorn prick

With a load on the head.

If you stay in comfort too long

You will forget

The wailing in the valley

Of women losing a husband in the mines.

You will forget

The rough handshake of coarse palms

Full of teary sorrow at the funeral.

If you stay in comfort too long

You will not hear

The shrieky voice of old warriors sing

The songs of fresh storied battlefields.

You will forget

The unfeeling bare feet

Gripping the warm soil turned by the plough

You will forget

The voice of the season talking to the oxen.

Of comfort zones and the need to ACT

The decision to move to Cape Town was not an easy one to make. I came to this cross-road after having lived and studied in Bloemfontein for five years. I believe I emerged a different person from when I had first arrived. These five years have been my best thus far and I am very excited about what lies ahead. This growth was due in part to my having become racialized. I only became aware of this fact last month, after eight months of living in Cape Town. This revelation came while conversing with a mentor and sharing with him my experiences of this beautiful yet very unequal city. I shared with him how I'd become ‘Black’ in 2009 after having crossed Botswana’s border into South Africa for the very first time. It was only on that evening that we realized I had become racialized and that my judgement of South African experiences (and society) had become biased in the process. This clouded judgement, if allowed to persist, will become detrimental to South Africa’s progress.

I have had to do a lot of reflection since I came to Cape Town at the beginning of the year. I had thought I had prudently counted the cost and 'ensured' against all the 'risks' that lay ahead as I ventured out of my comfort zone. I was to discover that I could not have anticipated many of the challenges that lay ahead. My biggest challenge proved to be of adjusting to a new living and studying environment. The adjustment to the University of Cape Town was difficult. I know that I am supposed to say it was challenging but, the truth is it was difficult. I believe the worst is over though, and I couldn't be more grateful for the lessons learnt.

My reflection has revealed that I rejected and resisted Cape Town for a long time. For months I resisted. I guess part of this might have been informed by the advice I got from family and friends before I took off for the big city. I was warned that Cape Town might change me and make me 'white'. While that advice was very valid and needed, it kept me from opening myself up to Cape Town and accepting her lessons much earlier.

For months I felt dejected and very angry about the social injustices in Cape Town. When asked how I felt about the mother city I would share that although she possessed so much physical beauty, she lacked internal beauty. I would share that in her shadows lay a very deep darkness that she only revealed to those with the eyes to see. This is still very true but I have had to approach it from another angle, this was primarily for my survival. Anger is a very negative emotion and I doubt I would have made any progress in life had I clung to it.

The anger went on for months and I even wrote about it. The revelation (of the need to let go of the anger) came after I had stumbled and realized I had been doing a lot of talking about that which didn't make me happy. I was doing a lot of talking as opposed to doing something about the wrong I wanted corrected. It is true that Cape Town is very segregated and unequal, we could TALK about this for years; we have enough material. But the truth is NOTHING will change until we take action and eradicate that which we are not happy about. Don't get me wrong, I do value honest communication and dialogue. It’s just that the dialogue has to be coupled with action. Talking alone is not enough.

I have been doing a lot of talking. I have been talking a lot about race relations at the University of the Free State and the broader South Africa. I have been talking a lot about Cape Town's racial and class divides. I have been doing a lot of talking about the disadvantaged position of Africa on the global platform. I have been talking too much about leadership bankruptcy on our continent. And, I now realize that nothing will move until I get up from this very comfortable seat and starting doing something! I need to act. Those intellectual conversations, although necessary, are not going to make anything happen. They are not going create jobs nor will they emancipate us. It is true that at present South Africa's economy is owned white hands, but that will not change until a black young person makes it his mission to build a business that will lead to an exchange in ownership. We cannot wait for the white man to say sorry, we need to act now. Maybe he will say sorry, which I doubt very much, but as we wait let's take action and bring about the change we want to see in this world. Doing something could entail volunteering at a local NGO that equips unemployed youth with digital and entrepreneurial skills. It could be organizing a book-drive in your community to improve literacy levels in a local primary school. It could even be something as ‘small’ as conducting civil-rights information sessions for your neighbours or lobbying your friends to pick up litter from the streets of your town or village. Doing something could be demanding accountability from a Parliamentarian whose performance you are not happy with. Any effort will make a difference, no matter how small.

Botswana too has her problems. Her economy is also owned by white hands, and what's worse is that these white hands are foreign. We find ourselves in a situation where none of the profits made in the country are being reinvested to grow the economy and create employment. How do we grow an economy while all the money it generates is being drained to external pockets? Where do we start in diversifying that which we don't even own? As upset as I am, I know it’s possible for me to just sit here, moan and criticize these hands that are ‘stealing’ from us. But ‘reality’ is my talking will not change anything! My talking will not in any way affect these robbers; they will keep on racking huge profits. I am told that one bank, after having made millions in profits, reserved close to 70% for its foreign owners. We need to do something. A study of Botswana’s banks will show that they are RUN by Batswana. Clearly we have the skills and the experience to run and operate banks. Why can’t we open our own?

Unless we make it our daily business to do something, we can forget about progress. The future of this continent lies in our hands. What will we say when asked of our contribution to ensure prosperity on our continent? Having a nice job and driving a Range Rover is not enough, it is far from enough. I don't want Africa to perish under my watch. We need to act.

Edited version of a piece published on Bonfiire on October 8th, 2014.

The Citizen and Freedom

Exactly a week ago I sat with other African youth in a panel discussion of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund to debunk “the myth that freedom is free”. This took place a day after Freedom Day, April 27^th; an annual celebration of South Africa's first non-racial democratic elections of 1994.

2014 is election year for both South Africa and Botswana; my thoughts were therefore more inclined towards elections and specifically to the role of the citizen during this election period. I believe it is vital that each one of us exercises their right to vote, but voting alone does not count much if it is not followed by effective active citizenry. Voting alone is not enough if after elections citizens do not take initiative to find out where the offices of their representatives are located and continuously communicate their needs and take necessary action to ensure they are met. It is not enough if we do not demand accountability and consultation from the individuals voted to represent us in government.

Many of us have chosen to be subjects in democratic states instead of accepting the responsibilities that come with such a freedom. When will we take initiative to understand the systems of our democratic society? When will we find it necessary to go through our national constitution and actually understand what our rights are? We are making it very impossible to be effectively governed. Ignorance has ceased to be bliss, especially when our democracy and freedom are being threatened by leadership that has lost its moral compass. How many have visited the national assembly, just to see what it looks like? How many have actually sat in a parliamentary/provincial/council session to investigate whether we are truly being represented? We need to be armed with the relevant knowledge and information so that we are in a better position to defend this freedom.

For many it is easier to sit around braai areas or at bars and complain about how things are not going right or about how government officials are squandering tax payers’ money. Before complaining, with the expectation that “they” will come to fix our problems, we need to first consider whether we have actively participated in our democracy. We have remained silent for too long about matters that matter. “They” are “us”. For the educated and those with access to information, your responsibility becomes sharing this knowledge with the uneducated and uninformed. We also need to realize the power that we have in our numbers and leverage on this. Calling a radio station daily to complain will not yield any results, except for being a favorite in the show, but a petition signed by 500 people might yield something.

I found the following while preparing for the panel discussion.

"There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. But Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done."

Freedom is not free. Men and women have lost their lives to ensure we have this freedom. Families have been divided and nations wounded. The onus is now on us to protect this freedom. As we go to the polls soon, let us remember that our role as citizens extends beyond the ballot box. We need to build our power beyond Election Day.