Amandla! Awethu!
Twenty years! Twenty years of freedom... It was a big day, a huge day. The event was broadcast live all around the world. It was a day of tremendous joy in many countries, and especially in my home. I still remember that day, although I wasn't even in school at that time yet ;-)
It was like yesterday. I remember February 11th, 1990. I was just 6 years back then but it is a day that I remember with stunning clarity. The one thing that got stuck in my head was how the whole family sat at the TV in our home in Amersfoort, Holland, and gaped at those images. MANDELA IS FREE, they said. I remember the extremely jubilant atmosphere after that. Dad gathered some old friends from the diaspora, some colleagues and fellow refugee 'comrades' from the Struggle. And we started making plans to return.
Much has happened since then. My family stayed in Holland, but I moved here and I started a new life. I have told the entire story down here. My point is, what can we make of these 20 years of freedom? Some will say that the country has degraded rather than advanced. Granted, there are huge problems like poverty, crime, corruption, AIDS and prejudice. But I can tell you, we are going forward. Much has changed in this society since then. We are fighting poverty, hunger, crime, corruption, disease and prejudice. The Struggle hasn't ended. It continues, but in a different form. There is still a lot of work to be done, and much worth fighting for. And it was thanks to Mandela and guys like him that we have this wonderful country now, it belongs to all of us, and we have a real chance to work together and make it a better place. And we are.
There are two precious lessons that could be drawn from this historic example. One, people can change the course of history when united by a common cause - this is what the whole world did and we'll never be able to express all our gratitude to that generation which made this possible - they pushed their governments to do the right thing, and apartheid was no more. And two, South Africa responded likewise - what happened after that is equally teaching. The Truth And Reconciliation process, to a large extent inspired by Mandela himself, showed the world that old grievances and bitter divisions could be overcome through a peaceful and sincere effort, rather than plunging a society into a bloody chaos. In this sense, Mandela's role was vital for the future of the country, so he's not just a figurehead and a symbol of an epoch, to a large extent he facilitated the new epoch. And for that, too, we are enormously grateful to him.
I know this doesn't sound like the typical mahnmut post. I know this sounds too sweety-sugary and vague, while reality is much darker and bitterer, but this is how I feel. Allow me to be emotional just once. Because I have a reason to be so. And you know what gives me all this optimism? The people. Optimism is inherent to the culture of my people, it is what gives them the real power to never give up and always push to make their lives better, even in the hardest circumstances. And I feel proud to be part of them, to live and work next to them. The power is ours.
Amandla ngawethu!
xcuse me for the xpost