I Am Because You Are (Ubuntu)
“At the level of humaness, we see right and wrong as guide markers. At what point or level do we no longer see right and wrong?”- Merci
Someone might rightly believe that a dark pregnancy may be accompanied by a storm of frustration hovering over us,
I agree and add that I began to feel this reality very early, in 2012,
Although,
I am sure highly spiritually aligned “Others” picked on our current misfortune well, in advance,
In my mind, such sensory societal “Angels” include prophets, seers, and, if you like, fortune tellers,
Nonetheless,
I agree with anyone who tells them that our current life is about to take a turn for the worse,
In a way,
We worked very hard at brewing our future,
It matters little whether you think that you are innocent in the claimed communal-wide acts of shifting our weather to what it is,
For the wise have argued, rightfully so, “that he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it,”
Yes,
Dear Southern Africans,
Yes,
Botswana,
Namibia,
Zambia,
Zimbabwe,
Lesotho,
Mozambique,
Republic of South Africa (RSA)
and recently renamed (Swaziland),
“No man is an island,”
What excuse do we have?
Look at us,
Look at the problems we face as a nation,
When,
Realistically,
You are my brother,
And I am your sister, Look,
We linked at the hip,
Yes,
Via bloodlines,
Linguistics,
Cultures,
Histories,
Ambitions,
And now,
We are facing a worse situation in Covid-19,
Why have we been silent as some of us never had a piece of the “pie?”
What were we thinking at that time?
For how long did we imagine,
Those postcolonial inequalities would go unnoticed,
Unreacted to,
Unresolved,
What now?
Do we all sing “Nkosi Sikelela I Africa?”
Look,
And guess what,
The sh****t show has just begun,
Guess what,
Even in economic development,
Our kinship plays out,
Translating to,
RSA is ablaze,
And we are all feeling the heat,
Smelling the scent,
Grieving the losses,
But,
Are we ready,
To look ourselves in the mirror,
And acknowledge that things need not be this way,
Why was there acute poverty in our lifetime?
Was it because you were highly educated and experienced?
And felt “entitled” to our lump sums,
Forgetting that we are Bantu, Nguni, Koi, San?
Well, even birds must come down to eat,
Meaning,
Life will humble us,
Actually,
It is dealing with us,
So,
What now?
How do we undo all of these problems before us?
Are we choosing our true selves?
Or,
Are we continuing to be competitive,
Playing the “modernity card,”
Whereby,
We look out for ourselves,
Shutting our eyes and ears to our brother’s hunger pain,
While blasting loud music,
Oblivious to reality,
Look now,
We are all at a loss,
Although,
Probably you have suffered the most,
I am sympathetic to each family dealing with human loss in RSA,
Owing to the discussed political, social and economic realities,
My heart grieves for all entrepreneurs facing property damages due to the “free Zuma” chaos,
To all that got injured,
Get well soon,
To the country’s essential services,
Thank you,
But,
To the leadership,
I propose that we change how we do every day,
People have been hungry,
Basic human needs went on unmet,
Yet,
Others flaunted their riches,
Forgetting that settlements dividing the poor from the wealthy are imaginary borders,
I mean,
Look what happened,
The marginalized have cost us everything,
But,
We love our people,
Even if they looted from us,
Why?
We understand their realities,
Importantly,
They have verbalized their frustrations,
Not in the “prefered way,”
Maybe,
But,
We heard them,
“Loud and Clear,” to use Trever Noah’s slogan,
To end,
I am certain many of us yearn for black conscious Africanists such as Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946–12 September 1977).
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Many thanks go to Dian because the inspiration for this essay came from her hints that helped shape my writing.
