the arena of progressive thought

www.ziwaphi.com

ZIWAPHI • VOL 4 NO 3 • 12 - 25 FEBRUARY 2010

Emotional and physical recollection of yesterday South Africa remains an aide memoire of an immense sorry and suffering.

In spite of this, few fearless sons and daughters of the soil emerged. This is an epoch where leadership position was not fashionable and had no celebratory social standing in a community.

An era where there was no known price tag for voting horse. The era of non-casting votes for employment and positions for power. Colonizers and settlers treated Black people of South Africa in their native land like they where they were not born of a woman.

Today we celebrate two decades of Comrade President Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.

His children grew up without a father, who, when he returned, became a father of the nation.

This celebration marks also the release of all political prisoners and the return of exiles.

Nelson Mandela and many leaders of our political struggle for freedom paid a supreme sacrifice and their actions gave evidence to the fact that the relation between them and motherland was and still sealed with blood.

Mandela was not recruited, he joined the struggle voluntary. At this hour of destiny, as a former slave unfortunately in my native land that agony moment of yesterday South Africa shall never and never evaporate like a snow. The grave crime against humanity (Apartheid) which black people were subjected to, its footprints in spite of everything is engraved in our hearts. It is important to note that bona fide leaders of Mandela’s caliber emerged out of this state of affairs.

In the present day as poor and destitute as we are, the global community marks the two decades of the release of the most known world political prisoner, chivalrous, fearless, patriotic and heroic soldier of our time, one of our own Comrade President Nelson Mandela.

The entire human race has a reason to continuously celebrate this release, because it is this release which brought FIFA 2010 World Soccer festivals to Africa.

As poor and destitute as we are, there are still those people who are in leadership positions and are leading a bling-bling Sub-culture life publicly boosting for gulping exclusive whisky while there are people who are still living without clean water.

It is pertinent at this juncture to seize this opportune time as peace loving Africans and people of the world and pay homage to this jingoist and a real patriot who made a dazzling contribution to the struggle for sovereignty and decorum for all in our country, Africa and the World.

To you Comrade Madiba, twenty years since your release the land is still owned by the few and the people are still suffering.

Since your freedom the economy is still in the hands of lily whites. Since your release poverty in black communities has doubled. The mines are still owned by foreigners.

As a soldier Comrade Mandela you did not allow suffering, as a result of incarceration, banishment, interrogations, harassment foul language and name-calling from counter revolutionaries to alter your center of attention and neglect the sacrifice like quite a few did.

The time is now for all South Africans to go back to their mirrors and look if they are still the same. Let me borrow the words of Nigerian Chika Onyeni from his popular book Capitalist Nigger – the road to success when he said “The White master, Black slave mentality will continue to exist within the Black community because of our victim mentality.

We believe if we continue to cry racism and oppression, the oppressors will change, feel empathy for us and give us what we want. But that is not reality of the world in which we live. It is a jungle out there. It is the survival of the fittest.

Those who dare to rise above mediocrity and beyond the use of racism as an excuse for their failures are those who will survive in this world. No group can survive when all their needs are met by others. At the point, they will feel burdened to continue to provide for us and cut off the sources of our pleasures”. The high level of stupidly and ignorance demonstrated on a daily base by so-called community leaders who claim to represent the marginalized in numerous service delivery demonstrations who believe that by burning their own schools, libraries, clinics and offices they are people heroes I humbly request them to read literatures like this one and they will insult the day they were conceived.

Comrade Mandela your sacrifice during the intricate journey of South Africa of yesterday, have brought today on the cards and blood sweat for your country has become our water of life. Thank you for the extra mile, you are indeed larger than life. Amandla.

NELSON MANDELA stepping out of prison after being incarcerated for 27 years by the apartheid government. Next to him is ex-wife, Winnie.