A WOUNDEND PSYCHE OF MY COUNTRY

A European friend came to visit and work in South Africa for six months. He was based in Cape Town one of the most beautiful cities in the continent. While he had good experiences, he struggled with a lot of our country’s anomalies like crime and violence.

He lost his freedom to walk at night without the fear of being mugged. He found some people closed and unfriendly. He is an honest guy so he was open about his experiences. I like that because I cannot stand pretence - people who say things just to make me happy.

I was sad to hear about this side of South Africa. I was sad because when I visited his city – Madrid - many years ago I had a lot of fun. I always want people who visit my country to have a good experience. But my friend encountered endless problems with Home Affairs, the daily news confronted him with black African foreigners being attacked, some of his house mates were personally affected since they were from Malawi and other countries.

He also got to hear stories about Affirmative Action – normally related in simplistic terms like blacks are taking over white jobs – ( the nuanced version and research will tell you that the unemployment rate in this country came in at 30% for Africans, 20% for coloureds, and 4% for whites according to the last year’s Labour Force Survey.) A majority of those living under $1 a day are black Africans.

Anyways it got me thinking about how wounded we are still as a people. Archbishop Tutu tried the healing process using the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) but there was so much anger and guilt. The initiative just touched the surface. TRC faded out without really bringing much closure to the collective damaged psyche of my country.

We still have much to do. Big as our problems are, I am encouraged when I sit with people who have a commitment towards making our South Africa better. My friend, Cori, never seems to tire when it comes to initiatives of peace building in schools and holding dialogues to discuss truth, peaceful societies and teaching.

This weekend as we talked about our country, I felt encouraged and affirmed that there are people who want to make things work in this country. People who want to make it better so that when people like my European friend can visit and leave this country with positive experiences that outweigh the negative ones.

Healing starts with tiny deeds, like a hug and a friendly smile. It may sound softy, softy but I believe it simply starts with the right attitude and an honest desire to do better.