In no mood for a gumba
A painful lesson you learn fairly early in life: never forget your anniversary, unless of course you enjoy being served cold cabbage salad for supper.
Which reminds me, there's an historic anniversary coming up on April 27 when we mark 30 years of democracy in South Africa.
I remember so vividly that day in 1994 when we joined long snaking queues to cast our precious vote, most of us for the first time. A mood of euphoria swept the country as we made our crosses to choose leaders we believed would lead us to the Promised Land.
A new dawn awaited us.
So, in anticipation of the anniversary on Freedom Day, do I hear the sound of celebrations in the air - clinking champagne glasses, spirited foot-stomping and whoops of joyous festivities?
Sorry, I can't hear you.
No, it seems South Africans are not really in the mood for a gumba right now, pausing instead to ask their leaders some simple and practical questions about the anniversary.
How do you expect us to get into any kind of celebratory mood when the disco lights don't work during load shedding?
How do I dash my whiskey when there's no water from the taps?
How do I stop criminals gate-crashing my celebration party when my security gates don’t work during shutdowns?
How can I treat my guests to a sumptuous breyani and soji dinner when food prices have sky-rocketed beyond my meagre budget?
Why should I celebrate when I've been jobless for two years and struggle to feed my family on R360 a month?
These are questions being asked by everyday South Africans as they stumble through hurdle after hurdle in the much-vaunted "Promised Land."
And then there's a question we need to be asking ourselves as well - did we make a critical misjudgement by placing blind faith in our leaders when liberation day arrived in 1994?
You be the judge.
Keep it simple, please
Let's admit it. When talking about weighty issues like race relations and social cohesion, conversation often gets bogged down by academic jargon and political rhetoric not everyone understands.
Which is a pity because, at most times, it's the ordinary man and woman in the street who need to come to terms with overcoming deep-rooted prejudices, inter-racial mistrust and negative attitudes towards people of other communities.
So, in our efforts to rid ourselves of our morbid obsession with race, let's try to keep things simple, please.
Instead of talking ourselves into exhaustion, let's walk the walk and discover simple and effective ways of promoting social cohesion.
Take for example the heartening initiative by the 1860 Heritage Centre, which recently hosted pupils from Amanzimtoti High School to tours of its facility in the city centre.
Young people from across the racial spectrum - our future leaders - learned about the arrival of the first indentured labourers in South Africa; the struggles they endured under colonial rule; how they fought to overcome decades of exploitation and oppression and the trajectory of history to where we are today, more than 160 years later.
This is just the beginning of a promising endeavour.
The next step is extending the invitation to schools throughout KwaZulu-Natal and expanding the focus so other institutions, documentation centres and places of history set up their own initiatives. Let's spread the love, as they say.
Take a bow, 1860 Heritage Centre historians, Kiru Naidoo and Selvan Naidoo, for leading the way.
Who are, who are, who are we?
Does it sometimes irritate you when people tend to lump all Indians in our country together as if we're one homogenous community, all cut from the same cloth?
Yet, nothing can be further from the truth. We're as diverse as a box of Smarties.
We may have largely, and proudly, descended from a common ancestry of indentureship on the canefields and that's a heritage of which we will always be proud.
It's also true there are still areas in which Indian people predominate, like Chatsworth, Phoenix and Lenasia, but that was not out of choice. It was forced down our throats by the misguided architects of apartheid.
Today, Indian South Africans come in all shapes and sizes - different cultures, religions and languages; some filthily rich but many down-and-out and poor; radicals and conservatives; saints and sinners; some mild and some peri peri hot.
Reminds me of a meme I came across recently depicting a white guy chatting to a bearded Indian nibbling hors d'oeuvres at a lunchtime function
Aren't Muslims supposed to be fasting during the day in Ramadaan? he enquired.
Sir, I'm Sikh.
Oh, I'm sorry, get well soon.
. . . and here is the news
A strange story recently from up north in the UK. It turns out that a local TV channel, GB News has been warned about breaching impartiality rules by allowing certain MPs to serve as news presenters on air.
These politicians are apparently paid by the channel to act as news readers and even at times as reporters on current affairs, raising understandable concerns about news credibility and impartiality.
Could that ever happen in our country?
Imagine former president and MK Party founder Jacob Zuma reporting on TV about who had their fingers in the cookie jar during State Capture!
Last stop
Deputy President Paul Mashatile was loudly applauded by pro-Palestine supporters when he recently told Parliament : "The occupiers cannot have more rights than the people who own the land."
A source tells me he was also cheered to the rafters by local home-owners worried about squatter invasions.
Dennis Pather is a retired newspaper editor, author and columnist. Email him at [email protected]
* From newsroom gofer to award-winning editor, join South African media legend Dennis Pather on a fascinating trip down memory lane in his captivating memoir, ‘Copy Boy’. This heartwarming journey takes you inside the newsroom, filled with laughter, hard-earned wisdom, and the power of family. Get 30% off the R285 cover price (only R200) by WhatsApping the publishers today at 078 593 0585 with #POST.