It’s not easy to say ‘Happy Freedom Day’ – one might be suspected of irony, mockery or subversion. What are we celebrating? The official government website tells us that ‘we celebrate 16 years of deepening democracy and freedom and the achievements we have made as a nation’ (www.info.gov.za/events/freedom-day.htm).
The memory of that day in April 1994 may not have faded, but why do these words ring so hollow? Because we also know that those 16 years have brought an deepening of poverty, a widening of the gap between rich and poor, an exponential increase in the rate of crime – and both an extension and a deterioration of educational and public health care systems. After 16 years, is the glass half full or half empty? And who are the principal beneficiaries? The established white elite and the rising new black elite?
It is easy to be cynical, much more difficult to find some kind of balance between optimism and pessimism.
Political freedom? Yes, we enjoy obviously much more political freedom than we ever had before. But if one is hungry, unemployed, landless and lacking in market-related skills, what then does political freedom mean? One cannot eat ballot papers.
If one has a house and a job and some money in the bank it may not be too difficult to find something to celebrate. But if one is one of 400 000 on the Cape Town housing waiting list, or one of the (roughly) 30% of our fellow countrymen who are unemployed, what then? Does one live on promises?
This not just a political problem: it is also a challenge for anyone who would like to believe in our collective future, and who wants to live with a modicum of hope. Is anyone prepared to grasp this nettle?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment