30 days of thanks: day 12

Day 12: democracy

It is not possible to live in South Africa without knowing the terrible legacy of apartheid. Today I saw the brilliant musical Kat and the Kings for the 3rd time in about 15 years, and it remains a vivid reminder of the impact that apartheid had on the lives of South Africans. And I hate it.

I hate that my legacy as white, Afrikaans speaking South African is one of discrimination and racial division. I cannot stand it when I have a conversation with another Afrikaans speaking person and they assume, because of the colour of my skin and my language, that I will agree with whatever idiotic racist comment they are about to make. My oldest is going to school in January and we chose an English school, because the Afrikaans school in our area came across as really racist when we went to the open day. Nothing overt, just the small comments. And of course not a black person to be seen anywhere.

So for today, I am grateful for democracy in South Africa. I am grateful for the people who dedicated their lives for the struggle, including some who died for it. And I will do my part to speak out against racism and other discrimination wherever I see it.

 




 

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