An Open Letter to South Africa…who really votes for the ANC?

Dear South Africa

I want us to move forward together. I want a better South Africa for all. True reconciliation. But at the moment it doesn’t feel absolutely possible, because we’re not all being absolutely honest.

So I would like to get some things off my chest, and I am writing this in the hope that you will listen and hear what I am saying, and feel what I am feeling.

Here’s a quote from my friend Sean:
“I was at Pick ‘n Pay the other day and a white boy around the age of seven screamed ‘kaffir’ at me, and his dad didn’t even say anything!”

And here’s a quote from me:
“I was walking hand in hand with my white husband at Ushaka Marine World in Durban when two older white guys said ‘sies’ as we passed them.”

This on its own was enough to make me boil in anger! If there’s one race in South Africa that should be walking with their heads down …we all know which one it should be!

But no, instead of walking with any regret or sorrow, I’ve seen them walk so tall with arrogance, pride, no shame and most of all, with NO GUILT!

My people suffered a lot during the Apartheid regime! When you say you want South Africa to be like it was pre-1994, that shows me you have no idea what it was like for most South Africans. And maybe you still don’t care. When you say things like this, it makes my people definitely not want to allow whites to ever rule the country again.

My people suffered then, and they still suffer a lot today because of that racism disorder! To say ‘my people’ is an understatement. I should say ‘my parents’. It’s that personal!

Sure, every country in the whole world has it’s own terrible history, but in South Africa our history is unfortunately still a present-day reality, hence me writing this! We’ve had 20 years of democracy… So short??

We all know how fast life goes. The Apartheid regime was about 46 years long. Why is it then that we are so quick to say ‘move on’? We are moving on; forcefully moving on! But with no apologies…well, not authentic ones!

Do you know our parents are still hurting? They still want to say “sorry baas” and some are still saying it. This will continue to happen…because sometimes it’s just the way of life and sometimes this South African life is just on a racial basis.

I know this may sound gibberish to those who are not experiencing the ‘after effects’ of Apartheid! These consequences…Did anybody think of that – of the consequences? We teach our children cause and effect, but we forget it so easily as adults.

It’s easy to play the judge and say oh these ‘black people’ are ruining the country blah blah blah! I understand your fears. Can you understand mine?

Did you ever think that these ‘black people’ are still the ones who were beaten with a sjambok? Did you ever think that they are still the ones who witnessed a loved one being killed right in front of them because they had the wrong skin colour BASICALLY?

Listen, the Apartheid history can be painted as a myth. We can also say it wasn’t as bad as it was painted !! We can say the ‘Afrikaners’ weren’t as bad as the ‘English’ or vice versa! But, and it’s a very big BUT, regardless of what you want to say, those ‘Blacks, Indians and Coloureds’ are still very much alive, and their stories…their stories…They live on! The hurt. Listen to their stories.

We have a lot of uneducated people leading the country!

But let’s do the maths together – they didn’t have any white privileges during the Apartheid years; they were freedom fighters! They were fighting for me to get a proper education someday…they hardly had R10 – how do you expect them to handle or even read out R939 360000! Exactly – my point right there.

I don’t want to vote for the ANC. I might vote for the ANC. Chances are really high that the ANC will win the elections…ANC ANC ANC – currently the biggest threat to South Africa and its people of all colours!

The majority, if not all black people, will be voting for the ANC because:

1. Nelson Mandela’s legacy lives on!

2. No white-dominated party shall rule South Africa (no white party ever again)

3. And this is the biggest reason – FEAR. Fear because that boer still calls me a ‘kaffir’, because that boere person still has the Apartheid mentality. That white person claims to have given me my civilization, but he has forgotten the dignity and pride that went along with that! Going down from generation to generation.

This could be a SHORT WALK TO FREEDOM…the new generation in South Africa is potentially colour blind!…if we don’t pass on these feelings of racism to our children. Let it stop here.

Thanks for listening.

With hope
Bongi (23)

P.S. The other day a 3-year-old Dutch boy said to me “je bent zo lekker bruin” (you are so beautifully brown). That is beautyFULL!