Clearly, we are a nation riven with cynicism. And with good reason. We have been betrayed by our public representatives, our political parties, the private sector, NGOs and by each other. Photo for illustration: iStock
Four years ago, I decided to plant a grape arbour. My late maternal grandparents had one and some of my fondest childhood memories are of the times spent there. It turned into a metaphor for South Africa.
I started with the structure, deciding on treated wooden poles and then putting in crossbeams. To finish off the framework, I needed to put a grid of wire over the top.
With a very limited budget, I decided to use the roll of Galvanised barbed wire I happened to have saved in my garage.
My wife had bought it many years before for a project and having used very little, there was enough left over to finish off my vision of tranquillity.
With the structure complete, I was patting myself on the back. I decided on Hanepoot grapes, as they are well-known for their sweetness.
They are also ideal for producing delicious dessert wines – not that I had any intention of creating my own hand-crafted wines.
But then again…
The grapes were planted and all that remained was to water it regularly, meticulously guiding the shoots so that it would one day create a cool, green canopy.
But my enthusiasm was doused when a friend pronounced that I had created the perfect concentration camp.
She was right. The wooden poles and barbed wire looked exactly like the pictures I had seen of the camps in Germany taken after WWII.
I was mortified. The task I had undertaken with the best of intentions had instantly turned into a monstrosity.
I contemplated breaking it down.
The problem was that I was never looking at my arbour the way it was.
I was envisaging it covered in leaves, with the rich fruit hanging down and my friends and family eating olives and drinking wine in the shade.
In my mind’s eye, I could even hear beautiful French music and see children with outstretched arms trying to reap the lowest hanging grapes.
Four years down the line, that vision has become reality. The grapes are a pantry for the birds and people are overwhelmed at its beauty.
Perhaps there’s a lesson there. Let’s not look at South Africa for what it is now, but for what we can turn it into.
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