Racism does exist in our country

South Africa is a blessed and beautiful country. I feel privileged to be a citizen of this country. I was too young to witness and understand the struggles our country faced during apartheid but I remember very well the massive celebration after the first general elections in 1994.

People were full of joy and hope. Yes, we can’t ignore the fact that our country has achieved a lot since 1994. In 2009 I visited Freedom Park in my home town Pretoria for the first time. The Park aims to give visitors a broad perspective of the history of Mzansi while acknowledging all the people who struggled and died for equality and freedom.

South Africa has had 21 years of freedom. We still have challenges and difficulties just like any other country. However what greatly disturbs my peace is the division between black and white South Africans.

Racism does exist in our country and I don’t say this because of what some South Africans recently wrote on social networks. But I say racism does exist in our country because I have experienced it several times.

And there are many other South Africans who also deal with it on a daily basis, especially at work. But they don’t know what to do because there are no serious repercussions for being racist.

Government fails to protect us. They say there’s no racism in South Africa, it’s only a few individuals. The statement really insults our common sense. And it also exposes how the government always chooses just to use simple words instead of innovating a system that will bring serious repercussions for perpetrators. It’s like we forgot how many lives were lost in this country due to racism.

I deeply believe that South Africa hasn’t completely healed from the apartheid era.

We are like a wound that looks healed from the outside but is not healed from within. When that wound is harshly touched, it bleeds though it seemed healed. It’s also like a mud that seems dry from outside, but once you stand on top of it then it can’t take the pressure it cracks in and you surprisingly find your self in the wet mud. It’s really disgracing when we keep on reading and hearing white South Africans saying it’s been over 20 years but black South Africans still speak and blame apartheid for their misfortune.

I don’t blame white South Africans who have this mentality, because they didn’t lose their loved ones, they were not imprisoned, they were not stripped of their dignity and they were not economical deprived any privileges. There are still many black South African families who haven’t got answers about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

White South Africans who are racist to be specific, should change and stop playing with fire. I don’t necessarily mean fire of facing the law. But I mean fire of having to deal with the anger of unhealed South Africans, who carry aching marks of the past.

Most white South Africans have misunderstood and misinterpreted our kindness and forgiveness, they saw it as weakness instead of humanity. That’s the reason why they are never grateful for what black South Africans has done for them and the country they live comfortably in. Up to this day we call South Africa home because it’s our mother land but most of us we don’t even know how it’s harvest taste like.

Many black South Africans are still swimming in poverty in their own mother land. For peace and reputation sake we are quiet and hope tomorrow will be better while those we elected to represent us in leadership forgot us and they now represent their own best interest. They now treat leadership as a career instead of seeing it as a calling, for a calling comes with great responsibilities.

I know that there are black South Africans who are also racist. But truly speaking it’s just a drop in the ocean, if it wasn’t so South Africa couldn’t have been such a peaceful country that white South Africans continue to enjoy to settle in since 1994.

Political parties in this country should stop wasting time on meaningless things, such as their political parties’ agendas and policies and start promoting and representing the best interests of all South Africans by agreeing on ideas that will make our country better, despite which party brought it forth. South Africa has serious issues to be redressed. Racism can be a stranger in our country once we speak the same language.

The language of unity, peace, love and economic liberation. If all South Africans can have the same mind then nothing will be impossible. I have learned a valuable lesson when I was hiking table mountain.

All of us who were hiking, spoke the same “language”. We all encouraged one another to push ahead despite how difficult it was. Everyone, regardless of skin colour and nationality was friendly, helpful and sharing for the goal was common to us all; reach the top. If all South Africans can have the best interests of this beautiful country at heart then we will be a truly reconciled rainbow nation.