OPINIONS
18 October 2016 | V75 E 12 | Page 6
Braai Day? Jemima Lewin
I
am a proud Coloured woman. While the term ‘Coloured’ is a race classification, it has its own distinct culture. There are so many things I love about my culture, from the amazing food to the mixed language that rolls so easily off our tongues. It is cultures like these and many others that were celebrated this past Heritage Day on 24 September. However, this day, for many, reminds us how our cultures are only accepted on one day out of the entire year. Why should I celebrate Heritage Day when the rest of the year I have to conform or fight
No Thank You
Image: SA People News
relentlessly for my culture to be acknowledged and accepted? The origins of Heritage day can be traced back to the great Zulu king, Shaka. September 24th was previously known as Shaka Day and to this day people still gather at his grave. However, the day was not recognized as an official public holiday and the IFP strongly objected the exclusion. After negotiations with parliament, it was renamed and recognized as one. With such a strong Zulu influence, it becomes difficult to comprehend how many South Africans have started to refer to the public holiday as ‘braai day’. The unofficial renaming of the day by a man named Jan Scannell,
who sought to ‘rebrand’ the holiday, points to the painfully obvious cultural hierarchy present in South Africa. White culture is so freely accepted in our country that it has become this homogenous blanket that I am quite frankly suffocating under. We are all expected to speak English and have hair that does not make anyone ‘uncomfortable’. School children at San Souci were punished and fined for speaking their home languages and girls from Pretoria Girls’ High School were not allowed to wear their natural hair. Afros and dreadlocks have become synonymous with ‘bad hair days’, with many claiming that they look untidy. Yet they’re
supposed to celebrate these very traits on Heritage Day. While everyone in South Africa may have a culture and heritage, not everyone has the privilege of celebrating it on a daily basis. The various cultures in South Africa have become pushed aside and diluted so that one could thrive. The renaming of Heritage Day made people forget the history and true reason for its creation. While eating braaied meat with friends and family sounds lovely, I have to admit, the images that advertise this campaign is not something I and so many others can relate to. My father did not braai with a beer in his hand, while
talking about rugby. But of course, only the white South African is acknowledged in a campaign that was supposedly created to ‘unify’ South Africans. Essentially, Heritage Day is not about celebrating South Africa’s diverse culture, it is a day of remembrance. The one day in the year where we can all unapologetically embrace our rich cultural identities. Afro? Rock it! Traditional clothing? Wear the hell out of them! Try your best to celebrate your culture and heritage every day; do not allow it to fade away and become a story you tell your children about one day around a braai.
on a practical, tangible level. The current university shake-up across South Africa may lead to the muchneeded realisation that we cannot carry on as before. But at what cost? If the universities remain closed, thousands of students may not realise their aspirations for a prosperous future. It is tempting to live in a bubble. If you limit the inputs and outputs
of your life to a small, immediate scope then it is possible to ignore the broader processes going on around you, and whether or not they benefit some more than others. But it is these processes that shape our environment and are ultimately responsible for where you come from and where you are going. The realisation of these systemic factors can be an uncomfortable
experience, but often a very necessary one, particularly in a complex society such as ours. The year 2016 is a year that many of us will mark as the year we were confronted with the realisation that there are bigger factors at play, in a much bigger picture. How we respond to these will define us as individuals, and perhaps even as a nation.
The Year of
Realisations Wesley Gush
A
colleague of mine recently drew my attention to a video of Kylie Jenner saying that so far 2016 has been full of people “realising stuff ”. Beyond the fact that I was forced to solidify my previously vague awareness of Kylie Jenner as an actual person, I didn’t realise she was so deep. Or that Pokémon would be forever restricted to my childhood. On a serious note, we are realising (not for the first time) that students have the power to command the nation’s attention. We are realising that the shadow of Apartheid has not been entirely banished by the rainbow of a democratic nation. The demons of the past continue to haunt us: 40 years on from the Soweto Riots, the status quo still benefits some groups in society more than others. We are realising that there are no easy solutions, and the time for critical thinking and engagement is now. But we have realised, too, that there is power in democracy. The results of the recent municipal elections reflect a shifting mentality
in the votership. For the ANC’s part, 2016 has been a year to realise that its leadership is not beyond contestation, as several economic hubs in SA have been “taken over” by their opposition. We have realised the fragility of the First World. Tragic terrorist attacks on Paris, a shocking British exit from the European Union, and farcical US elections. Many “developed” nations are teetering on the brink of serious turmoil. Amidst all of this, the refugee crisis has swelled to unprecedented levels. We are realising the dire need for strong, rational leadership on a global scale (and realising, in hindsight, the true merit of a statesman like Barack Obama). Ours is the generation that will face some of the greatest upheavals since the World Wars. Consider, also, the alternate meaning of “realisation”: the achievement of something desired or anticipated. Put simply, the making of a dream or hope into reality. While we are realising things conceptually, as in the examples above, so too will realisations be achieved or denied
Image: MyTherapistSays