Possibility and Ambiquity in Using Madiba Magic To Combat Poverty
Using Madiba Magic To Combat Poverty.
By Tebogo Mokgadi
July is a revered month throughout the world, but more so in South Africa. Declared unanimous by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002, the 18th of this month is a day celebrated as International Mandela Day. Its a day of community service meant to commemorate a struggle stalwart that used his time in the world to bring peace, unity, and equality to South Africa and beyond. Given this year’s theme of the day, our Youth Writer-In-Residence went about his community to find out more about how people relate to Mandela, his concepts, and how they can combat poverty and inequality.
The answers found painted a picture of how divided as a people we are. They showed how values one generation hold dear, the next can discover as completely insignificant. Questioning people from 16 years to as old as the late 80s, the fundamentals preached by Nelson Mandela presented themselves similar. The difference was in the detail.
An elderly lady with her younger sister – who asked not to be named in fear of persecution – running a veggie vendor for about 15 years says that she relocated to South Africa from Zimbabwe after hearing about, and longing for the freedom she’s heard about since the abolition of Apartheid. “18th of July reminds me of the immense possibilities that I couldn’t fathom during my stay in my home country,” says the lady. Her sister rehashed, “its a day which reminds me why I fight for the life I deserve. A day celebrating a man who fought for a life we all deserve.”
A high-school youngster by the name of Boikanyo, on the other hand, says that the July 18th holds no meaning to his life. “Mandela died a long time ago. And even when he was still alive, his struggle were not the same as the struggles me and my peers face today.” To him, he doesn’t even recognize it, let alone commemorate it. It’s just another day on the calendar, saying, “its similar to Valentine’s day.”
Different from the young man’s views, the two lady vendors say that they commemorate the day by helping their fellow friends and neighbors who fled Zimbabwe due to intolerable state of economy. They have appreciation for the inclusive country Nelson Mandela’s leadership has created.
A 37 year old lady, mother to four children, unemployed and dependent on the country’s Social Grant, pondered on the futility brought on by poverty and inequality within the community. After matriculation over 20 years ago, she has never found any permanent employment. Residing in a mining town, the discrimination when it comes to finding employment as a woman has discouraged her, asking where “the spirit of Madiba has gone if you’re required by your fellow brothers to degrade yourself to be considered for employment.”
The lady’s partner, Mr Motsamai, says that it is going to be very hard to combat poverty and inequality in tandem. He finds that dealing with inequality – naming it as the number one contributor of poverty – will initiate a domino effect. Mr Motsamai quoted Mandela’s words of “doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white, what matters is that it kills the rat.” For Mr. Motsamai, becoming equal despite race, sex, creed, and religion will awaken the people into the realization that “the enemy is poverty.”
The 2024 theme for International Mandela Day was “Combating Poverty & Inequality is in our Hands,” may hold some water in a utopian, “rainbow nation” that Nelson Mandela hoped South Africa to become. In the ground, the reality proves to be way different than expected. A disenfranchised nation led by unfaithful individuals has lost hope in its own capabilities. The very hands that made Madiba stand against the evil regime of apartheid, and made Hector Peterson fight for a just education system, have lost the urge to fight for what they deserve.
A graduate of BeCoCo partner, SisterBoss Academy & Company, Tebogo Mokgadi, is a Youth Writer-in-Resisence with BeCoCo
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