Yesterday we returned from three glorious sun-drenched weeks in Namibia and South Africa. In an effort to stay awake and combat the dreadful jetlag that a six-hour time difference and a 23-hour door-to-door journey leave you with, we decided to head to the movies and see Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, featuring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as the captain of the Springbok rugby team, Francois Pienaar.
As the camera panned the Cape Town scenes that I love and know so well, John whispered, “Do you think there’s anyone in the theater that saw Table Mountain in person more recently than us?”. No. There definitely couldn’t be. But most importantly, I felt pretty sure that no one in the packed theater was viewing this amazing film with as much love for that country as we did.
It was a strange experience, seeing what went on ‘behind the scenes’ during the run up to this momentous rugby match. I was a 15-year old girl living in Namibia at the time of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and all I remember of it is the immense pride with which we watched every game the Springboks played in, right up to that final kick by Joel Stransky that declared the Boks the winners. As a white teenager living in the relativele luxury of white suburbia, I really was oblivious to all the politics and drama that was happening on our doorstep. (Namibia became independent of South Africa in 1990 and has remained a politically stable country ever since.) What I do remember is the absolute passion with which I fell in love with Madiba. His humility and passion for his country was contagious and the way with which he embraced all races inspired me and everyone around me.
The camera panned a scene of the townships outside Cape Town and Johannesburg and John again said, “It’s shocking that it hasn’t changed much since 1995, right?” and I felt a surge of anger…and of shame. What are we doing to change that? Here is a country filled with so much hope, so much creativity, pride and an overriding belief that things can change, that everyone has a chance of being who they want to be. And yet the vast majority of people in this country still live in absolute poverty, with so little hope. And, not for the first time, I felt ashamed. And I decided that this year I will do something to change, for the better, the lives of at least one person living in my homeland. How I’ll do that I’m not yet sure. Perhaps we should each sponsor one child’s school fees for the year. Perhaps I will start a fund to help our domestic worker in Windhoek to send her kids to school. One thing is for sure – the problems in Southern Africa are not going to fix themselves. It is the responsibility of us all to help in whichever way we can.
The year ahead is filled with opportunity and change – for me and John and probably for you too. What will you do to help others?
Invictus – William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Invictus is full of political progoganda and black people in South Africa is poorer today than before 1994 because of the terrible government they’ve voted in and not because of anything that whites have done wrong. What good are you doing to your own people, the Afrikaners who are getting killed on their farms, who’s language and culture is threat and who don’t get jobs because of affirmative action?
Johan, thanks for your comment. My mom is a doctor and I remember her telling us a story one day when I was about ten or so. She said that when a patient lies on the operating table and is already prepped for the surgery, the only thing you can see is the area where the incision will be made. That area has usually been swabbed by Betadine and is pretty much orange or dark yellow because of the disinfectant, so skin colour doesn’t make much of an impression. The surgeon doesn’t necessarily see the patient’s face and, once that incision has been made, what the doctor will find inside is the same – regardless of whether the patient is black or white.
I’ve often thought of this story through the years, especially when I was faced with situations where the seemingly natural racial point of view that is taken by many (black and white) Southern Africans have come to the fore. As long as we hold on to the old beliefs and the old way of thinking, nothing will change – not for the black nor white people in South Africa.
I have to disagree with you that Invictus was full of political propaganda. It was both written and directed by white men (John Carlin’s parents are Scottish and Spanish) that are not directly involved in the South African government. I think the message of the movie showed the kind spirit and absolute open heart of someone who was locked in a prison for 27 years – simply because he was black and wanted a better life for himself and his family – as well as the power that lies in combining forces and working together.
I agree with you completely – farmers being killed on their farms is a horrible, horrible occurrence and something that no one should ever have to live with. Living in New York it’s also easy for me to forget how hard it is to live in the ‘fenced in’ society that many white people in South Africa live in, due to security threats. What we have to remember, however, is that these actions are the result of many years of oppression and a whole ‘lost’ generation who was denied an education or the chance to have a better life. By working together to build a better future, everyone will benefit.
(As an aside, if you’ve recently been to any of the great Afrikaans music and arts festival – Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in particular – you’ll know that Afrikaans as a language and culture is alive and kicking! And yes, it’s alive and kicking amongst many of Southern Africa’s ethnic groups.)