Yesterday (16 June '10) I decided to go and watch the South Africa vs Uruguay game in the township of Khayelitsha. They have one of these really cool "Fan Jols" which they have set up in most of the townships around the country so that those without tickets can watch the games on big screens for free, and its a very cool vibe there, what with the vuvuzelas buzzing inceasantly.
No, this is not a piece about how Bafana embarrassed the nation so much last night (tempting but I won't), but it centers around the game.
Now, as I said, there was a lot of jubilation at the fan jol, with everyone everyone else's friend. Of course, this didn't last long as you probably know. After the second Uruguayan goal everyone was hating Bafana and people started leaving. And then the third goal came in, and people started swearing, and people went off to the tarverns, and while they were leaving, you could hear shouts of "Aphi amakwerekwere, awashe amakwerekwere (where's the kwerekweres, let the kwerekweres burn)".
In case you are not aware, kwerekwere is a derogatory term that is used in South Africa to refer to foreigners of African descent. Yes, when Bafana was losing, some guys were looking to take out their frustrations on innocent foreigners. And these were such young guys, teenagers some of them. They were not drunk too, some of them maybe high on the ganja they managed to sneak into the grounds, but most of those shouting like this were, from what I saw, sober. Of course, it wasn't everybody in the crowd shouting these things, it was a minority, less than 5%, but it was still disturbing. And try as I might to find comfort in the chance that they might be joking, I couldn't find it. They looked serious, especially when they were waving the sticks and empty bottles.
I was embarrassed. This is what some call the "township mentality" and its the few rotten apples who give the rest of the people there a bad name. Having grown up in a township myself (Umlazi, what a place) I'm quite aware of some of the negative elements of growing up in that environment (slums, unemployment, no services), it creates a mindset which is hard to crack. And I know the "herd effect" when the stupidity of one is multiplied by the number present, so it escalates. But I hadn't expected what I saw there. And I was just glad that I had resisted the temptation to invite my Zimbabwean and Ugandan friends to join me in Khayelitsha, as I had planned.
Now, clearly there is substance to the rumours we've heard that some people are planning the purging of foreigners as soon as the world cup is over. This is not very surprising, considering how the debacle of two years ago was never resolved, only dealt with for the moment and the underlying issues swept under the carpet. And we know how quickly and effeciently pests and dust and germs can multiply under carpets. Simply taking the victims and placing them in distant compounds and telling everyone that its now alright was never gonna be a permanent solution. The ignorance which culminated in the original "purgings" is still there, the misinformation is still there, the fear is still there, the loathing is still. Cutting a tree at the trunk while leaving the roots intact does not kill the tree. In fact, it gives the roots more time to grow farther and stronger, so that by the time the tree rears its ugly head again, it'll be harder to get rid of.
We need more decisive action in this matter, from all fronts: the government, the ANC, the ANC Youth League, the Police, Home Affairs, Department of Education, the media, churches, everyone!! What people need to realise is that, in this country, there is really enough to go around. Those in the know say this country is operating way below full capacity. With the right systems in place and, more importantly, the right national mindset, we could easily double South Africa's GDP. We do not have to be fighting over scraps, especially to the point of spilling innocent blood. Its frustrating to see that there are really people who think in such twisted ways, who see life as being so cheap only because it comes from the DRC. Maybe its because I have so many friends from other African countries, and members of my youth group too, and I saw how terrified they were two years ago, that I feel the need for more decisive action. This cannot go on. Our rainbow is tainted, in fact it doesn't exist at all, as long as these elements still persist in our societies.
It also doesn't help that these things happened on Youth Day, after Bafana played #&$% soccer.
Bantu Steven Biko, Walter Sisulu, Solomon Mahlangu, they would be ashamed at the attitudes of some of the present day South African youth.
I rest,
Mzwa
