Can anything ever right the wrongs this country has experienced? History ensures we never forget, indeed it is forced down our throats so that we want to vomit it back up. Too much, too often. My generation in this country knows only too well the pains of the apartheid, but we are constantly reminded anyway. We are not allowed to forget.
If we cannot forget, why then surely we must forgive?
Forgiveness is impossible, the wrongs that have been done are much too horrific and must be paid for. But I will not pay for that which I have not done, and most white people who took a part in the horror that was apartheid seem to have been a victim of mass hysteria. No, I'm not making excuses, and no, I will never understand for I was not here, and I didn't go through it. Maybe I have no authority to speak on the matter.
With no chance of forgetting, or forgiving, I see no hope. I always say if laying the blames on anyone doesn't get you anywhere, then why must you insist on laying the blame on someone? Humans do some silly things, some more silly than others, we all know that. Why must we always keep our head over our shoulders, looking back? - we can't see the obstacles which lay directly ahead.
"First with the head, then with the heart"
Pray for South Africa, it is only halfway out of the hole which the white man ordered the black man to dig so long ago.
8 comments:
I think I'm understanding you, and I think I'm agreeing with you completely. In the US slavery is shoved down our throats: in grade school, in college. And I'm white. Evidently my ancestors owned slaves. Sorry. It's awful. Slavery is an awful concept, dehumanization is an awful concept. I feel no personal responsibility for it, however, and I don't think we're moving forward, as a country, by focusing on our past. Hate breeds hate, and there's a lot of race hate in America. And it's ugly.
History repeats itself and we refuse to learn Laila. Its better rectify the past blunders and move forward. For this to happen we have to know our history very well.
and analyse why such dehumanisation happened. The main reason was religion, Christianity and Islam in particular, condoned slavery. It was not banned or abolished in any of the holy scriptures. Owning a slave was not a sin. Islam says treat your slaves as your own children. But it does not say abolish slavery.
Bible gives a clean format for a slave. A slave is a property, not a human. Bible and Khurr-aan advise the slave to obey his master. But they also say that freeing a slave is a magnanimous act. But they never abolished. This has deeper roots. It will take another few hundred years to cross all barriers of racism, but the signs are not very encouraging as the religios feelings are getting stronger and stronger.
Hope your country grows stronger from the pain. It's up to your generation to make sure things never go back to how they were, or that they don't go the opposite extreme.
"...whole societies, whole regions, families, groups of families...consumed by anger and revenge. Tit for tat. The only way that can end is when somebody's had enough and says, 'Forgive.'"
- Ajahn Brahmavamso
In terms of slavery, both sides need to move forward. Focusing on the past only breeds anger and hate for each other. There's nothing we can do to change the past but there's a ton we can do to change our future if we look towards it.
Great post, once again, Leila.
leila-
i have to disagree with you a little bit. i completely agree with the fact that both sides have to move forward, but moving forward is not necessarily the same as not talking about it.
if south africa is anything like america, then there will be some folks that will "forget" about the apartheid. but just as it took hundreds of years for institutionalized racism to take hold, it will take hundreds of years to reverse the damage, if at all possible.
thora - i think you got it
rauf - yes, we refuse to learn... there's always some excuse.
faltenin - i'm sure it will if it's given the chance. But I wouldn't say 'my country'. I don't have a country really...
Antoine - yeah, you're right. we need to understand the past, but not become obsessed with it. There's nothing we can do to change the past - you're totally right. I'm just worried that we disregard the present/future by becoming obsessed with the past.
k - no, you are right. I agree that we must be taught about it - we need to understan, so that we won't repeat. It's just TOO much. That and HIV/AIDS is over-taught here. When so much focus on the past is destroying the future, then surely it can't be a good thing?
One of my history Proffs once said that human reactions are like a pendulum, people tend to over react and go the opposite direction, then react to that by going the other way. However in time the pendulum and people find the right balance or the center of where things will be.
Hi Leila.
Sorry to hear that you're so frustrated with the situation in your land.
It's rather tricky, because I guess they don't want future generations to forget. It would seem that it's the responsibility of your age group to learn from the past and to convey the history to future generations. Maybe the prevailing fear is that if you're not bombarded with it, the story shall be diluted until it is eventually forgotten...and possibly repeated.
But you can also see this type of pattern with some folks who are always dwelling on the negative aspects of their own past, but never really moving forward, taking measures to change what's wrong. Then the pattern repeats itself.
Take it all in, Leila. You're the future. Good luck! (No pressure).
Talk to you later.
Your Pal,
Zambo.
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