“Your Respect is My Strength”:

“Your Respect is My Strength”:

On Inclusivity

The challenge that many South Africans are tackling on is that of the counter narrative. Often, this is a struggle for many people globally – being heard. I often want to run to my hooyo (mom) and abo (dad) and write their stories in fear of a dying discourse. I must brand their stories into my heart and soul and wear it on my sleeves and bare it for the world to see. Then I purge everything into writings that hardly even make sense to me. Then, I rip them to shreds. These are forms of preservation and resistance. You cannot contain every emotion, every hurt, and everyone’s insecurities without feeling like you yourself are caught up in the flames. I say, write them out, shred them, and if you’re daring, burn them, but if you’re brave, frame them.

This is almost inescapable for the poor, the vulnerable. Whether one likes it or not, images of harsh realities are branded and glued to the back of eyelids. Even sleep cares nothing for the oppressed. The grumbling hungry stomach pains only mirror sounds of whimpering dogs living in between shacks. Never mind the sounds your mother makes when she weeps. Scrambling and scurrying feet soon replace this. Work, eat, and dream is the repetition.

Thandiwe is what my Xhosa mama calls me. Even when she is waking up at 4am to trek across the dirty waters, into the gated communities, her laughter rings with blossoming and honest love. Sincerity and warmth replace all the cold that seeps in during the night. Whatever the hurt, whatever the pain, your skin is resistant, enduring, and always glowing.

Love has been the inevitable we humans constantly try to run away from, but cant seem to escape. And sometimes that love only comes after trauma and destruction. I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of listening during this trip and I’ve learned through many far wiser than I that genuine love is bound in the powerful concept of Ubuntu – I am because we are in Xhosa culture. We cannot break under the weight of hatred and mount the train of complacency without our individual consent. Every passenger has to choose his or her destination.

I’ve also learned the beauty of reclamation, space, and the discovery that knowledge that binds doesn’t always come with understanding, but with patience, awareness and selflessness. I think this is the first step to inclusivity. I feel very proud to have had a conversation along the same lines with a couple of the other students on the trip. Sometimes in our lives there will be things that we just cant and won’t ever fully understand, and that’s okay, but dialogue in its different forms needs to be observed and engaged in.

I’ve met so many beautifully spirited individuals from across the continent, but in South Africa, with its particular history, I am in awe of all of the continuous forms of resistance, inclusiveness, and particularly the forms of reconciliation and healing. How do the people of SA and the rest of the world make sure that history never repeats itself? I honestly don’t know. But I do know that as soon as true solidarity manifests itself into the heart, the minds and wills of individuals becomes impervious to imaginary boundaries and binaries that have been engrained into us consciously and subconsciously our whole lives. These thoughts came to me during the Youth Dialogue that the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) hosted and we students participated in.

Here we met many youths that came from all over South Africa to participate. We were asked to discuss certain themes and our thoughts/feelings on two documentaries we watched. We broke off into smaller groups and all had the opportunities to share our voices. Our group members consisted of many people from various backgrounds and ages, but one concept that a group member of ours (Eleanor Swartz: the Project Leader for the Ashley Kriel Youth Leadership Development Project) came up with is the theme regeneration generation in relation to the part we, the youth, play in our society. She spoke of this in-between-ness that gives us uniqueness of us having the ability to regenerate and maneuver between hope and space.

It is our part to build these inclusive societies we so stimulatingly speak of. Just like the displaced communities that continue to refuse to cease existing, we must not only mend, but we must rebuild and become self-reflective. So dear reader, I pose the some of the same questions we tackled on – what role do you believe young people have in reconciliation? How do we engage with the past? How do we engage with people? How do we go about finding common ground?

Here’s some steps we quickly jotted down:
- Recognize/Educate ourselves about the past (“look to the past to move forward”)
- Get together, have conversations/dialogue
- Explore the unique ways in which other SA and other countries/people deal with their past in terms of reconciliation
- Self-reflection
- Using a more constructive tone when engaging in dialogue.

I have to remind myself everyday that sources of community, commitment, love, and friendship are plentiful. We can be reflective, but we mustn’t ever stop listening, thinking, reacting, and most importantly – creating. These things will surely give birth to manifestations of inclusiveness. This dialogue has made me realize that the world and our environment are urging and pleading for us to give attention to the drowned out and silenced voices. The healing powers of listening is refreshing, nurturing, and comforting in that it gives recognition to the need in respecting the value of each individual.

The challenge that many South Africans are tackling on is that of the counter narrative. Often, this is a struggle for many people globally – being heard.

Love has been the inevitable we humans constantly try to run away from, but cant seem to escape. And sometimes that love only comes after trauma and destruction. I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of listening during this trip and I’ve learned through many far wiser than I that genuine love is bound in the powerful concept of Ubuntu – I am because we are in Xhosa culture. We cannot break under the weight of hatred and mount the train of complacency without our individual consent. Every passenger has to choose his or her destination.

I’ve also learned the beauty of reclamation, space, and the discovery that knowledge that binds doesn’t always come with understanding, but with patience, awareness and selflessness. I think this is the first step to inclusivity. I feel very proud to have had a conversation along the same lines with a couple of the other students on the trip. Sometimes in our lives there will be things that we just cant and won’t ever fully understand, and that’s okay, but dialogue in its different forms needs to be observed and engaged in.

I’ve met so many beautifully spirited individuals from across the continent, but in South Africa, with its particular history, I am in awe of all of the continuous forms of resistance, inclusiveness, and particularly the forms of reconciliation and healing. How do the people of SA and the rest of the world make sure that history never repeats itself? I honestly don’t know. But I do know that as soon as true solidarity manifests itself into the heart, the minds and wills of individuals becomes impervious to imaginary boundaries and binaries that have been engrained into us consciously and subconsciously our whole lives. These thoughts came to me during the Youth Dialogue that the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) hosted and we students participated in.

Here we met many youths that came from all over South Africa to participate. We were asked to discuss certain themes and our thoughts/feelings on two documentaries we watched. We broke off into smaller groups and all had the opportunities to share our voices. Our group members consisted of many people from various backgrounds and ages, but one concept that a group member of ours (Eleanor Swartz: the Project Leader for the Ashley Kriel Youth Leadership Development Project) came up with is the theme regeneration generation in relation to the part we, the youth, play in our society. She spoke of this in-between-ness that gives us uniqueness of us having the ability to regenerate and maneuver between hope and space.

It is our part to build these inclusive societies we so stimulatingly speak of. Just like the displaced communities that continue to refuse to cease existing, we must not only mend, but we must rebuild and become self-reflective. So dear reader, I pose the some of the same questions we tackled on – what role do you believe young people have in reconciliation? How do we engage with the past? How do we engage with people? How do we go about finding common ground?

Here’s some steps we quickly jotted down:
- Recognize/Educate ourselves about the past (“look to the past to move forward”)
- Get together, have conversations/dialogue
- Explore the unique ways in which other SA and other countries/people deal with their past in terms of reconciliation
- Self-reflection
- Using a more constructive tone when engaging in dialogue.

I have to remind myself everyday that sources of community, commitment, love, and friendship are plentiful. We can be reflective, but we mustn’t ever stop listening, thinking, reacting, and most importantly – creating. These things will surely give birth to manifestations of inclusiveness. This dialogue has made me realize that the world and our environment are urging and pleading for us to give attention to the drowned out and silenced voices. The healing powers of listening is refreshing, nurturing, and comforting in that it gives recognition to the need in respecting the value of each individual.

Amina

Picture taken at Table Mountain