Thembile Qolo, Nyanga
I sometimes wonder if those who fought and died for this country are they happy with the status quo.
Do they look down and see the fruits of their ultimate price? Just to be specific is Solomon Mahlangu seeing his blood nurturing the fruits of freedom?
I wonder is the young soul of Hector Pieterson getting joy when he sees many youth joining gangs and abandoning school. Is it well with his soul when the current generation doesn’t know its heritage?
I wonder, is Kader Asmal happy with the current curriculum that doesn’t produce engineers and accountants?
I wonder is the spirit of Bantu Biko finding peace when young people can’t speak, read or write their own African languages. I keep wondering is the soul of Mangiliso Sobukwe finding its rest when Africans are more relevant to Americans than to their own roots. Is his heart not bleeding when they kill each other for piece jobs rather than acquiring ownership of their own land. How does he feel when they see royalty abroad but have no respect for their own kingdoms?
I wonder is OR Tambo happy with the renaming of Mew Way with his name but the children of Khayelitsha can’t use the venue unless they have a
R1 000 deposit. I wonder is Chris Hani happy when he sees his own name being used to name monuments which are worth millions but mean nothing to ordinary community, and are only visited once even by his own Communist comrades?
I wonder when they look at the cabinet do they see individuals who are willing to serve or bunch that want to be served. I truly ponder about this, as I see many people are still forced to use the bucket system and yet Mandela said come 2020 there will be no bucket system in the whole of SA.
I wonder is Mandela proud when he sees his people that he paid 27 years of his life for being prison under poverty while his own organisation is in power and dishing out tenders to comrades. I wonder is Mama Albertina Sisulu healed when she sees nursing staff chasing patience away because there is no medication at hospitals and clinics.
Is Lillian Goyi at peace when women support rapists and say it’s a principle of law that one is “not guilty until proven by law”?
I wonder is Nomzamo Madikizela finding it easy to rest when Marikana victims have not been visited even today. Is she able to say my duty is done when women in townships and rural areas are still marginalised?