i am hope-filled for South Africa. i am not so naive to not suspect how much of a knife point this country feels on at the moment and to know that at any moment things could suddenly go horribly wrong. We have a LONG way to go still and time feels short. But being in contact and engagement with an incredible growing amount of people who get it or are working towards getting it, really [...]
South Africans, i love you. All of you. i sat in a room this morning with a handful of people, some linked to the university who represented a collective called Disrupting Whiteness and some from the non-profit organisation called The Warehouse, and a handful of others. It felt like a room full of incredible people with huge potential for significant change in the future of our country and inspired a lot of hope. But i [...]
i love how in the darkest and longest of rooms, the moment you light the smallest candle, it can be seen from anywhere else in the room. [Unless of course, you’re hiding in a cupboard, but then, Narnia!] Whereas in the lightest and brightest of rooms, you introduce a little bit of darkness and nothing much happens. […]
In a moment of brave-ity two night's ago i decided to ask the South African internet a question. I was reading a book that pointed back to the idea of South Africa being renamed Azania and i didn't think that was the worst idea. After all 'South Africa' is just a direction, right. What do you think? Who would be okay with a name change and why? i also posted an article by Xolela Mangcu [...]
This short extract from 'Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel' really jumped out at me and i think speaks for itself: It was during our final spring days at Saint Sulpice that my kindly mentor, Father Longère, touched a deeply resonant note, like a voice out of eternity. I had come to value his wisdom, his remarkable way of challenging us, spurring us to deeper thought on [...]
i do not have adequate words to describe last nite. i am scared that the ones i use will do it injustice as there is no adequate way to capture what went down at our home as some friends from Sybrand Park, Khayelitsha, Kayamandi, Wynberg, Nyanga, Manenberg and Southfield came together for a meal and some intense conversation. Spaghetti is a contradiction food all in itself. It is NOT good first date food. It is [...]
This is a response to yesterday's shared anonymous letter, What About Bob? and so if you have not read that yet, start there and then come back here and continue. Alexa is a good friend of mine who has been involved in many of the conversations we have had on race, reconciliation, restitution and other terms that may not begin with R but this is stuff she is passionate about and doing her best to live [...]
i get it, South Africa is in a bit of a mess right now, and that statement is a bit of an understatement. And yes, xenophobia might not be the correct word, but it's the one most people understand and so it does seem to work for now so please don't let us get distracted by that. With this whole Xenophobia vibe, there are two truths: [1] One truth is violence, fear, destruction, hate [2] Another [...]
The other day i wrote a poem titled 'to them who have ears' and just thinking about it a little more today, have dubbed it a choir poem - as in those who get what it's about and who agree will totally be reading and nodding and cheering and liking and sharing... but those who don't, are unlikely to even read it and if they somehow do, unlikely to understand the point trying to be made... [...]
*If I had a mic and all of SA was listening what would I say for 2015. My hope, my dream for this beautiful nation is that people would step out of their comfort zones amd embrace other people. I know this is not easy. My dream is that young people would embrace older people, straight people would embrace gay and transgendered people, people of different racial hues would also embrace each other and share [...]
