Aluta continua!

Submitted by Aalia Ismail

Fourteen years on and what we have seen are distorted, dark-continent hypotheses-like attempts by the media to explain South Africa’s current state. This is a direct reflection of the destruction of our identity by colonial monsters further bludgeoned by our peripheral position in the skewed international political economy, as a result of our exploitative past. Contrary to popular opinion, South Africa remains a powerhouse state that continually exercises its African hegemonic status.

South African citizens, as trumpeted by statistics, are generally content but infinitely more joyous, post-apartheid. Unlike other parts of the world, South Africans do not die of hunger, are not hacked to pieces in mass proportions and are unreservedly able to exercise liberties previously reserved for exclusive race groups. Furthermore, opportunities for progress are not only available, but have also been translated into reality by citizens themselves. Black middle classes that simply did not exist in the past are gaining global recognition as the black diamonds take ownership of the country that once scorned them. The poor have been roped into government through World Bank-recommended public-participation mechanisms and are far wealthier now than they were before.

Being that state which is a bastion of democracy after only 14 years is no easy task and has often seen criticism coming from the ranks of the former model-C classes, who are now feeling the instability of having to share resources with all. This is ironic given that the inverse trend of this rank has seen it participate least in government attempts for national participation in policy. We must remember that Rome was not built in a day and that during that process of construction, the surrounding already-developed areas were temporarily inconvenienced. Today we see welfare schemes available to all in need, long-term sustainable policy oriented towards development and inclusionary measures practised even at the highest levels.

For those opaquely refusing to view South Africa in a pan-Africanist light, I pity them because they are a product and prisoner of colonial-era indoctrination of crushing African self-esteem, in order to facilitate their extractionist policies in the socio-economic sense. Those who contend that all Africa’s problems are being blamed on colonialism simply lack an historical long-term vision that serves to contextualise Africa in contemporary times. Let us not forget that Africa gave the world the alphabet and was home to the greatest empires and kingdoms on this Earth, which served as the brain-child of Europe.

Fourteen years on, aluta continua.

Aalia Ismail is a 22-year-old woman on a mission. She is completing a master’s degree in political science while trying to make a macro-difference.