Four psychologists reflect on what liberty means to them, their patients and the country
Freedom Day
Posted inEquality
Active citizenship must be revived
Because all we have now are commemorations of Freedom Day and the dreams it once carried
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Home is where the soul grows
I don’t like the idea of “nationalism”, it sounds divisive and exclusive, but on days like Freedom Day I secretly wish I could hold a more legitimate claim to this country, which has adopted me. In thinking about this, a poem I came across on Facebook recently comes to mind. It is entitled “Diaspora Blues” […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Enslaved by freedom
By Danai Nhando Bob Marley’s famous lyrics in Redemption Song have been a silent anthem in my head of late. “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.” The more I ponder on the state of my beloved continent, the more I realise how ironic it is that he sung this […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
An EFF beret, Nkandla and Freedom Day
I have mixed feelings about Freedom Day. A sense of relief is mixed with a sense of frustration. Optimism is muddled with ineffable loss of something different, something a little better than what we have now. I think Nomboniso Gasa said it far better than I on Facebook yesterday: Freedom, I think, is never complete. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Freedom without responsibility a recipe for failure
By Erik de Ridder Freedom Day is a useful focal point to consider efforts at making freedom a lived reality for all. Moreover, it is an opportunity to reflect on the need for a different type of engagement in South Africa. On the part of those who enjoy different freedoms, Freedom Day is an opportunity […]
Posted inLifestyle
Freedom to be our own worst enemies
It’s Freedom Day. Nineteen years ago today, I was in Hoedspruit, listening to reports of the queues on the radio and reflecting on stories about the AWB telling farmers about MK flying into the airforce base, warning them to hide in the shower with their guns. If South Africa were a person, it would be […]
Posted inNews/Politics
18-year-olds on SA’s 18th Freedom Day
The Mail & Guardian asked 18-year-old South Africans, the born-frees, about what this Freedom Day means to them. Here are their responses: I was born in January 1994. To me, Freedom Day means success for South Africa and its citizens. For the past 18 years the democratically elected government has not disappointed. Much has been […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A political affiliation to Pedro
By Sarah Silber I was exactly seven months and 21 days old on the day democracy was born in South Africa. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t remember much about that big day in our nation’s history … but my Dad remembers it well. Every April 27th, he tells me all about it. […]