Reflections - South Africa - 2014
George A. Hill
We live in a country of two worlds - maybe more. We occupy spaces in between spaces and our reality is superficial at most, esoteric at least. There is perhaps another way to describe our dichotomy but when you truly look at our country 20 years after the advent of democracy the differences simply are to glaring.
Intellectuals, politicians, social activists, scribes and social commentators have for decades now bemoaned and documented the ever widening rift between rich and poor. We see it every day on our streets. We witness it when we ‘go home’. Or on our way to our holiday destinations, driving through the North West or the Northern Cape when we see the despair in run down infrastructure and on the faces of people trying to survive living below the poverty line. Or in the silent cries of the impoverished farmworkers working the land but not owning the land. We hear it on the news, when we hear about children being left behind because school books were not delivered, of a child who died after falling into a pit latrine. We witness it first hand, when we murder protesting mineworkers and leave orphans and widows behind to fend for themselves. The list is endless. The hungry is plenty and the resources are being mismanaged.
Our social construct in 2014 is informed by our immediate interactions, power relations and the psychological and institutional legacy of apartheid (oops there we rang that bell again). And so we must. To have proper context we must understand the role the past plays in our present. The fact that for the majority of white South Africans, apartheid simply did not happen – the fact that they refuse to acknowledge that they were advantaged and are still reaping the rewards – is a little bit disturbing.
The question is who do you blame for this blatant display of collective amnesia and ignorance? Or perhaps we should ask a different question. Why have we as a nation, not dealt with our collective grief and why have we not moved on the issue of proper reparations to our people who lost so much. We have the political power and the mandate. It should not only be about the money and the land. We speak of economic liberation in this lifetime and so we should also speak of the mental liberation from the legacy that keeps us behind. We have the policy mechanisms and the Constitution to enforce radical institutional transformation and so we must use these tools.
Today I am pointing fingers at all of us.
It is unacceptable that greedy and incompetent government officials prevent service delivery to the millions of destitute. Unfortunately for us black people we cannot simply just be people who just do our jobs. We carry the burden of empowering a people and fixing the wrongs of the past.
Our freedom brought with it great liberties and advancements for our people. Some of us being more fortunate than others. We have been brought into the fold and we have assimilated nicely. We speak properly and we fit into the mould. We will gain minimal access to the wealth of our economy unless we help create a conducive environment where our people can flourish and empower one another. We must level the playing the fields for ourselves and equip ourselves through education and building out our knowledge systems. We must mentor one another and create a deeper sense of giving back to our communities. We must return to where we come from once we are successful so that our youth have living role models living in their communities. We must break down the ivory towers, by becoming active politically to influence policy that will see our people gain control of the economic wealth of this country. We must rid our public sector of corrupt and self-serving individuals and employees servant leaders.
It makes no sense that in a country of plenty so many must go to bed hungry.
And they will knock on the door. And if you refuse to open, they will break it down.
Just a few thoughts to add to broader discourse….
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
UNITY IN THE TIME OF DISPLACEMENT
Reading Trevor Manuel's open letter to Jimmy Manyi I got the distinct feeling that now we are more than just gatvol as a nation. I share the sentiments expressed in Trevor's letter for a number of reasons. For a while now people have been saying that we are losing our moral compass and we are doing it at a rate where it will be difficult for us to return to any semblance of sanity should we seek to do so on the future.
We need to understand that those in power sway immense influenze on the masses of our people and how we are socialised. Therefore those in power need to understand that with this privilege and freedom comes immense responsibility. Personal retrogressive agendas along the lines of ethnicity has no place in South Africa in 2011 and beyond. Have we not learned from apartheid? And why are we so bend on pursuing a retrogressive Africanist-Nationalist agenda?
Those of us that came to the National Democratic Revolution via the UDF and the
black consciousness movement understand the value of simply being human and striving for equality. We understand and have always aspired to what is contained within the Freedom Charter and now our constitution. The fact that we are different and have a blended heritage is what makes us unique. It speaks to the richness of our culture and speaks to the "rainbow" nation we are.
A unique social exercise that is protected by our constitution. One is not better than the other. We are equal. Or perhaps I am just a fool to believe that the blood that was shed for this inalienable right and privilege should today guide us in all we do.
A question we might have to start asking is whether the ANC has the moral will to guide us through this Red Sea or is it Dead Sea? I know that the movement has the political will to do so, I am just not sure it has the moral capacity. I might be wrong, but I am not seeing positive signs anywhere from any one in key leadership positions. We do no require a policy conference to comment on injustice.
What is needed to move us forward as a nation? How do we begin to take ownership of this country of ours? How do we heal the wounds of the past? We certainly did not achieve that with the TRC. It merely scratched beneath the surface and further infected the wound. It helped a few families find peace and painted a picture of reconciliation but it certainly did not heal South Africa. If anything in retrospect, it placed a plaster on a growing brain tumor. Be that as it may, we are where we are today because we sought quick fix solutions and we continue to do so.
The anger amongst our people are most palpable in our poorer communities. And here poverty makes no distinction based on ethnicity or cultural background. The writing is on the wall and instead we want to place these acts of rebellion and discontent on the sidelines and call it isolated incidences.
We have failed to bring our communities together in a progressive and sustainable manner and because of this the spray painted rainbow nation is fast crumbling before our eyes. Let us not fool ourselves in thinking that a few white people at the Kaizer Chiefs/Orlando Pirates derby is a definite sign that we are now united as a nation. People continue to isolate themselves in their respective communities and continue to organise themselves politically and economically along the same lines. Again we have made advances in nation building, but the reminders of the divisions in our society is stark.
Why is this though? We have become a nation of opportunists where individualism has been crowned the one eyed king or is it blind-eyed king? I see progressive changes in our children, the new generation as they operate beyond ethnic boundaries with no limitations. And also only those that is exposed to it. But for us dragging the psychological baggage of apartheid it is slightly more difficult. We have so much further to go and so much more healing need to be done. We need to engage pro-actively with issues related to race and identity. We need to construct a South African Cultural Paradigm that speaks to the humanity of individuals. We need to place before us our past and deal with the hurt and sorrow constructively and lay it to rest.
We need to unite in this time of displacement and polirisation and set a pro-active agenda that will not only be designed along class structure, but will bring people together from all walks of life.
These are but a few suggestions. I certainly do not have the answers. I only write about what I see and hear. We need to stop playing the blame game and start doing. We need to take whoever to task should they seek to harm our nation and start the progressive discourse.
Remember; some of us is not all of us.
GAH - thetruthseeker
@ Jozi
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Collective Responsibility Project – Editorial Independence vs. Editorial Balance. - By George A. Hill
It was mid winter in Cape Town. The kind of day where the South Easter blew violently and brought with it sharded raindrops. I had a long walk to the Journalism Department at what was then called Peninsula Technikon. Not even the horrid weather could keep my away from writing my entry exam to study journalism. Filled with ideals of changing the world and telling the people’s story of a newly liberated South Africa, I sat down rain soaked and battered and entered into my vocation as a truth seeker.
That was almost two decades ago. Today the ideals are still firmly entrenched, but then along the way the new South Africa happened. Hindsight, most certainly has it benefits. We were a new breed of journalists that were set loose to transform the media landscape. The years that followed saw distinct advances as we began to change the narrative of the media in our country. The transformation process was painful but necessary and we achieved major advances. The face of the former State Broadcaster changed and entered into an era of a responsible Public Broadcasting. The early 90’s to the early 2000’s was our Woodstock. A period of free thought when our ideals were the fire that fed our convictions. Newsrooms across the media spectrum underwent cultural revolutions as we chipped away at the white enamel that for so many decades set the narrative in our country.
We witnessed the rise of the black editor across the spectrum and we thought that now we are feasting on the fruits of our struggle.
We can never cast asunder the advances we made and the opportunities it had created for so many that has come after us, but in hindsight all I see today is a tired, has-been ramp model with too much make make-up on. It is after twelve and 20 whiskeys later, it all goes on sale and everything and everyone looks good. But the morning after the reality sets in.
No one taught us how to navigate the treacherous ocean called capital. Because of our political upbringing we knew and understood that white capital were evil. Given the legacy of apartheid we knew and understood our role as the 4th estate. We held on to the transformation agenda and thought that a few black faces in strategic positions meant true transformation. We even thought that launching our own media interests would be sustainable. We had to wake up to the realities of just how little we have transformed almost two decades down the line.
As a nation in the post 1994 era we often neglect to admit that the foundation of this new South Africa was build on compromise. A compromise that benefitted Capital more than the people. I will be the first to admit that we have made advances. The question is though, to what end? As far as the majority of media institutions are concerned we just need to do a simple ownership audit to see what the real lay of the land is.
The new South Africa was fast tracked and many in this country had little choice but to simply assimilate. The same goes for the media industry. Capital do not take kindly to change, particularly when it interferes with the bottom line. Economic modules are in play and no transformation agenda will stand in the way of their revenue stream.
When we look at where Editorial Independence then comes into play, we need to do and honest assessment. In Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988), by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chompsky they analyse news media as a business. They use what they call the propaganda model and asserts that what drives all main stream media and we can argue even our Public Broadcaster is the bottom line. They are merely businesses subject to commercial competition for advertising revenue and profit. There is always a profit motif. Thus we need to wake up and understand that this is where we find ourselves. We are part of this Free Market World, irrespective of the ever widening gap between rich and poor in our country. Irrespective of the rhetoric of a developmental state.
Capital has no color, has no compassion and is not interested in Editorial Independence. All media houses have agendas depending on its ownership.
So what do we do? Do we merely continue accepting this or do we move the debate onto another plain and perhaps start talking about Editorial Balance. Editorial Independence pre-supposes complete control over the news product by appointed editorial staff, with no interference from the owners. This definition and/or aspiration will always see the business owners in conflict with its editorial staff even though there is a set of editorial guidelines and ethics regulating the final news product. The givers of revenue do not take kindly to negative reportage. The 4th Estate does not take kindly to being told what they can put out there. And the owners do not take kindly to losing revenue. After all they are running a business and the profit share and bottom line is king.
While we are engaged in a battle to prevent government from establishing a Media Appeals Tribunal, we should not lose sight at the real transformation of our mindsets that need to take place in a much contested media environment. As the 4th Estate we need to do deep introspection and start engaging the media owners on how we bring back an accepted level of Editorial Balance into our newsrooms. We are no longer in a position where we can simply discard the business of our media entities and in the same vain we cannot wish away that we are neglecting the real-politik in terms of a progressive narrative.
Let us take the reality of our disposition and call back the idealism of that youngster that so much wanted to change the world and simply tell the story of a new nation. Let us take collective responsibility for where we find ourselves and move forward to a space where open and honestly debate our challenges and enact real transformation and empowerment.
End…
That was almost two decades ago. Today the ideals are still firmly entrenched, but then along the way the new South Africa happened. Hindsight, most certainly has it benefits. We were a new breed of journalists that were set loose to transform the media landscape. The years that followed saw distinct advances as we began to change the narrative of the media in our country. The transformation process was painful but necessary and we achieved major advances. The face of the former State Broadcaster changed and entered into an era of a responsible Public Broadcasting. The early 90’s to the early 2000’s was our Woodstock. A period of free thought when our ideals were the fire that fed our convictions. Newsrooms across the media spectrum underwent cultural revolutions as we chipped away at the white enamel that for so many decades set the narrative in our country.
We witnessed the rise of the black editor across the spectrum and we thought that now we are feasting on the fruits of our struggle.
We can never cast asunder the advances we made and the opportunities it had created for so many that has come after us, but in hindsight all I see today is a tired, has-been ramp model with too much make make-up on. It is after twelve and 20 whiskeys later, it all goes on sale and everything and everyone looks good. But the morning after the reality sets in.
No one taught us how to navigate the treacherous ocean called capital. Because of our political upbringing we knew and understood that white capital were evil. Given the legacy of apartheid we knew and understood our role as the 4th estate. We held on to the transformation agenda and thought that a few black faces in strategic positions meant true transformation. We even thought that launching our own media interests would be sustainable. We had to wake up to the realities of just how little we have transformed almost two decades down the line.
As a nation in the post 1994 era we often neglect to admit that the foundation of this new South Africa was build on compromise. A compromise that benefitted Capital more than the people. I will be the first to admit that we have made advances. The question is though, to what end? As far as the majority of media institutions are concerned we just need to do a simple ownership audit to see what the real lay of the land is.
The new South Africa was fast tracked and many in this country had little choice but to simply assimilate. The same goes for the media industry. Capital do not take kindly to change, particularly when it interferes with the bottom line. Economic modules are in play and no transformation agenda will stand in the way of their revenue stream.
When we look at where Editorial Independence then comes into play, we need to do and honest assessment. In Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988), by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chompsky they analyse news media as a business. They use what they call the propaganda model and asserts that what drives all main stream media and we can argue even our Public Broadcaster is the bottom line. They are merely businesses subject to commercial competition for advertising revenue and profit. There is always a profit motif. Thus we need to wake up and understand that this is where we find ourselves. We are part of this Free Market World, irrespective of the ever widening gap between rich and poor in our country. Irrespective of the rhetoric of a developmental state.
Capital has no color, has no compassion and is not interested in Editorial Independence. All media houses have agendas depending on its ownership.
So what do we do? Do we merely continue accepting this or do we move the debate onto another plain and perhaps start talking about Editorial Balance. Editorial Independence pre-supposes complete control over the news product by appointed editorial staff, with no interference from the owners. This definition and/or aspiration will always see the business owners in conflict with its editorial staff even though there is a set of editorial guidelines and ethics regulating the final news product. The givers of revenue do not take kindly to negative reportage. The 4th Estate does not take kindly to being told what they can put out there. And the owners do not take kindly to losing revenue. After all they are running a business and the profit share and bottom line is king.
While we are engaged in a battle to prevent government from establishing a Media Appeals Tribunal, we should not lose sight at the real transformation of our mindsets that need to take place in a much contested media environment. As the 4th Estate we need to do deep introspection and start engaging the media owners on how we bring back an accepted level of Editorial Balance into our newsrooms. We are no longer in a position where we can simply discard the business of our media entities and in the same vain we cannot wish away that we are neglecting the real-politik in terms of a progressive narrative.
Let us take the reality of our disposition and call back the idealism of that youngster that so much wanted to change the world and simply tell the story of a new nation. Let us take collective responsibility for where we find ourselves and move forward to a space where open and honestly debate our challenges and enact real transformation and empowerment.
End…
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A MILLION JOURNEYS...
A MILLION DAYS…
I have not done this for a while. I guess it has a lot to do with the quiet inside that I have been experiencing off late. For many years I have searched for peace and love. And as the cliché would have it, in all the wrong places.
We often travel through life and we seek to express ourselves in finding that voice that is unique and is truly original. We sacrifice what is so inherently part of our make-up in the pursuit of authenticity. We so wish to be the creators of original thought and action that we forget that we are all somehow interlinked and that many have gone before us and that the thoughts we think and the feelings we feel and the actions we do have been done before.
We have immense difficulty separating the body and the soul. The body that is merely the vessel that carries the soul. The soul that gives the thought of life and therefore existence. Both must be fed. The body with nutrients and the soul with willful thought.
We are born and we die. These are two truths that occur daily. And in between we live life. We are socialized all in a particular manner and we operate within a particular paradigm. We are emotional beings and 9 times out of 10 we make decisions based on emotion. We might be calculated in certain instances but for the most part the way we were socialized and how we were schooled teaches us how we must react to life and whatever is thrown in our path. Whether we make good or bad decisions we will first consider the individual and then the group. When we have families and extended social units we would consider them first, but for the most part the decision will inadvertently have an impact on us as individuals. We assume the collective outcomes and personalize it.
For the most part we are selfish individuals. And this is not necessarily a bad thing. We need to be able to care for ourselves, love ourselves and give to ourselves before we can do so to others. While this might sound harsh we have to look to ourselves first. We only truly begin to appreciate others when we appreciate ourselves.
Many of us have difficulty truly loving ourselves. Many of us have immense problems with feeding our souls and would rather feed the body. This is why we have such rampant consumerism in our society; this is why we choose to accumulate things instead of feeding our souls.
We all have different believe systems, but the fundamental precepts of any religious or spiritual believe system is that we must acknowledge a creator. That we should live in love and peace. That we should love others. That we should do good instead of evil.
We often seek solace in God when we are down and out. When life is good we are too busy living the good life to remember God, thus we neglect the soul. And when we neglect the soul we set aside the basic precepts of love. When we do this we have only one person in mind and that is the individual.
It took me a long time to realize that I do not have to do life, alone. It took me a long time to realize that society and what is considered acceptable behavior is infact far removed from the nutrition that my soul so much yearned for. And for many years storms raged inside of me. I was always running out of time. Not enough time in the day to consume. Never stopping for a moment to listen to what my soul had required.
So in His infinite wisdom God came and gave me time. He came and removed all the material trappings that stood in my path to Him and peace. He gave me time to move closer to Him. To learn to love and appreciate my son, again. To learn and love my family again. To make peace with myself and my past. To open my mind to the possibilities of doing good and helping others simply because I could. To walk in humility and see all those people on the street that I just passed without ever looking in their eyes. To truly appreciate my sobriety and the road I have travelled. To pray and not just speak empty words. To feed my soul everyday and to say thank you for small miracles. He allowed me to fall in love again and to look forward to this moment I find myself in.
There is so much more. When I look at the sky and I feel the sun on my face, I am grateful. When I see my extended family and see that for the first time in a long while a measure of trust has been rebuilt, I smile and say thank you. When I hear God speak and allow Him to live in my life I am happy.
I find that in the simplicity of goodness and love we find happiness and that we can only find within and sharing it without wanting anything in return.
But this is a journey that will continue for the rest of my life and I pray that I will have the insight to simply do God’s will and set my will aside. And in love I pray that all that has a piece of my heart will be able to share in this journey…
GAH (the truthseeker)
13:07:2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A LOVE (RE)MOVED
Maya Angelou speaks of loving in and out of time
As she holds near the possibility of love
I have lost time
And I have lost love
The keeper of my time has moved on
On to a place where space does not exist anymore
As these memories are fast fading
The construct of my existence lays shattered
Broken pieces of yesterday
The reflections puzzled
What is this place?
The purveyor of my love
Now stands alone
On a far off shore
The sight of that passing love
Touch deep inside
I smile
Out of this misery hope is born
Love prevails
Even though far removed
It is like the taste of ginger that lingers
Like the smell of sunflowers
In the midday sun
Like your touch so long ago…
George A. Hill
August 2009
As she holds near the possibility of love
I have lost time
And I have lost love
The keeper of my time has moved on
On to a place where space does not exist anymore
As these memories are fast fading
The construct of my existence lays shattered
Broken pieces of yesterday
The reflections puzzled
What is this place?
The purveyor of my love
Now stands alone
On a far off shore
The sight of that passing love
Touch deep inside
I smile
Out of this misery hope is born
Love prevails
Even though far removed
It is like the taste of ginger that lingers
Like the smell of sunflowers
In the midday sun
Like your touch so long ago…
George A. Hill
August 2009
Friday, May 28, 2010
The tranquility of us
The promise of my now is brigther than my tomorrow
A tomorrow never promised to me
And my now exist
Within myself
There is a semblance of peace
A quiet contained within myself
The elusive calm came from beyond the depths of despair
Setting me on this journey
I wonder less
And accept more
A faith so bright
It blinds insecurity
Through the hurt
The pain
The anger
The self-loathing
The shame
I stand on this rock of gratitude
Sometimes I go silent
When I speak to God
And I know He is close to me
It makes sense now
The insanity of self
I am at peace now
With the tranquility of us...
GAH
May 2009
Peace & Love - GAH the trurhseeker
A tomorrow never promised to me
And my now exist
Within myself
There is a semblance of peace
A quiet contained within myself
The elusive calm came from beyond the depths of despair
Setting me on this journey
I wonder less
And accept more
A faith so bright
It blinds insecurity
Through the hurt
The pain
The anger
The self-loathing
The shame
I stand on this rock of gratitude
Sometimes I go silent
When I speak to God
And I know He is close to me
It makes sense now
The insanity of self
I am at peace now
With the tranquility of us...
GAH
May 2009
Peace & Love - GAH the trurhseeker
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
SONDER 'N NAAM
jou gedagtes le na aan my
soos daai more toe ons een was
en diep binne jou het ek verdwaal
na 'n hemel-blou-oranje poort
'n canvas van ons liefde le tussen ons siele en reik uit na mekaar.
die smaak van liefde
soos gulsige tonge wat oorryp pruime proe en taai spore nalaat,
dae later steeds wandel jy deur my gedagtes,
kieste vol verrukking,
die tasbaarheid van liefde.
jy sit op jou plek en ryg jou vingers deur die grond,
speel met die sand en die modder kleef aan jou hande, arms en elmboe,
die gladheid tussen jou tone,
die reuk van aarde jaag jou altyd na.
die klank na liefde.
soms wil ek net jou stem hoor,
jou kielie-lag so diep uit jou onderste uit,
waar jy jou alles blootle,
sonder skerm met ope arms,
die sig na liefde.
ek kyk na jou,
hoe die boeke jou toevoe,
jou naakte lyf daaronder,
so weerloos,
so sag,
so fyn,
so glad,
tussen die blaaie vind jy altyd vrede,
en om die hoeke van jou mond staan lagduiweltjies en loer,
en terg mekaar weerbarstig,
ek skryf al lank oor liefde,
ek skryf al lank oor jou,
jy wat nie eers 'n naam het nie,
jy wat stilbly en altyd na my luister,
wat vloei binne my en kleef aan my siel,
soms maak ek my oe styf toe en smile,
dis altyd net ek en jy,
en ek ken nie eers jou naam nie...
George A. Hill
jozi 2005
(Peace & Love GAH - the truthseeker)
soos daai more toe ons een was
en diep binne jou het ek verdwaal
na 'n hemel-blou-oranje poort
'n canvas van ons liefde le tussen ons siele en reik uit na mekaar.
die smaak van liefde
soos gulsige tonge wat oorryp pruime proe en taai spore nalaat,
dae later steeds wandel jy deur my gedagtes,
kieste vol verrukking,
die tasbaarheid van liefde.
jy sit op jou plek en ryg jou vingers deur die grond,
speel met die sand en die modder kleef aan jou hande, arms en elmboe,
die gladheid tussen jou tone,
die reuk van aarde jaag jou altyd na.
die klank na liefde.
soms wil ek net jou stem hoor,
jou kielie-lag so diep uit jou onderste uit,
waar jy jou alles blootle,
sonder skerm met ope arms,
die sig na liefde.
ek kyk na jou,
hoe die boeke jou toevoe,
jou naakte lyf daaronder,
so weerloos,
so sag,
so fyn,
so glad,
tussen die blaaie vind jy altyd vrede,
en om die hoeke van jou mond staan lagduiweltjies en loer,
en terg mekaar weerbarstig,
ek skryf al lank oor liefde,
ek skryf al lank oor jou,
jy wat nie eers 'n naam het nie,
jy wat stilbly en altyd na my luister,
wat vloei binne my en kleef aan my siel,
soms maak ek my oe styf toe en smile,
dis altyd net ek en jy,
en ek ken nie eers jou naam nie...
George A. Hill
jozi 2005
(Peace & Love GAH - the truthseeker)
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