South Africa the 'Monchrome Nation'

Its seems Jake white 's book 'In black and white ' reflects the current state of affairs in South Africa.

The rainbow nation is fading and becoming more of a monochrome nation as racism rears it ugly head too frequently for comfort. The past few weeks have proven that race is still a huge issue in the nation. The great Desmond Tutu did all he could to bring about "Truth and Reconciliation". Unfortunately his efforts centered around the main perpetrators and victims of arpartheid. The racism demon is still very much alive in ordinary South Africans. Racist practices and innuendos are still tolerated in the young democracy.

This failure to achieve 100 % reconciliation is shown in the events of the past weeks

January 2008
Andre Nel allegedly rampages through an informal settlement in Skielik , South africa randomly shooting and killing black residents. The backlash from the Black peaopl is huge with Zwelinzima Vavi, a prominent unionist saying Johan Nel is a "young brainwashed racist" with "no regard for human life".Other key black establishments went as far as threatening land siezures to avenge the killings.

February 2008
Irvin Khoza(A prominent black man in charge of 2010 soccer world cup) tells a journalist(a fellow black man) at a press conference to stop "thinking like a "Kaffir". Irvin Khoza is unrepentantant and has to be arm wrestled into issuing a apology.

February 2008
The exclusion of white journoulists from a all black (of the record) meeting with Jacob Zuma.The meeting centered around the revival of the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) organisation. The attendance of ANC president Jacob Zuma is interprated to mean that he sees nothing wrong with the existence of the "blacks only" forum.

February 2008
A apparently racist video surfaces in free state The video shows University of Free State students humiliating black workers. The video shows them feeding the workers food tainted with urine.

The video is available on youtube


Apparently the students have apologised for the video saying no malice was intended.

All I can say in response to these recent events is that South Africa is still far from achieving a non-racial society, which is obvious. But what is not immediately obvious is that South Africans apparently do not even understand what racism is.

Before any movement forward can be made South Africans need to comprehend the evils of racism and learn not to tolerate any racist practices, innuendos, manerisma slurs e.t.c.

Castro Calls it Quits

Fidel Castro has officially resigned as Cuba's President.
He made this known in a letter addressed to the nation. The full text of the letter can be found here.

The letter in its entirety is very poetic and carefully crafted and reflects Fidel's last wishes for La Revolución to continue.

A few interesting sections :

"My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath. That's all I can offer."

"My elemental duty is not to cling to positions, much less to stand in the way of younger persons, but rather to contribute my own experience and ideas whose modest value comes from the exceptional era that I had the privilege of living in. ."

and lastly:

" This is not my farewell to you. My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas.

Thanks.

Fidel Castro Ruz"

If only Robert Mugabe would follow suit.(Although he is anywhere near the legendary stature of Fidel, even though he might think so)

Farewell Fidel