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Africa
“I am an African…”
These words are the beginning of an extraordinary speech I read again recently, delivered by then Vice President, Thabo Mbeki, on the occasion of the launch of the new Constitution of South Africa – itself a remarkable document. Both are well worth reading – his speech and the Constitution (now 25 years old).
In Mbeki’s address he speaks of the heritage of our country, from its first recorded inhabitants through the arrival of various other peoples to then present day (1996), tying us all together with the common thread of African-ness. While my roots and ancestors come from a different place to Mbeki’s and yours, I feel part of our country and our continent. I too am an African.
Then I watched a Ted Talk featuring another wonderful African, Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian author who spoke of the dangers of a single story, where she defines a single story as an initial impression based on looks or where you come from – preconceived ideas we have of each other. She told her own story of how, when she studied overseas, people judged her based on her being from Africa and from Nigeria. They assumed a single story for her based on their prejudices of Africa and things African. Her talk reminded me of how we as a continent are often underestimated, undervalued and underappreciated by the world but also of how we undersell ourselves. And I think it is because we don’t tell our own story, so others have told ours for us.
So, this week was a self-proclaimed week of Africa and being African! I re-read Mbeki’s speech, I re-read the Bill of Rights, I am reading one of Adichie’s books and, to continue that theme, I went searching for African inspiration for today’s assembly and came across a website of African proverbs.
Africans are storytellers and some of the most wonderful proverbs come from African culture. From Afrikaner to Zulu, our stories and proverbs are usually linked to the earth or nature and have deep wisdom in their simplicity. I share one with you today that stuck with me:
“The young bird does not crow until it hears the old ones.”
Tswana proverb
This spoke to me of influence of families, of community, of teachers and adults in general on the minds of young children. It tells us how important it is that we realise that influence and treat it carefully. I think of how opinions of developing teenagers are shaped significantly by the adults and older siblings around them, how they act, what they say and how they think.
There are two messages for me from this proverb – one for the young bird and one for the older ones.
For the developing minds, the “young birds”, realise that you are being influenced every day both positively and negatively by adults around you and start developing a critical mind. Nurture independence of thought, thinking widely as you develop ideas and beliefs. Take what is good as your own song.
For those of us who are older, remember that we have enormous influence on young, developing minds who look to us for example. That example can be good, but it can also be bad. The young bird will crow when it sees the example set by us “older birds”. We must not forget that many songs the young will sing will come from us. Our prejudices, our fears, our angers, our sadness but also our goodness, our kindness and our humanity.
And so, I close this message with the words we know so well.
Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika
God bless Africa. |
Grounds Team
