Tea and Biltong with the Queen: No, it is not the same as Beef Jerky!
I’ve written in previous columns about the distinct feeling of isolation I’ve experienced as a legal alien in the UK, and I’m starting to believe that it’s not so much the addition of a new feeling (isolation) but the removal of a feeling I had at home (belonging). This may seem like a strange thing to say as a South African, but at home I felt part of something – both a movement and a people – and it’s weird to think that I identify more with South Africans from a multitude of cultures, than I do with the British (my ancestral home).
Recently, with the floods in England, I felt an increase of national spirit from the locals here in the UK – sometimes a little adversity will do that. And it reminded me, firstly, that I am not at home here, and, secondly, how great it is to feel like you’re contributing, that you belong and are part of a greater whole. If press coverage of SA is to be believed, there seems to be a similar process happening at home.
It has been thirteen years since the first democratic election in SA. Thirteen years is actually not a long time. The problems we have in SA are going to take generations (yes, generations! Plural!) to fix but we must acknowledge how far we have come, and above all, not cease to strive. This means vote, protest, and foster equal opportunities.
There used to be a feeling of “jump ship” when faced with crime and unemployment in South Africa, now it’s more of a “dig in and get your hands dirty” vibe. Don’t believe me? How about the increase in websites like “SA Good News”, “Homecoming Revolution” and “Crimeline”? How about increased coverage of crime against the poorer sectors of our communities? People worry that more crime stories mean more crime, but often they mean more effective police work and increased awareness. This reflects a change in our collective attitude as South Africans.
It is a very exciting time for South Africa. The afro-pessimists will scream that its scary, sad, chaotic, but I see a full generation of people who attended integrated schools, who know of Mandela as a free man, who’ve escaped the economic isolation of the 80’s, who can travel and compete in international sport. We’re a people who have won the begrudging respect of our international peers, whose constitution is often lauded as the best in the world, who aren’t travelling just to escape, but for travel’s sake.
Yesterday I ran into the members of the Soweto Gospel Choir just walking down the street in Edinburgh. They’ve arrived for the Edinburgh Arts Festival, I guess, and although I was rushing in the opposite direction, and don’t know any of them from Adam, I couldn’t help myself yelling “Molweni” as I passed, to which they happily responded, and those few quick phrases exchanged in Xhosa made me happier than I’d been all week. I felt like I had met people I could identify with for the first time in months.
Similar Posts:
- Things you wouldn’t think you’d miss: All for One Part 2
- Things you wouldn’t think you’d miss: the Pata Pata, Click Song* rhythm of my home
- Things you wouldn’t think you’d miss: “Are we there yet?”
- Things you wouldn’t think you’d miss: Self-determination & positive attitudes
- Things you wouldn’t think you’d miss: Language Barriers
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August 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Good post. If you find yourself in Glesga let us know.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Thanks, Walton.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 am
Walton, you like it, you really like it!!!!
August 4th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Beautifully put.
August 4th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Thanks, Beenz!
August 7th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Hey kate We sometimes take things for granted, but I am glad South Africa produced someone like you we have others like you but I think South Africa still needs more people like you.. come back home and plough back that ubuntu. You are a STAR
August 7th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Hey Katie/Nic
Can we put this in a newsletter? Loved the way you put it. Let me know and obviously more than happy to put links to both your sites and bio on who you are and what you’re doing.
August 8th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Muzi & M&M: thanks so much for your comments. SA is so wonderful that it is easy to write nice stuff about it!
M&M: I’d be happy for you to use this in a newsletter [with a link back or two
]. what do you think, Nic?
August 8th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Hey Kate, I have already emailed Megan and told her to use the piece if she credits us!!
August 8th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
cool!
August 10th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I remember seeing the Soweto Gospel Choir doing a lunchtime concert on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral abotu 2 years ago and having tears in my eyes. Afterwards I went to shake the one soloist’s hand and thank him, and we both slipped automatically into the “African handshake” (no idea what the new PC term is) – where you grip first the hand, then the thumb, then the hand again. The smile of recognition that split his face when he realised I was another Saffer was so great and then I REALLY wanted to cry!!
I read a wonderful review on another blog of an excellent book called The Inheritance of Loss by Kieran Desai, which deals with the dilemma of the expat. The reviewer described the inheritance of loss as being the loss of access to people and places that you love, and the loss of a culture that undestands and accepts you, and which you understand and accept. It’s one of the best descriptions I have ever read.
August 10th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Thanks Jeanne ,for lovely story that I think all expats will recognise! Sometimes just the thought of aromat is enough to get me going – so the Soweto Gospel Choir would have floored me!
I’ll google for that book and reviewing blog – sounds interesting, and, as you say, a great description of the expat problem.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:21 pm
hahaha, yah…