FREEDOM DAY - A TIMELY REMINDER

Yesterday, Freedom Day brought back a memory that in 1994 I stood in a rural queue between Addo and Uitenhage waiting to cast my vote in the historic 1994 elections. Those in the queue were ebullient with hope for what they imagined would be a golden age for South Africa.

As you can imagine, it was a colourful queue of all shapes, sizes and hues. The line was unbelievably long but the people were patient, respectful and amiable. One chap, who said he originally hailed from the Western Cape, had us in paroxysms of laughter while he regaled us with superb jokes, none of which were political nor intended to be. An old man, a few metres in front of me, had to sit down because he couldn't control his laughter.

I think the comedian's name was Bennie, but it doesn't really matter because he served as the entertainer for all who could hear him. Those just out of vocal reach tried to compress the queue to get closer to Bennie's performance and, like a good performer needing to reach his whole audience, Bennie moved up and down the queue to ensure as many as possible enjoyed the hilarious entertainment. He knew he was good but it wasn't ego driving his performance. He just wanted to make people laugh and asked for nothing in return.

During Bennie's intermissions, there was always chatter, people talking to each other, smiling and laughing, something they had been unable to do for forty years. They were just a bunch of good, ordinary people.

Immediately behind me was an elderly black mama with a toddler on her back. I asked her where she lived and she shyly told me that it was a township not far from Addo. I was curious as to how she had arrived at the polling station and she explained that a taxi had brought her as far as the tarred road and she had walked the rest of the way. I knew the junction she referred to and estimated that she must have walked about 10 km with the toddler on her back. She had come because she had rightfully expected a promising life to open up for her after the oppression of apartheid. And the journey to get to the polling station had been in no way daunting.

Hope was palpable in that queue of people. Mandela was a fine statesman who would right the evils of apartheid and provide a prosperous and happy life for all South Africa's citizens. And so it was - to begin with.

But the hopes of my queue have been dashed by the sleazy rogues who now hold sway. 

I am comforted, though, with the thought that the people in that queue haven't changed. They are still good people who will stop for a chat, a joke and a laugh. They are the backbone of South Africa - the grass roots. They are a universe apart from their politicians.