a piece of my mind....

On the road (again) to Economic fiefdom or freedom?

2011-11-17T00:31:00.001+02:00

Malema and his band of brothers (yes, I only see brothers) are going to lodge an appeal and also push for a 'political solution' to their woes. I guess that is fair. It remains within their rights to exhaust all avenues within the constitution of their organization, to fight their case. That is not my concern. In fact, I view the latest squabble to be an internal matter within the ruling party. Yes, I know that it might have public consequences and that the matters if the ruling party is public. Afterall, they are ... the ruling party, etc, etc,

My concern lies on a different level. I have been quite impressed with the effort of the Youth League in their campaign for Economic Freedom (in my Lifetime, as well!). The long walk to Economic Freedom raised some critical concerns, more pertinently the issue of youth unemployment. I do share their concern. The question is however, how we address that and how we infuse real hope amongst the youngsters, how do we get creative over a global crisis? It's at this point where sadly, me and Youth League's roads, part ways. Its in my view, time for us to ask the more difficult and awkward questions about why we are not at a place where there is signs of real hope for our youngsters, and perhaps try other angles. Let my start with 3 questions that are foremost in my mind. (Of course, I am open to better and fresher ideas, unlike the Youth League)

1) When are we going to have a major campaign to mobilise volunteers in our townships, preferably Youth League officebearers, to teach youngsters afterschool lessons on maths, physical sciences and accounting? (no Life Orientation and Sex education please.) I want to see the big guns in Alex, Zola, Corrie, Heidedal, Steynville, but also in Richie, Koffiefontein, and in Mhlabatini, teaching pupils the basics. This could lead to more youngsters getting university entrance with a solid maths and science foundation, and it will lead to graduates, who will be able to eventually take over the mines, but more so, they will commit to also give another poor kid a helping hand. That's it for question number 1and the nationalization of the mines is sorted out.

2) What about the Youth League getting involved in Sports and a Mass Scale Recreation Development. These days sport in our local township schools have literally died out. (I am aware of teachers who run the extra mile. God bless your souls!). But in the bulk of government schools in townships there is no more athletics, ('rooihuis', 'groenhuis', etc. you know what I mean); no more cricket nets or soccer and netball courts to play competitive sports. Imagine if the Youth Leage start to organise local leagues, regions and National leagues,with Kenny Kunene the sponsor. Ok, I know I'm delusional now, but I'm just asking. Whilst academia is one route to earn a sustainable living, professional sport could be another. It might not help with the mines, but ..... no, it will not help with taking over the mines.

3) Let me ask a last question. Juju knows in his heart of hearts that entertainment is so critical for youngsters. He loves it too. Just think Purple. Let me ask one question: Who is the celebrity who earned the most per minute? (this is a lame bit of Trivial Persuit, but wait for the punchline!) It is Beyonce Knowles-Zee! (isn't that her husband, Jay's surname?). Anyway, my point is that the entertainment world is dominated by black people and why can the YL get involved in the SA's Got Talent stuff, the development of choirs of drama of entertainment academies and develop the talent of our young people to walk tall; to rake in the millions if need be, to use their talents to make a difference in the world. The next Michael Jackson is not waiting to be born, some-one need to inspire, to revive the seed and our youngsters can do it. Can we not have a national youthmovement of creative youngsters, inspired to work hard, are disciplined and proud of their achievements, instead of the same old, same old, berets and extra small (Made in China) T-shirts, like back in the days of the founding fathers of the Youth League (Yes, I only hear of the fathers)

I guess, I'm dreaming huh? Yes, we'll only see another round of toy-toying, of ever new political slogans and songs, conferences and speeches with the customary Viva's and Amandla's. And we all will think that at least Pres Nelson Mandela lead the country at some point. The question is whether all these old styled antics lead to economic freedom for the mass of unemployed youth? Of course not. It will lead to more political power and access to economic benefit for the purple fiefdom though.

Building a home for all, on solid foundations.

2011-09-11T16:53:00.000+02:00

In various ways we are reminded of the truth that despite our different-ness and differences, we are gifts to one another. This day is remembered for the violence and the terror unleashed against unsuspecting and innocent civilians in the USA, but also after that, in Iraq and Afghanistan. We remember the shock and horror as hatred played itself out in front of us. In many instances (too many to mention!) the hatred was justified in the name of religion.

We as religious people often find justification for the hatred we mete out against people who are different from us. We become sophisticated in the ways we exclude those others who come and interrupt our comfort. If anything, the memory of 9/11 and of the so-called 'War on Terror' interrupts these comforts and remind us that we need to consciously build bridges. Unless we consciously build bridges and work against exclusion, we will remain in the vicious cycle, where another volcano bubbling under the surface, may explode any-time. I might sound like a prophet of doom. I am not. What I am (or better, want to be) is some-one who consciously add my effort to build bridges, between people. The healing of memories is critical in order to be able to find in the person on the other side of the fence, a sister or a brother. Hence, I am not one of those who want us to believe that we should forget the history and simply move on. We cannot. The myths of the past will haunt us and the empires that are built on those foundations of sand, will collapse, sooner or later. In building bridges, we start to build our future, based on a new foundation, i.e. the relationships that hold us together. This we do with the view of building a home for all.

It is indeed the message of most religions that its in dreaming of a new world of brother and sisterhood that we find sense on our present struggles. In my faith tradition, we believe that Jesus Christ came to restore not only our relationship with God, but also, that through him, we are reconciled to one another and this good news is embodied in a new alternative household. This is a household, which challenge and transgress worldly borders and separations. It is in living in this new home, that we become a gift to the world.

Of course, for most of our history, we as faith communities have not been this gift to the world. We have supported and sustained exclusion; we have sowed seeds which bear bitter fruit. Today, perhaps we can only pray, God have mercy on us to help building bridges, towards a household for all.

Beat Life.... Moving on the Beat of Life

2011-07-07T10:55:00.009+02:00

Its quite a challenge to remain committed to values you hold dear and grew up with, and manage the political dances when you want to move up in life, or beat the struggles we are confronted with. Or is it? Perhaps this is the internal struggles of liberation movements. During the struggle you fight off an enemy and construct your identity against that of the enemy. They are evil, we are divine; they unjust, we are just; support for them, is being a sell-out, support for us, mark you as a comrade.

It's not so easy anymore. In the midst of political negotiations, trade-offs, a new set of challenges, the lines becomes blurry. We make new discoveries: the enemy becomes human, the issues more complicated, the poor, unjust, marginalised, etc, it is discovered, is also human. They are not simply innocent anymore, they're desperate, violent, sometimes downright cruel, and so we start to dance. We spin around our clinical analysis of the past, the mechanical schemes, which sustained our cause. Our dance today, against the background of our failures, becomes a parody of the noble struggles and blood that was shed.

Dance might also have a positive spin to it. It's not all negative. Its not simply about replaying and feeling the old long-play records (LP's). Life is indeed more then a simple black or white, heaven or hell, just and evil scheme. Whilst you might want to remain a clinical scientist in a squeecky clean lab, life happens irrespective. In all its messy-ness, off-coloured-ness and blended experiences and creativity and passion. And in the midst of this, a creative, imaginative God is dancing, as the beat of life itself. As we start to dance along with our father, we discover that we also move to the rhythms of life; we sense the experience, we feel the beat, we move along. We realise that our values are not changed, by the realities of life, our values are embedded in the way we move and have our being. Yes, it's not about moving 'up in life'; it's about moving to the beat of life. It's being free to move. Now that is true liberation, freedom, moving on... the beat of life.

An African tale of 1974... read in 2011

2011-06-16T21:40:00.001+02:00

I'm still haunted by this tale, by John Mbiti, told in 1974.

He learned German, Greek, French, Latin, Hebrew, in addition to English, church history, systematics, homiletics, exegesis, and pastoralia, as one part of the requirements for his degree. The other part, the dissertation, he wrote on some obscure theologian of the Middle Ages. Finally, het got what he wanted: a Doctorate in Theology. It took him nine and a half years altogether, from the time he left his home untill he passed his orals and set off to return. He was anxious to reach home as soon as possible, so he flew, and he was glad to pay for his excess baggage, which after all, consisted only of the Bible in the various languages he had learned, plus Bultman, Barth, Bonhoeffer, Brunner, Buber, Cone, Küng, Moltman, Niebuhr, Tillich, Christianity Today, Time Magazine...

At home, relatives, neighbours, old friends, dancers, musicians, drums, dogs, cats, all gather to welcome him back. The fatted calf are killed; meat roasted; girls giggle as they survey him surrounded by his excess baggage; young children have their imagination rewarded-they had only heard about him but now they see him; he, of course, does not know them by name. He must tell about his experiences overseas, for everyone has come to eat, to rejoice, to listen to their hero who has studied so many northern languages, whyo has read so many theological books, who is the hope of their small, but fast growing church, the very incarnation of theological learning. People bear with him patiently as he struggles to speak his own language, as occasionally he seeks the help of an interpreter from English. They are used to sitting down and making time; nobody is in a hurry; speech is not a matter of life and death. Dancing, jubilation, eating, feasting-all these go on as if there were nothing else to do, because the man for whom everybody had waited has finally returned.

Suddenly there is a shriek. Someone has fallen to the ground. It is his older sister, now a married women with six children and still going strong. He rushes to her. People make room for him, and watch him. "Let's take her to the hospital," he calls urgently. They are stunned. He becomes quiet. They all look at him bending over her. Why doesn't someone respond to his advice? Finally a schoolboy says, "Sir, the nearest hospital is 50 miles away, and there are few busses that go there." Someone else says, "She is possessed. Hospitals will not cure her!" The chief says to him, "You have been studying theology overseas for 10 years. Now help your sister. She is troubled by the spirit of he great aunt." Slowly he goes to get Bultman, looks at the index, finds what he wants, reads again about spirit posession in the New Testament. Of course he gets an answer: Bultman has demythologised it. He insists that his sister is not possessed. The people shout, "Help your sister; she is possessed!" He shouts back, "But Bultman has demythologised demon possession."
[This story is entirely fictional and is not based on the experience of a real person]
Fantasy? No, for these are the realities of our time.....

Reading this tale in 2011, I wonder... Has anything changed?

Yes, David Wilkerson inspired me too.

2011-04-28T11:16:00.003+02:00

Some might be utterly surprised by this confession, but its true. I am a big fan of 'The cross and the switchblade', the book. In my teen years, this is perhaps the book that played the biggest role in shaping my calling to work with young people, but more so to share the love of God.

Of course, some of you might remind me that Wilkerson was a very conservative (perhaps righwing?) Baptist pastor. Perhaps, his interpretation of history and scripture makes the hair to stand up. Yet what we cannot deny is the fact that the story of his pioneering efforts in connecting with some of the fiercest gangcrews, and marginalised young people in New York City, hit a nerve amongst people growing up in impoverished gang and drug infested communities. In these communities it (still) seems as if God's people have left the city and handed it over to the Devil. Wilkerson's theology of course didn't allow him to probe deeper into the social factors which gave birth to these realities. For him, the change in these communities would come, as individual young people made a decision to accept Jesus Christ. This, he felt would bring change in the communities.

Today we are still confronted with new generations of gangsters and new drugs in the States and other cities of the world. I don't see this as a failure; I do see this as a reminder that he was also human afterall. One need to see Wilkerson, the Baptist pastor, as a image of something more. He was a prototype, and in that sense an inspiration for many of us, for youth ministy or the being church not merely as a means for institutional survival, but as an embodiment of a love that take God's world serious. Yes, this is a divinely inspired love that is still human and therefore in many ways flawed and open to critique. Its a love that struggled to find expression in the real world, yet the ultimate transformation of people and communities remains God's work. Pastor David Wilkerson, a son of his time, believed that God so loved this world; this dirty, broken, messy world. And he acted upon this belief. Yes, this remains Gods work, and this world is where God is still touching the lives of those who often are not clean enough, predictable and obedient enough for the church. The lines between church and world, between sacred and secular is not so clear anymore, because God's love is much more then our little circles and humanly flawed efforts, yet our hearts are taken up in God's passion for the excluded.

Perhaps in this sense, it was another childhood hero, Erik Estrada, who in the movie played the role of Nicky Cruz, former gangleader turned evangelist, who did it for me. After all these years, I still don't know what turned me on. What I do know is that I also wanted to share in God's love with a community. This is still a dream and I am often so aware that I haven't yet been able to fullfil the promise. At least this can explain my restlessness and impatience with my own faithtradition and church and with a formalism that's cold towards the dire needs of our trapped communities and untapped generation (a term coined by David and Don Wilkerson, published in 'The Untapped Generation, 1971).

Whatever one wants to say about Wilkerson, one need to remember that he was one of the few willing to get out and do something, willing to risk not just ridicule and misunderstanding or risk making mistakes and errors in judgement, but more so, he was willing to die. Perhaps that's the biggest factor which inspired a young teenager, trying to find his way, in the ganglands of the Coloured communities in South Africa.

Ironies of Freedom....

2011-04-26T12:35:00.009+02:00

The Presidency in South Africa asked us: what does freedom means to you? The last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about freedom or liberation, which I use interchangeably. This has been in the context of the brutal crackdowns by governments on pro-democracy demonstrators, but also the ongoing relentless cry, throughout history: let my people go!

This challenge leaves me with many questions, but let me rather refer to a few bitter ironies. Hopefully these random pieces of my mind or better, these unanswered agonies, might help us to look at our own story, as South Africans awaiting Freedom Day tomorrow (I put it in this way, aware of the bit of ambiguity in my formulation!).

For me, the first obvious irony is staring at us in our neigbourhood. Here, we squirm at the ugly reality that those who were paraded as the paragons of liberation, has turn out to be the worst enemies of freedom. I'm refering of course to our very own neighbourhood villian, Robert Mugabe, once the leader of the liberation from colonialism, in the then Rhodesia. A few years into his reign, in the midst of the liberationspeak and reconciliation gestures, there were disturbing rumours of human rights abuses against his political opponents. At that stage, only a few would dare to speak out for fear of being branded an enemy of the state or worst a 'counter-revolutionary'. Within this discourse, everyone wanted to be revolutionaries and they would all pat themselves on the back, invoking notions like 'comrade', 'cadre', 'footsoldier', etc. Anyway, at least in Zimbabwe, this farce has been exposed. These so-called 'liberation fighters', turned out to be agents of the same cruel system, clobbering the poor and political opponents into submission. Their dreams for the nation, it dawned, was not justice or freedom, but fantacies of capitalist grandeur, supping the finest of whiskey, jetting in and out of the best European fashion capitals, and of course, licking sushi from the bodies of white models. In the meantime, they keep the duped masses enthralled by their tales of their heroism in the struggle, swearing at any opportunity at the evil Europe and dead white colonialists, yet craving secretly to be in their shoes, or better, in their beds. Freedom for them, is to be white, to be rich, to show that we can bling it better then the old master.

There's a second irony, in that the support for the anti-colonialist struggles, the allies who used to support the liberationstruggles, has turned out to be the worst criminals against freedom, back home. The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, or better known as Libya, under Gaddafi supported liberation struggles and post-colonial states, propping up regimes with trade, weapons and soldiers. This kind of comradeship gave him the audacity to accounce himself as the Brother-Leader of the United States of Africa, with its seat in his hometown, Sirte. Today, everyone laugh at this idea for obvious reasons, yet last year Gaddafi was a respected trade partner, so much so that the South African President recently, at the 'very successful' AU resolution of the Libyan conflict, still refered to him, as our 'brother-leader'. The point is, we know now who this person really is and what the point was of his support for the anti-colonial struggles. We know now what their definition of liberation means. There was no such thing as national sovereignty, nor socialism, let alone freedom from imperialism where the resources and wealth are shared amongst the people. It was the defence of his and his family fiefdom, the clinging to power, at all costs, which motivated his foreign policy. His current 'scorched earth' response to the uprising of younger generations, asking for freedom to decide their own future, radically exposes his definition of liberation as he buy his grip over Africa. This is the reality of the postcolony, where the cruel realities after the political take-over remains intimately ingrained in personal selves and the systems of power colonies inherit, perpetuate and brutally protect.

There is however another irony which gives hope. It is the irony that the younger generations, the children of the postcolony, those born after the heroic liberation struggles, are redefining what true freedom means. This is a remix of opaque strugglesongs for a new set. I'm here not simplistically refering to a person of a particular age; I'm refering to those who share a particular social consciousness forged in the midst of a self-conscious struggle for freedom, against the contemporary empires. This is an ongoing struggle which are not naive about human nature and great leaders or great institutions. This social consciousness insists on access to information and decisionmaking, they declare the agency of all people, irrespective of past loyalites, in the quest for social transformation; theyr are driven by the values of equality and integrity.

Our generation hoped that these coordinates would have been the cornerstones of today's free post-colonial society and that the current crop of public leaders would have been the custodians of it. We felt that this is indeed the space within which freedom reigns. Yet, it didn't happen. And so the vulnerable, the oppressed still await their freedom day. This is not a passive wait, the biggest irony is that we find this freedom allready present, on the flipside of the failures of the older generations of liberators. We find it in the uprisings of these younger generations. I personally don't see it merely in the youth formations of political parties irrespective of their rhetoric. What I find is that they merely aspire to emulate the first generation of post-colonial despots. Their eye is on the candy. Perhaps, if you look inside these ghost-towns, you might find the true custodians of these values, already been assasinated in the powergames of post-colonial politics. I find the inklings of freedom in young people, who are not duped anymore by empty liberation rhetoric and songs of fat youth leaders, surrounded by elite private security personel.

This freedom ironically is graphically demonstrated in the Andries Tatanes from obscure, poor townships. He was from nowwhere in the Free State, a place called Meqheleng. Yet, he was from somewhere, some one, a committed maths tutor, an unarmed protester against the lack of justice in post-colonial South Africa, a young father, who apparantly wanted to prevent the police from brutally attacking the older people in the march. He was shot dead at close range by riot police.

It's happening also in Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Libya, Mauritania, Bahrain, Syria.

It's happening as the Andries Tatane's are obeying the call to serve the cause of justice, even though the authorities and human laws might forbid them and punishment and suffering be the consequence.

It's in the free choice for this kind of service to the vulnerable, a service for which you are willing to die.

It's here that freedom rings, mr President.

New images from Africa | Dreaming of a Human Face

2011-03-15T00:24:00.004+02:00

Images quickly flip over our screens, opening up new worlds, as ordinary, young Africans are calling for justice and peace. On the other side, we see the powerful and their wealthy families who, with power and violence, cling desperately to their positions and ill-gotten gain, by uprooting thousands and brutally murdering others. It just brings disgust and horror, especially when we discover that our own leaders and business people remain cautious and quiet.

What happened the last few weeks in North Africa and the Middle-East does have an impact on us here on the southern tip of Africa. Yet, in many faith-communities, some go in with their ‘spiritual’ lives, almost as if nothing happened. Yet it does affect us, because this is one Africa, one world, Gods world.

I was part of a gathering of religious leaders, who grappled recently with the question, how do we bring these different images together, how can faith communities bring about, unity, reconciliation and justice? This was a consultation on the Accra Confession.

How are we to respond then to the revolts happening. Firstly, it is critical to understand from North-Africa, but also other parts of Africa, for example Ivory Coast, what is happening. A superficial reading, might understand this to be a spontaneous explosion of build-up expectations. The self-immolation of the 26 year old, Tunisian fruit seller, Mohamed Bouazizi, after he simply had enough of police brutality, is according to this analysis, a moment of catharsis. Hence, this is a spontaneous uprising of hope against merciless repression.

I agree with this explosion of hope, however the shifts taking place, are much deeper and it was really other tweeters, who opened my eyes to these deeper realities. This reading takes serious the agency of younger generations in a new world. Bouazizi represents the experience of younger generations, who grew up in a skewed world, economically and culturally. This generation however also have within themselves, dreams and images of a different world, a world which they try to create for themselves. These dreams are based on the possibility; at least as experienced in new virtual spaces of social media, where the world is weaved into one. Here the important question is whether you are part of the bigger net. If not, then you don't have 'friends', connections or 'followers'. Indeed, as some-one said recently, social media is changing the meaning of these words. But more importantly, it’s in these networks where stories, information and value flows together. The point is therefore not so much to Facebook (verb!), but to connect; or its not to Google (verb), but to get the information.

In this matrix, the image of one fruit seller’s disgust under a repressive police-force, and skewed economic system are transposed within minutes and flows seamlessly, over my timeline and it becomes our disgust. A social net are formed of activists on the ground, others in exile/diaspora and a band of cell-phone or citizen journalists. Now the name Bouazizi and his unknown hometown called Sidi Bouzid gets a hastag # and becomes a powerful symbol which binds other unknown people together, people discontent with the exploitation of unknown people, other ordinary and wounded fruit sellers. Others start to share their own stories and experiences of exploitation and soon it becomes a social movement, a movement of unknown and unacknowledged, yet who are now recognised and acknowledged within this network. They get a name, a powerful name, which connects the timelines of thousands, if not millions over the globe. This is another face of globalisation, linked by #Bouazizi or #SidiBouzid.

In a different time Bouazizi would have remained an unknown figure in a far-off country where police brutality and economic tyranny against the nameless, could have continued. We would have explained: of course, we don’t know them; we didn’t know it all happened. During that time government forces could have decimated masses of nameless peoples, put on their imperial robe and convinced the masses via images from a bunker on state TV, that they are actually appointed by God and therefore untouchable.

It doesn’t work like that anymore. Nothing stays hidden anymore and because of that, we are in this together and we are responsible. Now, the 'international community' are implicated in the murders of a cruel dictator,if they remain quiet. Now, Wikileaks and social networks can function as tools, which support people of hope, the new prophets to cast down contemporary false images. It helps us to see what is really going on. It cast light onto the dark corners. The emperor is unmasked, dethroned.

So, today, we have a new struggle of faith. This is a struggle which is embedded in a generation, who dreams, but also a generation who connects and are part of a network. She is perhaps a young Egyptian student, who simply wants to finish her medical studies to serve her community. He is a fruitseller or a mechanic, like his father, who loves to stretch his abilities in fixing things. They are a group of young mothers, from Burkina Faso, who works in the cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast, for their family back home. It is a interconnected dream and struggle where erstwhile ordinary, unknown people have a face, a name; they are recognized and acknowledged as the having dignity. Here the color, gender or language in which you worship God, doesn’t count. What counts, is Gods dream, a dream of fullness of life for all. Steve Biko describes this dream as follows, ‘We believe that in the long run Africa's special contribution to the world will be in this field of human relationship. The great powers of the world may have done wonders in giving the world an industrial and military look, but the great gift still has to come from Africa-giving the world a more human face' (1971:51)

URCSA leaders, blast Zuma and the ANC: 'South Africa is no heaven under the ANC'

2011-02-14T10:51:00.002+02:00

In perhaps the strongest response by a church to the utterances of the ANC president, the URCSA leadership has come our guns blazing, on the apparant 'misuse of religion'. I'm thrilled. Listen to this:

The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa has learned with great concern and sadness of the misuse of religion for the umpteenth time, by the African National Congress (ANC), solely for cheap political ends. It was not long ago, as recently as 2008, that another leader in the ANC, the Premier of the Free State, Mr. Ace Magashule, according to newspaper reports, said that: “Zuma suffers like Jesus.” Mr. Magashule then said, “Jesus was prosecuted. He was called names and was betrayed. This is the same kind of suffering that Mr. Zuma had to endure in recent times…”

According to newspaper reports, Mr. Zuma, President of the ANC, among other things, said on an electioneering campaign, “When you vote for the ANC, you are also choosing to go to heaven. When you don’t vote for the ANC you should know that you are choosing that man who carries a fork (the devil)… who cooks people. When you get up there (heaven), there are different cards used, but when you have an ANC card, you will go to heaven.”

In the Christian faith, the Bible and its Confessions, heaven has a fundamental significance as the abode of God and for those closely associated with him. Traditionally Christianity has taught heaven as a place of eternal life, and a Kingdom of God. As Christians we believe Jesus Christ our Saviour took up His place at the right hand of God, after His ascension, from where He will return to judge humankind. Heaven in our understanding is also a reverent periphrasis for God. The Bible, when it speaks of heaven, it speaks of the “Kingdom of heaven”, which belongs to God.
Heaven is furthermore understood in the Bible as the peaceful condition on a New Earth (Revelations 21, Isaiah 2:2-4, 9:7). Heaven speaks of bodily perfection: No hunger, thirst, death, sickness, and no tears (Isaiah 1:25, Jeremiah 31:12-13). Heaven speaks of ruined cities that will once again be inhabited by people and flocks of sheep (Amos 19:14, Isaiah: 14, 61:4-5)

For Mr. Jacob Zuma, president of the ANC, and president of our country, to equate the ANC with the above beliefs of Christians, about heaven, is to defile one of the core beliefs of the Christian community not only in South Africa, but of the Christian family, around the world. It is unbecoming of somebody, like Mr. Zuma, who presides over a nation of many faiths and in whose faith the religious concept of heaven plays a significant role.
No ANC membership card will get anyone to heaven or guarantee an automatic pass to heaven. According to Christian faith, the only way to heaven is repentance and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

South Africa is no heaven under the ANC. Daily tears flow from the eyes of our citizens, because they are victims of murder and other types of violent crime. Poverty and unemployment increase day by the day. Children must attend classes in the open without anything decent to sit on. Delivery of services by the government is despicable to say the least. This is not heaven, if anything for many South Africans, this is hell.

The president of the ANC has clearly no respect for what we hold dear as people of faith. We call on the president of the ANC and his organization not to misuse religion for cheap party political gains or to prop up their election campaign with the misuse of religion and religious coercion. The president of the ANC should sell his party’s policies to the nation and not use scare tactics by misusing people’s deeply held beliefs.

No amount of spin-doctoring by the ANC will be enough to cover up this, yet another insult, to the Christian faith. Mr. Zuma, in his capacity as president of South Africa, should apologize to the Christian Community for his insensitivity, because he presides over a nation of many faiths.

The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) rejects the utterances made by Mr. Zuma, president of the ANC. The New and real South Africa stands for religious respect and tolerance, which the president of the ANC and the ANC from time to time disrespect.

In light of this yet another despicable occurrence, the leadership of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa has no other choice, but to call upon all its members, to search their conscience before God, to think carefully and ask themselves , if they can vote in this coming election for any party who has no respect for their faith.
What we need in South Africa is an electorate who votes on moral grounds.

Issued by: The Executive/Moderamen of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA)
Prof. Thias Kgatla (Moderator)
Rev Dr Mary- Ann Plaatjies – Huffel (Deputy- Moderator)
Rev Dr Dawid Kuyler (Scribe/ Executive Secretary)
Rev Godfrey Betha (Actuarius)
Rev Dr LJ Modise
Rev Dr Henry G Platt
Rev. PM Moloi

Distributed by: Rev Daniel Kuys
(Media spokesperson of the Moderamen /Executive of the General Synod of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa)

Mubarak, simply don't get it.

2011-02-04T12:56:00.004+02:00

Perhaps one of the more pressing challenges facing Mubarak's generation of tyrants, is the fact that they simply don't get it. Some might argue that he is trying his best: He appeared in his toy TV station, all dressed up and ...well... nowhere to go. He send in the police, the army, the veterans, the mobs to restore peace, but the people in Liberation Square is simply going nowhere. It's obvious: he didn't get the message, its time for him to go.

I would however want to probe deeper, because here's a lesson to be learnt. The issue is not simply that another dictator is being shown the door. Of course that is the main thing happening here and like many other tyrants, its clear, they don't simply hand over power to their people. Let's remind ourselves of the words of Biko,

'We must accept that no group, however benevolent, can ever hand power to the vanquished on a plate. We must accept that the limits of the tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppressed....the system concedes nothing without demand'

We must therefor salute our sisters and brothers up in the North, the Egyptians and Tunisians for standing up for their (our) freedom and indeed this struggle will continue, in many other parts of the world.

But there is something else. Its something that I pick up from the responses to the uprising, also in traditional media. Its not clear in my head yet; its just a gut feeling. Its seems to me that the constant frantic speculation about which parties are involved, about Islamic fundamentalism and about which leaders are waiting in the wing, etc...suggest something else. These commentators seemingly know what will happen and expect more of the same. They think (like Mubarak and his generation) that they know this game. They know the passionate youth and yes, 'this too shall pass'. After this, everything will return to 'normal'. Folks, I'm not so sure about this. It seems to me that this 'organic' and indeed social phenomenon is something different and yes, we will have to wait and see how it will pans out. For now there are some indications of what's to come: They don't march under anyone's or party's banner; political parties were left behind or wake up very late and still don't get it. Its clear, the traditional mediahouses are still playing catch-up. They follow, dazed, these movements and expressions; These often morph into new expressions, whether it be organising, social care in the streets, in houses of worship, volunteer community groups protecting the vulnerable, family-based carnivals, prayer meetings, quick-mix self-protection units and protections units for the cultural heritage, etc... The list goes on and here we see it will continue to invent new ways in which humanity's urge for being, grow through the ruins of an old world.

For me this is fascinating, this is life evolving...its something that cannot be controlled, let alone crushed. What Mubarak and his ilk don't get is that the game has not changed; but that there is another game at play and he simply don't have the capacity to be part of it. This will happen with Mugabe as well.

In solidarity, with Egypt-Frantz Fanon

2011-02-02T00:35:00.002+02:00

I'm reading Fanon's book 'Black Skin, White Masks' and are struck by his broad sense of solidarity, when it comes to injustice in the world. This comes in the context of the struggles of people against injustices all over the post-independant continent. He qoutes, Karl Jaspers extensively,

There exists amongst men [sic] because they are men, a solidarity through which each shares responsibility for every injustice and every wrong committed in the world, and espescially for crimes that are committed in his presence or of which he cannot be ignorant. If I do not do whatever I can to prevent them, I am an accomplice in them. If I have not risked my life in order to prevent the murder of other men, if I have stood silent, I feel guilty in a sense that cannot in any adequate fashion be understood juridically, or politically, or morally..... That I am still alive after such things have been done weighs on me as a guilt that cannot be expiated.
Somewhere in the heart of human relations an absolute command imposes itself: In case of criminal attack or of living conditions that threaten phsyical being, accept life only for all together, otherwise not at all. [La culpabilite allemande, p 60-61]

Doing theology in South Africa, call for papers.

2011-01-19T11:55:00.000+02:00

Can a distinctively South African way of doing theology be identified? How does one capture contemporary South African theological discourse? How is “South African theology” different from other regions in Africa and elsewhere in the world? Is it at all possible to address such questions?

The Theological Society of South Africa will explore these questions under the theme, “A distinctly South African way of doing theology? Revisiting and gathering various strands of contextual theology”

For more info check the MISSIO-LOGICAL blog

Tunisia, is in us...

2011-01-17T14:53:00.002+02:00

For many of us, Africans, Tunisia is a great soccer team. The last few weeks, for some of us, especially those here in the Southern tip of Africa, the name has become a sign of hope. The dreams for change, for our voices to be heard, are the dreams of the people of Tunisia, as they rose up against a dictatorship, within their own country. Tunisia has become more then a soccerteam, they've become part of us. They are alive in us..in the dreams for change, for justice.

The us that I refer to are perhaps, the cries for justice in Zimbabwe, where another dictator, Robert Mugabe and his cronies, has been looting the breadbasket of Africa for 3 decades now. None of his liberation buddies want to say anything or speak up for the poor people of Zimbabwe, because after-all, he is black and therefore it will be embarrassing to the liberation, to say anything against him. But also, South Africa, after 17 years of ANC rule, is sliding into a state, which only favors those connected to the President in power. Those who stand in line to take over the reins, in the ANC Youth League, already knows how to squander the tax-payers money, and how to pay favors to friends and family. Its becoming endemic, and slowly its becoming part of the culture within the ruling party. There is also here a cry for justice, as the poor continues to suffer and as political enemies are ruthlessly dealt with.

So the dream of liberation still lives within us. The hope for a fundamental transformation of the economic system and realities, still fuels a struggle, at the southern tip of Africa. Its within this context that the dreams of Tunisia, the most northern tip of the continent connect with us. But more so, its the activism, the consistent and relentless marches, demonstrations and writings of ordinary people, the agency of the people, that has won our heart. Its in us, as we start this year, Tunisia is in our hearts, in our activism, in us, as we march forward to take down the Ben Ali's of this world.

A Shift in North-Africa...for who?

2011-01-14T01:44:00.003+02:00

Is there a reformation taking place within Islam ? Some people believe so. They also suggest that this tectonic shift has the potential to change the face, not only of the Arab world, but also the rest of the world. I have to admit, I still have to get my head around this kind of thinking. The key question for me is whose interests will these shifts serve. What I do observe though is that we see a revolution..er perhaps a shift of sorts unfolding, errupting in North African states, like Tunisia, Algeria and perhaps also Egypt(?).

If anything, I think there is certianly a painful and bloodsoaked new birth taking place. Reading Fanon, places these shifts in a historical context. But more so, Fanon helps to make me see that the postcolonial political machines, also carried within themselves the seed of their own destruction. Its as if that old doctrine of Augustine, (bishop from Hippo) the doctrine of total depravity, loom large over the excesses of these governments. Unless leaders and their families and friends are kept in check by a vigilant and informed civil society, then they run amock, irrespective of their religious identity or the shifts taking place there. It seems critical to note that it's rather a vigilant and critical civil society, which keep governments, (but also rligious communities!) in check, to serve the needs of all.

Peace on earth, also in West-Africa

2010-12-27T11:25:00.000+02:00

In the midst of the festive season and warm Christmas pudding, there is (again!) turmoil brewing in West-Africa. The situation in the Ivory Coast, arguably the worlds largest producer of cocoa, makes one wonder about 'peace on earth and goodwil amongst humanity'. I recently read a compelling book by James Brabazon, 'My friend the mercenary'. This account of, amongst others, the civil war in Liberia (some would say guerilla war) is giving me a new perspective on the violence in Africa, or better, on Africa.

For one, we should not be fooled by 'peace missions' and UN 'peace forces' (what a misnomer!), let alone AU missions as solution to the challenge of conflict and war. The real wars are fought in the jungles, away from reality TV and newscrews. Its an unconventional war, where ordinary Africans are butchered and blasted in pieces. These wars are fueled by multibillion dollar arms deals and the bitter war over mineral rights. In this war, there is no clear sides, no cause, except to violently suck the life out of the soil as well as the children of the soil. The ANC Youth League, might be impotent when it comes to dealing with teensex, but their obsession with mining, perhaps shows that they know where the heart of the real conflict in Africa, is pumping.

Whilst a superficial (and racist) reading of postcolonial Africa's 'propensity for conflict' would point to the innate violent black man, the real forces lurk in the capitals and they hold the aces. Its therefor not surprising that Gbagbo is upheld by the generals. The same kind of dynamic is at work in Zimbabwe, where the generals hold stakes in the diamond and weapons industry and where Mugabe, are to be kept in 'power' as long as possible, with Zimbabwean economic refugees and professionals fleeing over the borders.

If anything, those inspired by 'peace on earth' has to do something about these realities, and continue to fight against mercenary activity, but also the new scramble, by neo-colonialists. Peace!

Liberation movements and justice...

2010-11-15T00:24:00.002+02:00

One of the themes that I explore on this blog is the misrule of ZANU-PF, in Zimbabwe, led by Robert Mugabe. Of course, this is not in anyway trying to get involved in partypolitics, it's simply a matter of justice. It's my simple argument that postcolonial faith is by definition, faith that engage issues of justice. Postcolonial theology articulates the voice of God's hidden people, as they engage their situations of opression under empires, as they struggle towards liberation. They also expose the empire theologies which collude with colonialism.

This is where liberation and liberation theology comes in. Its not simplistically a liberal theology. In fact, Black theology of Liberation has as one of its targets, Liberalism and a Liberal theology, which pretends to stand on the side of justice, yet frantically keeps and protects, the spoil acrued through racism and colonialism. This meant a strategic alliance, or dialogue with liberation movements of all sorts.

Today, I simply want to note (again) that this alliance is not for ever, espescially where liberation movements have evidently gone off the rails and have established sweet-heart elite pacts, with neo-liberal capitalists or where they have degenerated into little fiefdoms of despots like Mugabe. Hence, historical alliances have to be revisted on an ongoing basis, because where these movements don't concern themselves with the poor and the needy anymore, there they've become the new opressor. They've become as vile and despicable as the colonial masters and need to be exposed and deposed..

a story of robust faith...

2010-10-24T20:10:00.003+02:00

This morning I listened to Auntie Pienah,from Riverlea, sharing her story. She's originally from Buysdorp and came to Johannesburg in 1949. She emphasised the fact that she is a Buysdorper, in murg en been. She came to Joburg to work. This she also emphasised.

She shared her struggle to find work, eventually in a factory and she shared her ongoing struggles with racism. Yet, she found support with a friend and she remained part of the church. It was fascinating to note that she indicated she never was the talkative type in the church, nor was she the activist type. She considered herself a quiet member...yet she remained faithful and her faith sustained the kind of challenges she faced in the real world.

Her story is articulating a kind of faith that is taking place on the road, in the migration towards the spaces where we are able to sustain life. It's a robust faith in the midst of or better, against a vicious social system. It was a patient, prayerfilled journey, but its one where she are conscious of the fact that God was faithfull to her and that God answered her prayers. I was

Another thing I was thinking of is the fact that perhaps her struggle against colonialism and a brutal system is perhaps not the material that make the newspapers as perhaps she never participated in a march or never threw a stone. She was never in the prison, but she is the embodiment of a struggle tradition, but more so a faith that inspires. She inspires me, she teach me critical lessons of faith that sustains. This is a faith that lives in the stories of people like Auntie Pienah. Its not in the headlines, nor in the glossy books. Yet its a robust living faith, if only we are willing to listen.

Finding our compass....

2010-10-10T21:57:00.001+02:00

Listening to community members in Riverlea, the last few weeks afforded me the prescious opportunity to reflect on what is important. Perhaps the better question is 'who' is important. I will not be able to answer the question for now, because this really a ongoing mindset, that should guide all our activism as well as our intellectual engagement.
Often we get lost in the woods. We wander off to interesting pathways and sounds. This might be because some important person refered to this or that special detour. We would argue that we want to see it for ourselves and engage the person on the 'important' question whether it is really of value. Soon we become entangled in a secondary enterprise-now the issue is to engage these important people... and so we forget the reason for the journey in the first place. We are lost.
In these situations it remain critical to take a look at our compass again. It is critical that we listen again to answer the question, why am I on this journey and where am I going. For the last few weeks its been the people in Riverlea community that saved my soul. We are here for each other, we are here to regain and share our common humanity...to be sisters and brothers to each other. Our engagements, even Gods interventions in our lives, remain focused on finding each other, loving each other and this, is a journey of picking up the impulses of the image of God. This is our compass, this is what directs our being here.

Immigration and the new face of colonial conquest.

2010-09-08T21:56:00.007+02:00

“Migration is nothing new and presents itself as a global phenomenon” (Jackson & Passarelli 2008:5). Often the responses to it is simplistically blamed on xenophobia.

A colleague, Karabo Makofane and me published an article last year, in Theologia Viatorum, entitled, ”The black African other OIKOS, and inclusivity: Reflections on the response of URCSA to SA’s xenophobic crisis” Here we argued that the vicious violence meted out against migrants from the various African countries, in May 2008, was actually a manifestation of the continuing onslaught on the black poor, i.e. it was the ugly face of unresolved structural racism that still haunts our world. With other anti-racism thinkers, we argue, that migration hence need to be seen in this context.

We concede that migration is driven by many factors and the internal dynamics is always shifting. Titty Rooze (2008:2), working in the Social Protestant Centre, in Antwerpen, makes the point that migration as it manifests itself today, is a challenge of globalisation, a sign of the times. She states,

All over the world more people feel themselves threatened by conflicts, their own governments through violent pressure from political, religious and social groups, through climate change… Also, the slow economic growth as well as problems on the food and energy-market, drive people away. A complex whole of worldwide problems cause increased growth in the number of refugees.

These realities have been surfacing especially since the late 90s with the European Monitoring Group on Racism and Xenophobia indicating that the various countries of Europe are challenged by new forms of racism and xenophobia. Lukas Adler (2000:2), however, questions the ability of this think-tank to adequately illuminate and respond to this situation. He argues that it needs to be linked to today’s forms of racism and xenophobia against migrants, with economic policies of the European Union.

In her analysis of African migrancy to South Africa, Genevieve James (2008:61) correctly highlights that although it has become prominent in the globalising world, “migration to the south is still under-researched and hence largely unrecognised.” This is the state of affairs, irrespective of Orobator's (2005:144) statement, within the context of elevating refugees as a key area the church’s mission in Africa. Orobator surmises, “it [migrancy-RWN] has increasingly become a ‘permanent emergency’ and a ‘normal way of life’… especially in Africa where ‘every time one refugee situation comes to an end, another develops”. What are these situations in the Southern African context?

Southern African migrancy cannot be understood apart from the colonial history. It is critical to note that the need for expendable cheap labour, to drive the expropriation and exploitation of the land, from the indigenous, black peoples, was at the root of the colonial system. Albert Nolan (1988:71) explains that the South African system of internal colonialism was different from other deep settler nations, as it was transformed into an ideology of apartheid, because of the unique dynamics in the discovery of gold in 1886. The gold found in this region, was “in thin layers deep underground” and required deep-level mining, by “vast numbers of cheap, really cheap, workers”. Nolan (1988:72) writes:

"Without this need most of the indigenous people might have been eliminated like the Native Americans or pushed into separate colonies outside of the ‘golden areas’. What actually happened was that millions of black people were forced into a kind of ‘slave’ labour to dig the deepest holes and the largest network of tunnels on this planet…"

The system of internal colonialism is at its roots a system of forced labour. The system did not originate from the racism of the Boers or Afrikaner nationalism. It was developed by the white mine-owners and successive white governments for the purpose of profitmaking. This meant that local social, political, economic and cultural systems had to be destroyed, and replaced by hierarchical, racialised identities, in order to produce a land-less, mindless, pool of black labour (Biko 1973). Indeed, the white South Africa’s economy, in particular, has been served well by waves of migrant labour, the “black African other” migrating between countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi, who, alongside landless black South Africans from rural areas, were then relocated haphazardly in shantytowns in and round the urban centres of economic growth (Davenport 1991:1-18). This came at an incredible social cost. Mosala (in Villa-Vicencio & Du Toit 2006:149) writes,

“The expropriation of ancestral land and the detachment of communities from rivers, lakes, mountains and valleys that grounded them in space, time and relationship with material and spiritual environment forces, resulted in the settlement patterns of crowded shack living of poor South Africans”.

It is within this context then, that we need to understand the anti-colonial struggle for liberation (see Chipenda 1995:39). The return of the land, but also, the return to the land, linking human dignity and livelihood, was central. In the post-colonial context, where the confluence of neo-colonialism, with corporate capitalism led to new waves of migration, this challenge was exacerbated.

At a consultation in 1995, reflecting on the public role of church in the post-apartheid South Africa, under the theme, South Africa in Regional and Global context Today, Brigalia Bam (1995:52) highlights, amongst other things, the following demands:

"We face the rebuilding of infrastructures of societies that have been decimated by civil war, and we face major dislocation of people through those wars and through high level of unemployment throughout the whole region.
Refugees from Mozambique and from Lesotho have long been served by the SACC , but we now face a new influx. Since the new government has taken power, thousands of refugees have come from other parts of Africa. They come because of the image of South Africa. They come to cities - Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban-which are already overcrowded by South Africans who are destitute and homeless. There is much tension in this matter and it has to be addressed by relief agencies, the government and the churches as quickly and as humanely as possible. It is a regional issue that cannot be solved simply by higher fences and more patrols on the borders."

Post-colonial governments in the region, however, failed in adequately dealing with this legacy. Mandaza (1999:79) argues that the kind of reconciliation exercises that accompanied the end of white settler colonialism and apartheid “serves largely a political function, facilitating the necessary compromise between the rulers of yesterday and the inheritors of state power, within the context of incomplete decolonization”. He argues that this policy and ideology, in colluding with globalisation, becomes increasingly untenable as the social demands of the mass of people grow bigger and louder, in an economy that remains narrow-based and of a colonial nature” (Mandaza 1999:81). Various scholars point out how, in particular the South African and Zimbabwe governments, in an attempt to gain popular support for their conservative and devastating economic policies started to revisit and proclaim quasi-nationalist rhetoric. In recounting the case study further North, of Cote d’Ivoire, Tadjo (2008:225-239), shows how the construction of the “other”, in defence of the model of a liberal economy turned a country, at one time considered to be West Africa’s richest country per capita, into a country divided and wracked by civil war. She cautions that ethnicity and colonial memories become the ingredients that elite groups mobilise and manipulate to maintain power, at all costs. Gundani (2007:10), states in the context of Zimbabwe, “ironically, the politics of “otherness” and of “purging and purification” that dominated the eighties under the pretext of nation-building, came to the fore again when there was a perceived danger to the ZANU-PF hegemony” (see also Gundani 2003).

The simplistic blaming of “xenophobic” violence on the “unenlightened poor”, therefore, masks this complex array of political machinations and ideologies.
For more posts today on Immigration and Migration, see Christians and the Immigration issue, by Steve Hayes
Other sources,
Bam, BH 1995. The church in South Africa, in Pityana, BN & Villa-Vivencio C (eds), Being church in South- Africa Today, 43-53.Cape Town: Salty Print
Biko, S 1973. Black Consciousness and the quest for a true humanity,in Stubbs, CR (ed.) 2004. I write what I like: Steve Biko. A selection of his Writings, 96-108. Johannesburg: Picador Africa
Davenport, R 1991. Historical background of the apartheid city to 1948,in Swilling, M, Humphries, R & Shubane, K (eds) 1991, 1-18.
Gundani, PH 2003. The land question and its missiological implications for the church in Zimbabwe. Missionalia, 31(3):467-502.
2007. Prophecy, politics and power: Scaffoldng a Catholic historiography in post-colonial Zimbabwe from the pastoral letters of the Zimbabwe Catholics Bishops’ Conference (1980-2007). Inaugural paper presented at UNISA, Pretoria, RSA (August 28).
Hassim, S, Kupe, T, & Worby, E (eds) 2008. Go home or die here: Violence,xenophobia and the reinvention of difference in South Africa. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Jackson, D & Passarelli, A 2008. Mapping migration: Mapping churches’ responses (Europe study). Nucice: Gemmapress.
James, GL 2008. Due South: The challenges and opportunities of African migrancy to South Africa, in De Gruchy, S, Koopman, N & Strijbos, S (eds), From our side: Emerging perspectives on development and ethics, 61-74. Pretoria: Unisa Press.
Mosala, I 1997. Ownership or non-ownership of land forms the basis of wealth and poverty: A Black theological perspective, in Guma & Milton (eds) 1997, 57-68.
Nolan, A. 1988. God in South Africa: The challenge of the gospel. Cape Town: David Phillip.
Orobator, AE 2005. From crisis to kairos: The mission of the church in the time of HIV/AIDS, refugees and poverty. Nairobi: Pauline Publications Africa.
Rooze, T 2008. Lewe in tijden van globalisering, een uitdaging voor de kerken. Unpublished discussion document for Accra Workgroup of United Protestant Church in Belgium.

Opportunity for South Africans to visit Palestine and Israel

2010-09-01T14:52:00.000+02:00

For South Africans: An opportunity to visit Palestine and Israel:
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) seeks to support local and international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a just peace, based on international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. SACC facilitates EAPPI in South Africa.

To become one of the Ecumenical Accompaniers and spend three months in Israel/Palestine experiencing the life with victims/survivors of the conflict, and come back home to advocate.

Contact the SACC office at the following address:
dudu@sacc.org.za
office no: 011 2417827
For an application form.
Deadline for applications is 20th October 2010.

In honour of Dr SPE (Sam) Buti, a beacon of hope in the struggle for justice.

2010-08-23T15:01:00.002+02:00

Unisa recently honoured Rev Dr Samuel Palo Ernest Buti, for his contribution towards a new South Africa. I am greatful to have known him and worked with him. He was a dignified church leader with a sharp intellect. He was fearless.

Rev SPE Buti, a third generation pastor, grew up with his father, Rev ETS Buti being the first moderator of the then Dutch Reformed Church in Africa, General Synod. Born on 1 June 1934, he grew up in the rural areas of the then Western Transvaal (now North West province) and received his academic and professional education primarily in Afrikaans.

He graduated from the Stofberg Theological Seminary in 1959 and began his pastoral ministry in 1960, in Alexandra, where he continued to serve until his retirement. Initially his ministry was under duress, as community members were suspicious of his allegiance to the white Dutch Reformed Church. The church buildings were burnt down at some point. His own journey was however a journey of a growing conscientization and activism. Of this, fellow pastor Rev ZE Mokgoebo writes, 'Serving his parish with this uneasy conscience and being involved in the DRCA's struggles and the struggles of the community of Alexandra, would lead Sam to a critical awareness and an involvement from which he would not easily retreat.' (1983:134)

In 1971 he went for further studies in the Netherlands, which sharpened his intellectual resistance against ecclesial and social apartheid. He became one of organisers and founders of the Alexandra Liaison Committee resisting the proposed resettlement of Alexandra, by the apartheid government and also chairperson of the Black Renaissance Convention.

In 1977 he was elected as the President of the South African Council of Churches, as the bitter confrontation between the government of the day and prophetic church deepened. This was a period where this confrontation shifted from critical engagement to non-collaboration and non-violent protest.

The protest action was also prevalent, in the two terms that he served, as vice-president of the international Reformed Ecumenical Synod. In 1980 he staged a boycott of participation where the white Dutch Reformed Church, supporting apartheid, participated.

In 1982, he earned a Master of Theology from the Princeton Theological Seminary and continued to travel worldwide and be involved in church leadership, fighting the cause of the oppressed, globally.

In the meanwhile, he was elected as mayor of Alexandra, in the mid 80s. This however did not sit well with a substantive percentage of the people of Alexandra and in 1985, his house was bombed and the pressure was taking a toll on his family. After consultation with the then political prisoner and now ex-President, Nelson Mandela, he decided to quit politics and in 1987 he was again elected the Moderator of the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa, which in 1994, led to the establishment of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, to which he was elected as the Vice-Chairperson (Assesor) of the General Synod.

His relentless commitment to the struggles of the poor and oppressed was acknowledged on 25 Oct 2008, when Selbourne Street was renamed Reverend Sam Buti street and in 2010 when Unisa confered upon him an honorary doctorate.

May his legacy live on !

Unions use learners as weapons

2010-08-10T21:02:00.003+02:00

I've often been uneasy about Prof Jonathan Jansen's devastating attacks on our teachers. Whilst I affirm his view that an excellent education is the key to our liberation, I felt that his critique on the work ethic of teachers, especially unionised, black teachers were a bit unfair. [Of course, I come from the old school where teachers don't strike and where they either walked or drove around with bicycles] Jansen's view is that unions, (and I would qualify, SADTU) runs our schools.... to the ground. It seems to me, from what I've read of Jansen, that he argues that the children in our townships are the last of these teacher's concerns. Jansen is clear: the reason for our dismal Grade 12 results in black township schools are the teachers and unions.

Recently, we returned in a daze, from a glorious Soccerworld Cup. Schools were closed for 6 weeks. Many of us wondered about our Grade 12s, but also our Grade 11s because their results are critical for applications. Within one week after the school started, the teachers abandoned these students for meetings over a salary dispute. We hear from the unions that this is the 'strike season' and this is going to be a big one; the biggest teacher strike that we have seen, we are told. How can this be? Perhaps, I have to read Prof Jansen again. Its evident: the unions clearly don't flinch at putting our children's future at risk, moreso, in their view, its the education of our children, that are the cannonfodder to win their struggle. Let me put it more clearly: they use the education, in particular, of the poor and black children, as weapons in their struggle. [Teachers in most of the more affluent schools, decided not to strike; it's the teachers in the poorer areas, in the black areas, that go on strike] COSATU also affirms this by stating, 'the impact of a public service strike was unlike any other strike, because it affected everyone, especially the poor and most vulnerable, who were sorely dependant on government services for their daily survival'

Let me concede: I would be first in the battle lines to fight for higher salaries amongst teachers. Why? As indicated earlier, education is critical and therefore our teachers are perhaps one of the most important roleplayers in building a educated, free person, but also a strong nation. They are the ones that hold the key to information, to skills, indeed to power, as the mold the young lives. Yet, today in South Africa, it's the cricketers, the soccercoaches and rugbyplayers, who are paid obscene amoounts of money, to entertain us. Its the gangsters and stripclubowners in silky Italian suits, who capture the imagination of the media, as they cash in on assasinations, drug and humantrafficing. They are all over the printed and new media. In the meantime, our teachers are being treated with contempt by the current government's ministry of Education; they have to stand last in the line. It remains this reality that breeds anger amongst teachers, who are qualified for their calling, yet offered peanuts in return.

My concern here is however that I cannot, I cannot ever, support the usage of education or more specifically the future of our learners, i.e. our children, as a weapon, in their quest for higher salaries. Let explain: unions in the metal industry or in mining, can down tools and by such industrial action, hurt the profits of the bosses; they can close down the plant. The question is: who will be hurt in the strike where children are deprived of an opportunity to free themselves? Will it be the administrator or functionary at the Department of Education? Of course not. Their children already are in the better schools in the suburbs or studying overseas. How can unions justify the callous disregard for the future of our children, in particular the black, poor children? There has to be another way of making their demands heard. There has to be another, more pointed way of addressing the real enemy, i.e. the current government or the current policies which evidently collude with protecting the interest of the already rich and powerful. As teachers walk out of classrooms and leave black learners in the dark, they betray their calling, they betray the black child, whose key to life to power, is education. These teachers betray the trust that we as parents bestow upon them and they don't deserve the respect we afford them by virtue of their calling. They don't deserve to be taken as serious, as I suggested earlier.

Perhaps this post will offend some. I know it will offend friends and family. I am however convinced more and more, with Prof Jansen and others, that these actions of unions are indeed running our education to the ground. Moreso, they are destroying the future of our children. I think, this is criminal.

free the word (s), media freedom...

2010-08-05T14:17:00.005+02:00

It seems like the so-called "Hawks" did not have a case against Mzilikazi wa Afrika, a journalist, who was arrested in cowboy style yesterday and thrown in the dungeons (he was trucked to Mpumalanga). Perhaps it was simply part of the bigger threat of a clampdown on media-freedom in SA, perhaps it just showed off how incompetent the Hawks really are, moreso how futile it is to gag the truth. Let us cut to the real issue: our freedom is under threat.

The SA media has a political agenda. Politically, media should be part of the system of institutions guarding the truth and guarding our hard-earned freedom. Yet there is allways the danger, that they might only serve the system that reproduce and justify inequalities; in this case they will not report anything which will hit their pockets and the pockets of their owners, the elites.

My view is that it does not help to hide behind a veil of supposed independence, objectivity or neutrality, as a response to government's threat of a clampdown. A better response would be to concede their political and economic interest, but have environment where the news repressenting various interests can thrive. In my view this would leave space for newspapers with a clear government bias, but also others who repressent oppositional interests.

This viewpoint might sound naive. Its not. It takes into account my initial point of view that newspapers are being run like businesses. They are out to make profit and would dish out to an unsuspecting reader anything that sells. Hence, we need various perspectives, angles and interests to shed light on whats happening in our world. This kind of contestation is the only hope for the voices of the silenced to see the light of day. Hence we need to free the word, in order to free the world.

Reitz, an island of hope in the Free State (?)

2010-07-29T05:49:00.003+02:00

A group of 4 white students acknowledge guilt in the week, following the discovery of their shocking video, where they humiliated black workers, in their hostel called Reitz Residences or Flats. There is a significant difference between the trials of the Reitz-4 and the Waterkloof-4, a group of white students who brutally kicked to death a black man one night, in Pretoria. The Reitz-4 acknowledged their guilt and expressed the desire to make amends. I would also recommend monetary compensation for the victims, although it would never be able to restore the dignity of me Koko, me Rebecca Adams, me. Naomi Phororo, me. Mittah Ntlatseng and mr. David Molete; the restoration of their dignity is rooted in much more then a symbolic gesture.

It seems to me that these boys, in the words of Jonathan Jansen, are the products of 'knowledge in their blood'. Yet, they, unlike the Waterkloof-4 seems to be aware of the graveness of their actions. For me there are other concerns. The fact of the matter is that this video, was entered in a competition for students on the campus of the University of the Freestate. I don't know, if it won any prizes, but seemingly no-one, not the organisers of the competition, nor the crowds watching it, raised any significant protest. It was, as the four said later, an attempt to be funny, like the volk's hero, Leon Schuster. They simply wanted to be the next Leon Schuster. No jokes. But moreso, and this is critical, they were taking the political messages of white supremacist groups like FF+ (FreedomFront Plus) and AfriForum on their campus, to its logical conclusion. Their actions need to be seen within the context, at that time, of these organisation's consistent campaign on various traditionally Afrikaans campusses, against what they called 'integration'. The message of the video was: this is what we think of integration. The black workers represented the black 'hordes' who wanted to come and invade their space, in this case the 'island of Reitz' or the University of the Freestate. When this repugnant story broke, the FF+ and AfriForum, usually very vocal and ready for any interview, simply walked away from these boys. They were on their own. The political leaders never conceded anything, they simply pointed out that these boys lost the plot. Well, they did lost the plot, because they were led by and they trusted organisations and leaders who continue to hide their intently racist visions and interests, in their quest for a dream that was doomed from inception.

Its at this level where we need to focuss our attention. Yes, a mission to overcome racism need to address the personal journey of acknowledgement of guilt and commitment to restorative justice. At this level, exposure to the other on the same level, in equal-power relationships is critical. But its much more then this, this journey needs to be a communal journey, as the practices and rituals which sustain the myths of racial supremacy are deconstructed and replaced with new rituals and practices, which consciously embody equality, openness and justice. These new practices pursue a quest for redress and transformation; it seeks together to nurture new communities, a new just society. Its difficult, fraught with deep and painful learning experiences; its breaking down the islands of separation, yet it builds slowly but surely, islands of hope.

...when the morning comes..we will tell the story of how we overcome.

2010-07-28T04:39:00.006+02:00

I recently was part of the backroom team working in a SA/Namibia camp with young people from various countries. They came to serve, to learn and to experience intercultural living together. It wasn't possible all the time. The Rwanda group were not allowed to enter Namibia and Lesotho. I was then asked to prepare an alternative program. My colleagues and friends, Natasha Felix and Malin Fisher (young pastors) and our faithcommunity and youth in Riverlea joined hands. This was hard work, but not impossible. Yet, emotionally it was gruelling; it sucked us deeper and deeper into the cesspool of injustice. Whilst our European friends were welcomed with open arms, because they are able to pay their way (and indeed they are welcome), our very own sisters and brothers, in the wake of the African World Cup were stopped at the borders and send back to where they came from. Soon it dawned on us: Fellow poor Africans were not welcome in fellow African countries; money are!

This experience pulled us deeper and deeper into their experience, into their pain. Deeply spiritual in their approach to this injustice, they would remain strong and dignified. They would smile bravely and continued to walk tall. They remained true ambassadors of a world, few us us are familiar with and then, when we concluded the camp, this weekend, oh my word, our friends stood up sang this song. Its a song written by perhaps the father of gospel music, Charles A Tidley, a son of a slave Albert Tidley and freewoman, Hester Miller. He taught himself how to read and write and eventually he became a pastor of a church, where he was first a janitor. Amongst others, he wrote a song 'I'll overcome Someday' (1901), which many years later inspired the popular struggle song, 'We shall overcome'. Our friends from Rwanda however sang, 'By and By', which may inspire another struggle. They sang,

Trials dark on every hand,
and we cannot understand
All the ways God would lead us
to that blessed promised land.
But He'll guide us with His eye,
And we follow till we die;
We will understand it better by and by

Often our cherished plans fail'd
Disappointments have prevail'd
And we've wandered in the darkness,
heavy hearted and alone,
but we trusting in the Lord,
And according to his word,
We will understand is better, by and by

By and by, when the morning comes,
when the saints of God are gathered home
we will tell the story how we overcome
we will understand it better by and by

It is about power...justice, I mean.

2010-07-27T12:29:00.003+02:00

Power is critical in the quest for justice. Yet, power in itself is no virtue. It can be an instrument of oppression, where justice are denied. It can also be a tool to liberate.

I've come to realise that the passion for justice, the adoration of justice, the affirmation that justice is right is not enough. These notions might even be opium to the masses. Of course, we would all affirm the need for a world that is devoid of pain, oppression and violence, a world of justice, but there has to be more. We also need power to make it happen, to make it a living reality, not mere words.

Many a activist for justice would affirm, in the trenches, that the powerfull never give away power. Power-sharing does not follow from an altruism or a deep sense of pity for the wretched of the earth. The commitment to justice assumes a contest over power. It asumes a struggle for power. Often, I hear people wailing about powerstruggles in a particular setting. These complaints often are as a result either of a naive analysis of reality, or of a deliberate denial of reality. Those in power are of course, confortable with naivety and would encourage denial. They would even create a mirage of power and would frantically deny their own collusion in the centralisation of power. I often hear how powerful people use words and phrases as they strive to protect their positions. The alternative is not to play into these delusions, but to see through the fog of propaganda and to push for more power. That is how we come closer to the lofty ideal of justice.

strangers become part of us...

2010-07-25T21:40:00.002+02:00

Its one thing to speak about lofty ideas on justice and reconciliation. Its another thing to live it. We often asume that its all about saying the right words, quoting the most sexy philosophers and authors and have them comment on our wordsmithship.
Its not.

Its about sensing and feeling our fellow human beings. As we journey through life we meet strangers along the way. In those moments where we meet the stranger, where we are challenged and changed. Our world is changed. Sometimes we meet in them the face of God, as his dream for the world becomes a-live (or a life). Justice and reconciliation (and you might want to add unity, love, peace....etc) are living realities. These realities that need to be embodied in the mandane struggles for life (and also of life itself), as we inter-act. Sometimes we are able to capture these moments in words; often not. Then we may dance or sing. We may simply rest in that moment or the series of moments-almost like a surfer who caught that special curl. Then its gone....its part of the ebb and flow, of life and we need to (again) battle as new more powerfulwaves are on the horison-beckoning us.

As strangers enter our worlds, they become part of us. Perhaps we will never see them again, yet, those moments of inter-action, have left their mark. We are changed, our worlds have been changed.

Peter De Villiers and the media (again), the clown, the questions

2010-07-23T14:33:00.001+02:00

Some would say, here we go again, but let me say it: certain sections of the media is running a campaign to discredit the black Springbok coach. I can understand when Aussie and New Zealand commentators and journos have a go at anything to do with the Springboks. They need to attack us psychologically. That's part of the game. But why would South African sportsjourno's then reprint these reports almost verbatim?

My questions:
Why would they gloat at the kind of remarks made about de Villiers capabilities, his English, his style, his kind of humour. Why would it be funny when he waffle in English ? Why would his moustache, or voice-tone be singled out for particular redicule.

Questions that I ask: who would benifit from a Springbok side that loose ? Who would gloat over a loosing Bok coach. In whose interest would that be. Why then would our journalists continue to cas a shadow over the capabilities of de Villiers.

If one analyse the games we've lost so far against the All Blacks then I ask, what would be the reasons behind the loss. Let me state the obvious: At least 2 Boks were cited for their ill-discipline, at least 2 got yellow cards. Why would de Villiers be blamed for it and not the forwards/scrum coach Os du Randt.

Just asking ?

Paying the highest price for health...who cares?

2010-07-21T23:23:00.004+02:00

It's a fact: State hospitals don't provide the same care and service as private medical facilities. Put differently: healthcare is a commodity.

We've all had the experience when you land up at the admissions of the closest hospital, and the first question relates to your medical insurance or medical aid. Tough luck if you don't have any...you might end up back on the street looking for a state hospital or community clinic. Who cares? I've heard in my community of people who were actually turned away with their sick first baby, because the nurses were on strike for a higher salary. The baby died. Who cares?

At the Charlotte Maxeke Academic hospital 6 premature babies lost their lives over a weekend in May this year. They died because of a virus, which is supposedly spread by contaminated hands, water or food. According to a report, released by Prof Keith Bolton, a few "contributory factors" was also present, such as overcrowding, under-staffing and a lack of antiseptic sprays and paper towels at the hospital. The state health authorities however absolved themselves of any blame. Shit happens....espescially at State hospitals, I suppose. Who cares?

For how long will we tolerate the evil, that the health, the lives of certain people are more valuable, then that of others. Back in the days of slavery, the lives of the slaveowner was of more value than the lives of the slave. The slaves would die in the field or in a delapidated shelter, out there away from human beings, who were afforded the best medical care and eventually a dignified death. Has anything changed in the current situation where healthcare and healing comes with a pricetag? Has anything changed in the 'new South Africa'? Who cares?

Its not xenophobia, or is it ?

2010-07-20T21:34:00.005+02:00

Again, there are a deep and understandable concern over the violence meted out against nationals, in particular against shopkeepers from Somalia and Zimbabwean and Mozambican nationals. This scourge must concern all of us.

Let me give a piece of my mind, so to speak. I've observed that its not focussed on foreigners in general, the Eastern Europeans or Mafia-types from Italy or China (if anything, I would admit hating these ugly China-malls popping up all over Johannesburg.*blush*); This violence is focussed on black Africans; it is the actions of the poor and it is focussed on the vulnerable, the defenseless. Mostly these actions are physically violent, yet it's a desperate unorchestrated kind of violence. Its not the violence of the powerful in society, its the violence of the powerless. So, my concern is the question, what lies behind these actions. What leads to township folk pouncing on fellow Africans, as they too scramble for the crumbs that fall from the table of the rich man.
Let me make another point. Uncomfortable as it is, it need to be said. As I can see it, most middle class professionals from various other countries working in South Africa are not chased out of their houses, nor are they in the danger of being hacked to death or burnt alive. Again....its the poor.

So, what's my point ? My point is that the deeper socio-economic, the class dimension is more pertinent. In my view, we see the symptoms of a deeper more incidious evil system that gangs up against the landless, vulnerable classes. This system is maintained by the elite classes, where the old colonial elite and the new black diamonds have a common interest: the exploitation of the natural and human resources for the sake of the optimization of profits. We see in the so-called xenophobic violence the brute power of the current empire, which divide and rule the poor, the marginalised, through the other-ing of those darker blacks. The actual loathing of the stranger, the hatred of the other is happening in sophisticated systems of power, which creates others through laws, media images, police brutality.

The soldiers will not stop migration nor will it stop the inevitable ruthless scramble for the crumbs. The key to unlock this is dealing with the long term contradictions in the system; it lies in the state's regulation of economic policy, in the integration of regional economies, but moreso in the removal of bloodhirsty tyrants, who sell their own people at the market, to finance their lavish splurges on soccertickets and fine whisky. What was learnt is that quiet diplomacy simply entrench and solidify their positions. A more direct approach in unmasking and isolating the Mugabes and the Al Bashir's of this world is needed from the African Union. Unless the invisible (?), structural violence against the poor, is dealt with, we will continue to be disgusted by this visible (?) naked violence, which forces us to hear the wailing cries for a place under the sun.

Danny Jordaan, the humble champion of the world.

2010-07-15T10:20:00.003+02:00

Danny Jordaan, must perhaps be the most unasuming champion of the Fifa Soccer World Cup 2010. He's been the one person that galvanised an organisation, no, a movement to make it all happen. Yet, listening to an interview with him on Talkradio 702, I was again struck by the matter-of-factness of his attitude in pulling off this soccer spectacle. Whilst the world is ecstatic, for him it was almost just another day in the office.What have I learnt from the interview with this worldleader?

Of course, I am simply responding to what I've heard in the interview, today and have not done a deeper look into his life and context. On my drives in our taxi back from Pretoria, in the afternoons, I had some fascinating conversations with a friend of his from the Eastern Cape, who was also deeply involved in sport, back in the days. From these conversations it was evident that Jordaan was a keen and brilliant soccer player, who were of course never afforded the opportunity to play for the national team. What a loss. From the interview, however one would not find one instance, where Jordaan presents himself as bitter or resentful. He is active in the present, have learnt the lessons well and he remains commited to affirm the dignity and value of human beings irrespective of the colour of their skin. These comments are simply presented as a background for my observations and it remains my thoughts, as I listen to these various voices.

Now for my reflections on the interview with the Talkradio 702
1) I was struck by the sense that Jordaan remained humble, aware of the challenges the still lies ahead.Its tempting to lash out at your foes and enemies, the naysayers and the prophets of doom, like some have done. In this interview there was reference to the Afrophobia and the pessimists, yet it was never in a gloating manner. There was a simple affirmation of the achievement, a sincere 'thank you' to all who have been part of the team, but them also a humble acceptance of the fact that he is human, tired and also overwhelmed by the support.
2) It seems to me that this moment was just another step in Jordaan's bigger vision. His journey came a long way, with many disappointments, many losses, many times where he had to start again, yet he maintained his overall vision of bringing all South Africans together and affirming the value of all human beings, in particular the people of the continent of Africa.
3)Whilst Jordaan felt the raw impact of Apartheid, he said at some point, we still carry the pain of it, he was able to be aware and transcend his own weaknesses, yet never succumb to a victim mentality. He was speaking of his own story, Group Areas Act, Bush colleges, Churches, schools, homes being demolished, with all the memories and social capital that went along with these buildings. He experienced the depth of depravity that human beings, blinded by ideology are capable of. Yet. he is also aware of the capabilities and potential within people-people can change and also make the world a better place.

These little glimpses of his story, in my view, gives hope. Its not only about the big lights and the rands and cents, its also about the human spirit, which can overcome the odds.

Hospitality comes at a price.

2010-07-10T13:27:00.001+02:00

Hospitality is not easy. Its easy perhaps, when its staged, not when the stranger rocks up and intrude on our programs and plans. Its not easy when the stranger don't pay back. Its not easy when the stranger is poor and at your mercy, financially and socially.

For many, hospitality relates to an industry. Its about good marketing. Its about cashing in on 'tourists', but also 'selling the country'. Yet, these concepts and understanding need to be unpacked. Using euphemisms can maim the rich-ness of the concepts itself and subvert it, to serve hidden agendas and interests. Of course, we can read the dictionary or even our sacred texts to try to grap hold of the meaning, but there's more. These texts won't be able to unearth the complexities and cost of what it means to 'welcome the stranger', to 'host the unwelcome'.

Many are chastized for a fear for the stranger. Perhaps it would be more apt to speak of 'hatred' instead of 'fear'. I would also be in the chorus condeming all forms of violence against refugees and immigrants. We should all be. But are we willing to concede our own 'fear' or perhaps 'hatred' of the other, in particular the black other-those that come and seemingly impinge and threaten our way of life ? How much are we (I use we intentionally here) willing to open our doors, our homes, country to those who cannot pay us back ? Its all about the cost, hey ?

Hospitality for the fans arriving, in SA has got to offer more...

2010-05-28T00:24:00.001+02:00

Fans from all over the world are arriving for the FIFA soccerworld cup, here in South Africa. Recently we had a dance festival at our community centre, in Riverlea, which is situated in the shadow of SoccerCity. We celebrated the coming of all these soccer teams, but also the fans. We shared information about them, but also, there were quiet moments where we prayed for those arriving. There are many ways to prepare for the soccerfest.

What the fans and the players need is perhaps a bit more then mere shelter, food, safe roads. They also need to experience hospitality.... a deep sense of being at home. For many this is possible, at the right price ( and you get even more then what you paid for). I've often experience the friendliness at various guesthouses, hotels and other establishments, as long as I stayed there and, of course, paid the price. As soon as you leave that place, you are again a stranger, just another client, another number. Its plastic.Its business.

For faith communities, however, recieving guests has got to offer more. There has to be a genuine love and compassion, flowing from a deep sense of common humanity that should inspire us to open up, not only our homes, but also our hearts. This deep-seated motivation is the root for a warmth and openness, that is a central part of who we are, more then for a once off event; its a lifestyle. Its a way of acknowledging our inter-connectedness. I find the notion of hospitality industry, a bit of a oxymoron: hospitality is not hard, business, for sale, a commodity. Hospitality, but its very nature, is freely recieved and shared, amongst former strangers, now friends, later sisters and brothers.

white women speaking black

2010-05-12T17:18:00.001+02:00

A very profound week, last week. I marvelled in a bitter way, at how in most of our South African media, the Mafia-stylled hit on a shady, strip-club owner, and the search for his killer, overshadowed the death of a longstanding activist for justice. Yet, this fine women stood up, with a black sash, when the rest was turning the blind-eye. She was white, inspired by her faith and a heroine in the struggle against injustice. She stood in the tradition of white, middle-class women, who fought for justice, often and still at the risk of being labled as naive, self-righteous and gullable, infantile. The New York Times notes, she 'moved far beyond the traditional sphere reserved for white women of her day'. I salute the memory of Sheena Duncan, for decades the public face of the Black Sash.

Perhaps you might have noticed that this reflection is not simply about Sheena Duncan. Its about the ongoing struggle for equality and justice. This is about how powerful forces continue to silence the cry of justice. This struggle relates to another debate during the past week, on the recent book by another white, female activist, Antjie Samuel (Krog), called provocatively, Begging to be Black. I write about and hope to contribute to a highly emotional and complex conversation (Cobus , Tom, 'Skillie' and Steve) about matters of identity. It's, at least for me, also about the manner in which women is shaping the conversation-away from what the headlines might want us to talk about. I have a hunch that the struggles of women, 'beyond the traditional sphere reserved for white women', might just be a critical clue to helps us in trying to make sense and get focus, on the black struggle for liberation. It may be appropriate in the warm atmosphere of Mothers's Day to reflect on this. These women, worked the struggle from the trenches (just read of Krog's role in the local Kroonstad struggles, behind the scenes) as the personal (home) became the space where these battles were fought (she is in an ongoing conversation with her husband and mother). I think that perhaps women are grappling openly on these because they experience what it means to live in a world where an invisible norm, called patriarchy, continue to create situations where they as not valued as fully human, by the dominant, hegemonies. They experience the subtleness and sophistication, yet brutality of being excluded and purposefully misrepresented. They know how it feel to be subjucated, violently.Therefore, perhaps they may also be in a better position to speak out or respond to the pervasiveness of something called whiteness.

Let me agree with Tom, that whiteness is a reality. This is not simply skincolour. This is a construct in people's heads, but also, its a system of priviledge that was engineered consciously for material exploitation. It asserts itself, irrespective of whether you are overtly crude in your pronouncments over the 'other'. Its a system which is based on an idea; but also its a powerposition where it does not even matter if you're aware of this. Like patriarchy, most of those in power, are particularly sensitive to those who recognise, identify and name these powerful forces...let alone start to unravel, expose and dismantle it. The battle becomes bitter and relentless.

This is the point where the resistance to policies aiming at redress is fought, as well as the thinking behind these policies. Its a conflict over these flawed ideas, yes, but its also about how these ideas, embedded in a legislative framework perpetuate the real material inequalities. This is why organisations like Afriforum and MynwerkersUnie (Solidariteit) would wage their struggle, strategically in the court-house and media platforms. They know where the real battle lines is drawn-not in defending the flawed ideas in public, but fighting the legislation, which aims at redress. One should not be fooled by the human rights or civil rights language, nor gestures of change in attitude or well-meaning welfare efforts. This will not change the situation of the oppressed poor.

What will transform the situation? Let me again start with the womanist struggle against patriarchy, as these hold key insights. The situation against which Sheena Duncan waged a relentless struggle will be transformed where the unique voices of the downtrodden are heard, in all its strangeness, pain, uniqueness and complexities. When we, as men listen and filter these voices through our ears formed by our positions of power, then we will easily ridicule, scoff and ignore it. (Most of the critical voices have not even tried to read Krog). But when we take serious the 'long conversation' of which Klippies Kritzinger made us attentive to, then we will stay and struggle to hear, to understand, to stand with. This will change the relationship from power-over to power with, sharing power. This will be a painful struggle. This will transform the situation. Perhaps I should keep quiet now...

On free speech, today.

2010-04-21T11:01:00.002+02:00

This time around, I agree with Jonathan Jansen's column. Not fully, but I would go along with the basic thrust of his argument: there is not enough deep debate on public issues today in South Africa.

I am however surprised at the generalisations in Jansen's collumn, given the fact that he rants the 'lack of' deep intellectual discourse at universities. He makes another point of interest,

'’n Universiteit, anders as ’n kerk, moet ’n plek wees waar idees aangebied, uitgeruil, verdedig en uitgedaag kan word. ’n Kampus moet ’n veilige ruimte skep waar mededingende ideologieë aangehoor kan word.' ( a University, unlike a church, must be a place where ideas are presented, defended and challenged. a Campus must create a safe space where competing ideologies are heard/aired)

For him a church is (by definition) a space where we let go of our intellectual abilities and simply accept everything, 'in faith', whilst a university is a space, where there is suppose to be a freeflow of ideas. At another speech, after listening to Jansen, I wondered that perhaps his glaring ignorance on what is happening inside some churches and amongst some church people, apart from his own evangelical fundamentalist group, is sad. On the other hand, at least he, as a leading academic and principal at a university, is suppose to know that the contestation of ideologies even at a university, takes place in a particular socio-historical context and political context. By its nature, despite modernist myths of the objective, rational scientist, it is heated and emotional. The current shift in the academic landscape is contested; it is a struggle and Jansen is part of that struggle.

However, he has a point if he argues that part of the current strategy within the elite classes, dominating institutions like the academia ( and the church), is to silence dissent and that this silencing strategy has to be faced head on. I agree that, the dearth of intellectual debate opens up space for demagogues to run amok. We will only have ourselves to blame, where facism reigns supreme.

Reconciliation on a knife's edge.

2010-04-07T13:08:00.000+02:00

I agree that reconciliation and nation-building is on a knife's edge. However, I don't agree that its because of the brutal killing of Eugene Terre'Blance nor the antics of some ANC youth league functionaries. My view is that the recent obsession with these personalities, conveniently obscure our perspective to see where the real epicentre is with regards to the tenuous reconciliation in South Africa. Its not primarily, in the relations between white and black.

Let me concede first and then proceed to my actual point. These figures do raise the emotions. They are (were ?) orators of note. They are controversal, offensive and often vile. For a section of our population, a small section, they do articulate their aspirations. Not for others (like me!) and we would often express our revulsion. Yet, we need to remember that they remain part of our South African human landscape, warts and all. I do agree therefore, with Tinyiko Maluleke, the president of the South African Council of Churches, that we should condemn threats of violence, as well as brutal killings of fellow human beings, for what ever reason. We simply cannot descend into political fanaticism and mayhem. If anything, the actions related to these personalities, should remind us of who we are not.

Back to my point: Reconciliation, as we've experienced it in the South African context, in the 1990s, was appropriate for its time, but we need a new social contract. The 'negotiated settlement', as preliminary as it was, did help to stop the low-intensity civil war raging in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Let's remember that there was a real guerilla-war raging. It was fought amongst others, in Northern-Namibia, Mozambique and Angola, but also in our township streets. The SADF and the MK and perhaps APLA, fought each other some argue, through conventional warfare, or a brutal armed struggle. Many died. We simply cannot go back to that time. It was appropriate therefore, given the context, to negotiate a settlement that facilitated the transition of political power and stem the tide of violence. It's was not only Nelson Mandela, OR Tambo, Joe Slovo and Chris Hani, who played a key role, but also level-headed negotiators like Cyril Ramaphosa, Roelf Meyer, Leon Wessels, but also Constance Viljoen (who were able to transformed a conglomerate of bitter, rightwing parties and movements into the VryheidsFront). In this context, parliament, the public service and public instiutions were transformed or replaced with new ones. We can speak of the de-racialisation of politics.

Let me jump to today. Today, embarrassed we discover the frightening increase in the income-gap between the rich and the poor. Whilst the majority of the poor remains black, we also see a growing number of white people in desperate poverty, in shacks and on the streets. Whilst the majority of the wealthy remains white, we also see a small, but growing percentage of black millionaires and billionaires. We can talk about the signs of the de-racialisation of the economy. Yet, the system reproducing these glaring inequalities remained the same. Economic emancipation in the main, means today a small elite who, at the expence of the poor, are fleecing the public treasury. This, is where the fault line lies. This is where reconciliation of the 90s, are under duress, for some empty. I would argue that this explains the growth in disillusionment, desperation and anger. This explains the fact that a boy of 15 years, a child, are not in school, but working for a wage on a farm.

The recent revival of an old struggle song, the rhetoric on nationalisation and the sudden infatuation with Mugabe's 'shining successes' should should not fool us. It's got nothing to do with the the sharing of resources or the struggle for justice and equality. Rather, its an attempt to delay the attention away from the deep tensions that are surfacing. These tensions are felt in the Alliance, where Gucci capitalists crudely display their opulence and wealth in the face of just demands of the poor. And its here that I agree with Nico Botha's analysis, which I think takes the debate beyond the old-styled race analysis. Indeed, a new debate on reconciliation is needed.

Judgement on Malema ?

2010-03-16T09:51:00.005+02:00

Are we doing enough to stem the tide of rape and abuse ? How committed are we ? Is fine to lash out at Malema and the president, but what about the rest of us? Yesterday's judgement by the Equality Court on the matter of Sonke Gender Justice Network vs Mr Julius Malema is hopeful, but also it raises a few critical, disturbing questions.

We should again, note our appreciation for our judicial system. This judgement is a clear signal that our courts, by and large, still serves to defends and protects the dignity of all people, irrespective of status, class, gender, etc. This is hopeful. It builds upon our Constitution, which states, ' and Everyone is equal before the law...''Everyone has inherent dignity...' But its not as simple as that.

Of course, I cannot make any pronouncements on the legalise and whether the judgement was fair or not. My understanding is that Malema's legal team is working on an appeal and, in following in the footsteps of his president, we can assume that this matter will go all the way to the Constitutional Court.There is nothing illegal about that. My comments here are of a different nature. It relates to understanding the Malema-phenomenon. Who created this image and for what purpose ? Is he really so out of character with the rest of us ? Or is he perhaps the scapegoat ? We pack on him all our hidden dark secrets and chase him in the desert as an atonement. Of course, these questions calls for a more substantial investigation. I'm simply raising questions.

It is significant that the judge considers Malema to be someone who commands 'significant social and political influence and particularly over young people'. I've refered to this adoration, in a previous post. Who are these young people and how does Malema's public role influence their norms and values ? Malema, according to the evidence presented in this case, argued that his comments need to be seen within the context of him pursuading and mobilising young people towards an ANC victory. With these comments he is motivating young people to join his campaign. He is the president of the ANCYL. The ANC alliance scored a resounding victory at the poles last year, after his campaigning. So he must know something about these voters or like many fine savvy marketers would say: he knows his market, his target audience-just look at the numbers.

He also argued, that his party promotes the advancement of women and specifically black women. He will never promote hatred against women. Afterall, he explained, he himself was mentored by a few and raised by his grandmother. We don't know who these seemingly older women are, but one can asume that he holds their lives and examples in high esteem.There is a particular understanding of women and gender, at work here, that undergird his public persona.

Further, and this is significant, as his audience were tertiary students at the Cape Peninsula Technikon, he testified that his audience 'cheered him on with loud applause'. His assessment is that his audience, did not percieve his speech as particularly 'hurtful or harmful'. Malema is often invited to speak at tertiary institutions and, if anything his speeches are raising his profile amongst a fair percentage of tertiary students, in South Africa. Why? Who is it that continue to invite him and hold him in high esteem?

Yes, I know that the court also heard from an expert witness, Ms Lisa Vetten, that Malema's utterances were based on 'generalisations' about women, rape and consent, and that those in power, like Malema often, create and proclaim myths and stereotypes, which distort reality, but also entrench the lies and domination, of men. The court also found that his comments 'ammount to hate speech and harrasment'. The questions however remain, disturbing. This judgement cannot be the final word.

Christians, Muslims slaughter each other in Nigeria.

2010-03-08T21:43:00.002+02:00

It's International Women's Day and in Jos, Nigeria an estimated 500 women and children were brutally killed between yesterday and today. They were slaughtered in the ongoing violent conflict between Christians and Muslims. It's simply awful.

Of course, this issue is more complex then this and it is also argued that tribal and land issues are at play, but still. Its does not help to deny, like the Vatican, the fact that religious motivations are also at play. Religious fanatism are at work. What an indictment against people of faith, people of the Book, so to speak. If anything, we are all implicated. Let me rephrase: What an indictment against us.

How far have we really come from building walls between people of faiths ? Even within faith communities, we develop sophisticated walls of seperation, thus sowing seeds of conflict. The challenge of new fundamentalisms, the othering and demonizing of difference is still alive and it more vile then ever. But where does it come from? One answer is perhaps not for our comfort: This violence seems to be embedded in the way we read our sacred texts, the way our reading still brutalise and maim. It's in the myths we believe about ourselves and them and re-tell. Its simply awful and how awful, how horrific this Sunday has been.

Memorial Service in honour of Steve de Gruchy, by SACC

2010-03-04T09:54:00.002+02:00

The SACC will host a Memorial Service in honour of Prof Steve de Gruchy at Khotso House in the Chapel on the first floor. This service is open to all who remember Steve's contribution especially to the ecumenical work of the Council.

Come; let us pay tribute to this son of the soil, a pastor, academic, husband and father, for his spirit will be with us as his soul is resting in peace.

For More Info Please Contact: Rev Dr Vuyani Vellem 011 241 7804 / Mr. Eddie Makue 011 241 7817

Bafana need faith

2010-03-03T23:26:00.001+02:00

Watched the game tonight. Exited like the rest of the nation to see our team doing well. Playing against teams like Namibia would be the opportunity to rally the nation behind the boys. I would not say I was very impressed though. It seemed as if the guys was simp;y going through the motions, just doing enough to draw against a team that did not even qualify for the World Cup finals.

So, what is my advice to Bafana? Being an expert arm-chair critique, I observed that our team were able to execute the moves, make the breaks, but there's one thing we lack. We don't finish it off. We freeze in front of the box. ( or the shots goes haywire). Perhaps we need a bit of self-belief, faith that, indeed we can. I've seen other athletes with less talent, opportunity and finesse, yet they burst with self-belief and they intimidate you with their confidence. So, at every opportunity, they shoot for goal. They have faith in their ability- and if they fail the first time? Then they go back and shoot again.

Come one guys, we know you can do it.

Benny Hinn is still going strong en route to South Africa.

2010-03-03T18:04:00.000+02:00

Believe it or not, Bennie Hinn is on his way to South Africa. This quack will be hosted by the Good Hope Christian Centre in Cape Town and the Durban Christian Centre in Durban. (There's a bit of free advertising for you). I stand amazed: when our churches will wake up and regain our dignity to listen to God and think for ourselves. But another thing: What is it with these quacks, who cannot stay home and sort out their own problems? What is driving them ?

There can be only one explanation: the love for moola. These kind of industries need to keep the system going to rake in the profits, irrespective of the price that decent, sincere believers have to pay, for a miracle. Whilst we abhor the obscene plunder, by polititians and their lackeys of public money meant for health and education services of our elderly and needy, I don't have words for the vile stench of these prosperity cults...

100 days before the opening of the Soccer world cup. Are you ready ?

2010-03-02T09:54:00.001+02:00

Are you ready for the Soccer World Cup ? Its only 100 days now. 3 months. Its been said often that SA will not be ready, the roads, the Gautrain, the team, the stadiums, etc. I think we will be ready, so last year I bought myself a Bafana Bafana shirt ( I know its the old green one- at least its made in SA, not China) and I thought, I will use my Chiefs vuvuzela ( I know that SuperSport won the league-at least its not Pirates)- I am ready to roll.

My question remain: are we ready ? Speaking from our community in Riverlea, I wonder whether our communities are prepared for the onslaught and whether our children will be safe. For more then a month our children will be at home. We are preparing some youth and children's programmes, but we need to step up awareness, support services for parents, alternative care-facilities; we need to be able to track our children all the time.

But there is some good news !

A helpline was launched early in this year by the Salvation Army and BE HEARD. Lets put it up there on our boards and pamphlets.

top 3 most influential living Christian preachers..

2010-03-01T22:15:00.002+02:00

What a shock to realise, that I only know the names of 3 of the 'top most influential Christian preachers'. Am I missing something? Is this bit of research, exposing the secret to my glaring deficiencies? Anyway, Lifeway Research did a telephonic survey last year, amongst a 'random sample of 1002 Protestant pastors' and found that Billy Graham is 'far and away the top living preacher that has most influenced Protestant pastors.'

Of course, the researchers also found it 'surprising' that there is not enough diversity and respressentivity in the findings, but hey, what can you do: when you're good, you're good. Influential and all. You can find the results of the survey here.

The questions however remains: Who defines influential? Who are these 1002 protestant pastors, in terms of generation, race, class, gender ? What does it say about the powerrelations? Is this kind of research relevant ? What would be the point of this kind of research? More questions then answers.

Council of Churches on Steve de Gruchy

2010-02-27T20:21:00.000+02:00

Released Friday, 26 February 2010
Message to:

The Family of Prof Steve de Gruchy
The United Congregational Church
The School of Theology & Religion- UKZN
The South African Christian Churches at Large
People of Faith in South Africa
Academics (in the service of the church)
Friends and Colleagues from all over the world
Fellow (South) Africans

Dear Sisters and Brothers

We are shocked at the sudden passing away of Professor Steve de Gruchy, our brother and friend.

Please receive the sincere condolences of the SACC and all our members. We pray that this period of grief and mourning will be lighter as you reflect on the life and contributions to the Church and broader society that Steve has made with so much dedication. We all bear testimony to the great love that Steve had for life - in all its forms.

The SACC recalls, with adoration, the sterling manner in which Steve assisted our Triennial Conference of Churches (during 2007) to appreciate the important theological connections between the economy and the ecology. We remember how he uncompromisingly stood for justice and promoted righteousness rooted in the infinite love of Christ. This is a love that at times extends beyond our human understanding.

Steve’s theological insights and his vision for mission served as a source of encouragement and consistently challenged the way we do theology and engage in mission. The lenses through which he looked at profound questions were always informed by a deep spirituality, scholarly discernment and passion for the truth. He never had to raise his voice in order to be heard or to convince any opposition, because he was such a humble servant of the poor and our Creator.

Through the way that he practiced our common faith, Steve was able to make many friends and to embarrass those who wanted to be his enemies. He was blessed with the capacities to love even those that wished to be his enemies. This is a demonstration of how dearly Steve loved our Lord and Saviour.

The SACC commends the humility with which Steve served the international ecumenical movement and enriched our lives. He rigorously pursued the family tradition of ecumenism through his unselfish services in the World Council of Churches, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Council for World Mission and the SA Council of Churches - both nationally and provincially.

The wealth of the selfless sacrifices that Steve made in all our lives only adds to the shock of his sudden death.

At this time of bereavement we wish to offer comfort to the family and the many people who had the opportunity to experience the many gifts that Steve shared with us. We are struggling to find appropriate words as we understand that the pain is deep. As we attempt to find comfort by reflecting on Steve’s life, we know who our True Comforter is.
We rely on the promise in the Gospel of John (14:15-31) that the parakletos will fill the needs of the De Gruchy family during this time of tenderness and mourning. When you and the rest of the people who love and know Steve raise many questions, may there be comfort in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. We believe that the will of the Holy Spirit and that of Jesus Christ is one and we know that Jesus wills for us to have life everlasting (Jn 10:10).

Though we will all miss Steve, and do so sorely, we trust that he is not dead. Steve will always live in our memories. His love for life can not be taken away by water which is a source of life. We appreciate and often value the mystery of God’s salvation. All things tie in directly with the plan of salvation and the blessings it brings. We therefore value the teachings of the Holy Spirit even more.

Dear Marian, Steve's wife, and his children Thea, David, and Kate as well as the parents and siblings of Steve and Marian, be assured that God has a wonderful plan in place. We can rejoice that Steve has been promoted, for his departure is a promotion as he is returning to God our Creator. His death may for a time appear to represent defeat, but it will ultimately be a victory.

May the soul of Steve de Gruchy and many other dearly departed find eternal rest at the place that Jesus had gone to prepare for us.

From the SACC National Executive Committee
On behalf of all SACC Members.

Trouble in paradise: Bennie Hinn is human after all.

2010-02-26T12:55:00.008+02:00

We don't know the facts and one could argue that we're not suppose to know what the issues are. Yet, the divorce filed against prosperity apostle Bennie Hinn does challenge the church to look again.We simply have to own up to the fact that we also struggle and yes, that we are also human beings who fail each other and who sometimes divorce. His response does not suggest any such acknowledgement or confession. a Public statement from Hinn, suggest that he is putting the blame on the wife. He states, 'Even though Suzanne has been under great stress, the children and I never expect this to happen' and ' My wife has no biblical grounds for what she has done.' Its simple: blame it on some-one else. The question is: how is it possible that one could grow so far apart that you dont know what is coming. These grave decisions don't pop out overnight.

Divorce is never easy. Its agonising and the inevitability grows over a period of time.Then let's say it: divorce also happens in the Christian church. Unless we are able to own up to the fact that its a reality within the church, then we will continue to struggle to develop appropriate ministry and support for sisters and brothers going through this agony. We, as believers, cannot continue to pretend and act as if it does not exist. This is my problem with Hinn's response. This is a season, for him to own up to the vulnerabilities and the complexities of human relationships-even as a pastor. We don't build our marriages in heaven. We can confess that we need help and support-even as pastors, for goodness sake.

But he can not. Why ? Because this is exactly where the prosperity cults struggle. In terms of their 'theology' this is not suppose to happen and we are not suppose to own up to any weaknesses. This flawed theology which denies reality and magically chant biblical spells and rituals need to be questioned. It creates a god, which frown upon poor, infected and struggeling people. This god drives in Harley -Davidsons and Limos, eat caviar and look down upon those that face a brutal, injust worldand sometimes strumble and often struggle.
But there's another God, who are with us in the muck, as we bear our crosses in this world, reminding us where our strengths come from. Let me put some divorcees at ease: The all-powerful God did not hang his head in shame because of your 'failure' in marriage or terminal sickness, God is walking alongside you in love and grace to support in facing the real challenges of life.This God does not magically wipe away reality, but rather, enables us to find deeper perspective and meaning to draw on our inner strength, wisdom, to make critical decisions for our future. This good news is for pastors as well. We also live only because of this grace of God. Faith therefore means to acknowledge that, on this journey, I am a cross-bearer, weak, oftem praying a type of 'Please Lord, I believe, but help with my unbelieve' (Mark 9:24) prayer. It's the God, who triumph and help us to come out strong, yet singing 'I didn't know my own strength'.

The kind of theology that underlie the industries of Hinn, is impotant in addressing this kind of faith and therefore it need to be reviewed. This therefor calls for a fundamental review of the role of pastors and those superstars in these 'ministries'. It calls for a questioning of the ostentatious lifestyle, which are simply provided as 'proof' that the theology is healthy. In South African black and coloured communities, we see a powerful attraction to these groups, simply because people want hope for a better life and identify with wealth and success and so it seems, this gospel will give me that lifeline. We should however see that this whole movement is facing a serious credibility crisis and cannot stand up to the serious transformations that impact on families and children. The world is reeling under a neoliberal capitalist onslaught, which, driven by crude greed, proclaim that financial prosperity is the way to heaven. For these communities, unless we review and reject these false messiases, we are heading for disaster in the areas which matters most. We need something deeper and an affirmation of the way of the cross. Only in discovering the Crucified amongst cross-bearers, do we find real hope. Here we own up to our weaknesses, challenges, vulnerabilities-our sin and its here that we find grace. Let's pray that Hinn might also find it at the foot of the cross.

NERSA Declares War against the Poor (SA Council of Churches)

2010-02-25T23:42:00.001+02:00

The SA Council of Churches has launched a scathing attack on the decision by the Energy regulator, in South Africa to hike electricity prices. The statement reads as follows:

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) considers the recent NERSA approval of the ESKOM electricity tariff increases the worst and most devastating news the poor of South Africa have received this year.
Clearly NERSA has neither listened nor heard the cry of South Africans. Forced by legislation to conduct so-called public hearings, NERSA went through the motions and in the process caused South Africans of all ranks and class to cry out for it to intervene decisively and constructively. Essentially, NERSA has made a mockery of these submissions. Clearly NERSA has taken the side of ESKOM. NERSA has chosen to side with the powerful. In the process NERSA has dealt yet another blow to the poor whose ranks are swelling by the day. Even if there are electricity subsidies for people considered “poor” according to some random statistic, this increase will impact on food prices and prices of manufactured goods – all requiring electricity somewhere along the line of reaching the consumer.

While the SACC understands the increasing demand for electricity in order to satisfy economic growth, we are shocked at this insensitive slap in the face of the poor and the ordinary consumers, at such a precarious time. The message of this action of NERSA is obvious: the South African poor are on their own. By the time the middlemen, municipalities and agencies have added their own levies and costs, passing all of these to the hapless consumer, the 75% increase over 36 months will in fact be more like the 105% ESKOM had asked for in the first place. In effect, steps taken in the National Budget to be pro-poor are being undermined. The words which our government has fed us over the past fifteen years pertaining to a ‘war against poverty’ now ring hollow. War has been declared against the poor! The sweet-talk of government is patently negated by devastating short and long term impacts of decisions such as NERSA’s.

The SACC and South Africans know about the poor quality of leadership, the high levels of inefficiencies, the immorally high salaries of ESKOM managers, the environmental disaster into which ESKOM technologies are driving us all, the corrupting monopoly that ESKOM has over our lives and the inept interventions of government in ESKOM. These are the things South Africans are being asked to fund. It is shocking that a government given an overwhelming mandate by the country’s poorest citizens is allowing these developments.

We must now brace ourselves for higher rates of unemployment, more small businesses collapsing, more environmental degradation owing the technologies used by ESKOM, slower economic growth, a degradation of the quality of jobs, higher levels of poverty and more ‘service-delivery protests’ – the only ‘weapon’ seemingly available to the poor and marginalized in this country.

The SACC is outraged that yet another instance of long-term incompetence and lack of planning has to be suffered by South Africans. The mere fact that ESKOM now seems to be planning for the next three years is no excuse for missing fundamental developments in the past 14 years. The SACC also wonders why government bail outs are available for other parastatals, but apparently not for ESKOM. We are also concerned that the price hikes seem to be benefitting environmentally damaging and irresponsible technologies only, as we have yet to hear how the extra income will be used to diversify sources of energy and invest in renewable energy.

SACC reminds government and NERSA that this independent regulator is supposed to base its decisions on the national interest. We appeal to government to produce concrete strategies by means of which the poor will be assisted to deal with the misery that will accompany the lucrative tariff hikes approved for ESKOM. To this end we call for:
a) responsible and competent oversight of the parastatal ESKOM by government;
b) a sustainable vision for the energy sector, including substantial investment in renewable energies;
c) a diversification of the energy landscape in South Africa – it is dangerous for a country to be in the hands of one electricity provider only;
d) pro-poor policies.

For further information please contact
Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, SACC President 082 925 5232
Eddie Makue, General Secretary 082 8538781 or 011 241 7817

Eulogy for Prof Steve de Gruchy-UKZN (School of Religion and Theology

2010-02-25T11:22:00.000+02:00

The University of Kwazulu-Natal, Vice-Chancellor released the following eulogy for the late Prof Steve de Gruchy.

Steve de Gruchy was born on 16th November 1961 in Durban, South Africa, later moving
with his family to Cape Town and matriculating from the South African College High School
(SACS) in 1979. He continued his studies at the University of Cape Town obtaining a MA in
Religious Studies, a STM from Union Theological Seminary, New York, and a DTh at the
University of the Western Cape in 1992. His doctoral thesis focused on the themes of justice
and liberation in the work of the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.
As a young man, Steve’s commitment to issues of justice and liberation were evident in his
involvement in the Students’ Union for Christian Action, as a youth pastor at the Rondebosch
Congregational Church, as a religious conscientious objector refusing to serve in the South
African Defence Force during the 1980s, and finally as an ordained minister in the United
Congregational Church of Southern Africa in Athlone, Cape Town. Committed to both faith
and social action, Steve became Director of the Kuruman Moffat Mission Trust in 1994.
During this time he was engaged in establishing a number of projects to alleviate poverty,
curb illiteracy, and promote theological education, becoming fluent in speaking Tswana.
In 2000 Steve was appointed as the Director of the Theology and Development Programme
at the School of Theology at the then University of Natal. At the time, this fledging
programme was small and little known and Steve has built this programme to be recognized
throughout the African continent as a relevant and contextual centre of post graduate study.
With a strong commitment to the Ecumenical movement he has participated in a number of
consultations and commissions of the World Council of Churches, World Alliance of
Reformed Churches and the Council for World Mission.
Appointed Associate Professor in 2005 and later full Professor in 2008, Steve’s stature as a
scholar grew enormously over the past decade with numerous publications in the field of
theology and development, more recently in the area of public health and issues of water
and climate change. He was passionate about the way in which communities need to regain
their dignity and focus on their assets in order to become more fully human. He has
supervised numerous students who know and love him as a committed and critical scholar,
pastor and friend. In 2008, Steve became Head of the School of Religion and Theology at
the merged University of KwaZulu-Natal. Colleagues have thrived under his decisive and
brave leadership. He was always full of new ideas, ready to relieve tension with a joke, and
determined that the School of Religion and Theology would be a centre of excellence within
the University.
Those who are close to Steve also know that scholarly and activist pursuits are not his only
love. He is a gifted musician, loves walking in the Drakensberg, and always enjoys
socializing with friends. Married to Marian, and with their three children, Thea (18), David
(15), and Kate (11), the family loved outdoor adventures. It was on one such adventure that
the life of Steve de Gruchy was taken by the very waters (pula) he spoke so passionately
about. South Africa has lost a son of the soil. The South African church has lost a key
theologian. The Ecumenical Movement has lost a prophet. And the University of KwaZulu-
Natal, and particularly the School of Religion and Theology, has lost an astute administrator,
dedicated academic, an agent of transformation, and a caring friend. We mourn his loss.

(This Eulogy was prepared by the School of Religion and Theology-UKZN)

they never die

2010-02-24T16:41:00.001+02:00

Theologians never die. They live on. Whilst some-one like Dawid Bosch honed many leading thinkers as supervisor and pastor/missionary while he was alive, perhaps his most lasting legacy was his writings, which steadily gained reputation and gravitas after his untimely death in the early 90s.

To make the point, perhaps it would be better to replace theologians with writers, intellectuals or teachers. In any of these cases, the title is not the point. The point is that we leave a lasting legacy when we are willing to share, to give, to try and enrich the lives of others. Michael Le Cordier drove this point home recently when he responded to the challenge to 'bruin intellektuele' to come out and join the debate on Afrikaans. Le Cordier's argument was simple: there are people in our midst, unasuming and perhaps not 'educated' in an elite sense of the word. These people shaped the next generation, planted seeds for the trees that gives us fruit and shade today. Their legacy lives on, their views of God, the world humannes still inspire debate, reflection and new ideas. They remain our incipient theologians and as we stand on their shoulders, we can see better. Indeed they never die-they live on.
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

Steve de Gruchy, let's keep the faith..

2010-02-23T14:11:00.001+02:00

Many of us, in the theological and church fraternity are a bit off-key at the news of the disappearance of Prof Steve de Gruchy over the weekend. Apparantly he went tubing and did not return.

De Gruchy, a minister from the Congregational church, is currently editor of the Journal for Theology in SA and Head of the UKZN School of Religion and Theology. He is most probably amongst the best theological minds amongst the younger generation of scholars in Africa, deeply involved in social activism and simply a wonderful person. We pray for him and his family.

Koelkop Wenners is diep gewortel (uncut)

2010-02-23T11:59:00.000+02:00

My artikel geplaas in gister se Beeld, is bietjie gesny en die titel was bietjie anders, so hier's die rou, uncut version.

'Dis met ‘n trotse hart dat ek kyk hoe Hashim Amla, koelkop die een Indiese aanval na die ander afweer. Daar staan hy, omring met duisende krieketmal toeskouers wat roep om sy paaltjie, vyf of ses veldwerkers, intimiderend om sy kolf en ‘n wêreld-klas bouler wat wat hom aangluur, uitlok en probeer uitoorlê. Wat gaan in sy koelkop aan? Hierdie onverskrokke Suid Afrikaanse held.
‘n Mens kry een leidraad as jy meer intens kyk, na sy klere. Daar is ‘n verskil tussen sy uitrusting en die van sy spanmaats. Hashim het dit duidelik gemaak dat hy geen handelsmerke van alkoholiese dranke op hom sal dra nie. Hierdie tekens is teen sy geloof. My tienerdogter merk op: dis ‘cool’. Nee, korrigeer sy haarself, dis prysenswaardig dat hy so standpunt inneem vir wat hy glo. Inderdaad. Of ons nou met hom saamstem of nie, hy laat ons dieper kyk. Hierdie jong man, ‘n uitstekende sportman, trotse Suid-Afrikaner, word ten diepste gevorm deur dit wat binne sy hart aangaan.
Sportsielkundiges wat met die elite sportspersoonlikhede werk, is dit eens, op internasionale vlak is die verskil tussen atlete, in terme van talent, vaardighede en liggaamskondisie minimaal. Die groot verskil tussen wenners en verloorders is dieper, dis in die hart. Dis hier waar bepaal word hoe ons koppe werk; hoe ons reageer op ‘n verwoestende aanval, ‘n groot terugslag in die spel, of op hartverskeurdende teleurstellings. Dis hier waar die wenners koelkop bly en besluit om hulself te herinner aan hul vermoëns en waar hul energie en aandag gekonsentreer word op die dinge wat saakmaak. Hulle is in die ‘zone’. Uiteraard kom sommiges by die punt deur diep grawe in hul geloof, ander in hul nasietrots, of dalk ‘n moeder se opoffering wat hulle inspireer. Hulle vind dit in hul hart.
As land en gemeenskappe word ons almal telkens gedwing om keuses te maak oor hoe ons reageer op wat om ons gebeur. Die onlangse verkragting van ‘n diep gelowige suster het ons weereens laat steier. Voeg hierby die roekelose lewenstyl en optredes van ons president en ander hoë profiel persoonlikhede, maar meer nog, die verleentheid van die 20 jaar euforie, wat wys dat ons nie te suksesvol is in ons stryd teen rassisme, ongelykheid en geweld nie, kan maak dat ons kop verloor. Miskien dwing dit ons dieper kyk en onsself herinner aan die hart van ons menslike bestaan en om ons aandag fokus op die dinge wat saakmaak. Miskien dwing dit ons om dieper te kyk as die bekende handelsmerke, die tekens wat baie keer bepaal watter waarde ons heg aan die wat dit dra.
Vir gelowiges gaan dit daaroor dat ons, ten diepste nie aan onsself behoort nie en daarom nie bloot vir onsself lewe nie. Immers, as Christene glo ons dat ons ten volle, in lewe en in dood, aan Jesus Christus behoort. Ons bely dan ook dan Hy ons loskoop van slawerny uit sonde, ten einde as vry mense te leef. Ons bely, dat Hy sy skepping verder versorg en ‘n toekoms gee. Dit volg dus dat ons sin het vir die lewe en daagliks besluit om vrywillig vir Hom lewe.
Dis hierdie diepe sinvolheid wat maak dat ons koppe anders werk. Ons sien ons hierwees as ‘n roeping, ‘n lewe waar ons hierdie wed-stryd om vryheid vir almal, asook om die versorging van die hele skepping, te dien. Ons besluit om ons hier te vestig en kreatief om te gaan deur nuwe tekens van hoop te skep, maar ook om by tye onsself te verset teen die tekens wat teen God se droom woed.
Dis nie ‘n maklike keuse nie. Om hierdie rede staan baie stomverbaas as ‘n ander jong Suid-Afrikaanse held, ondanks haar brutale verkragting, opstaan en besluit dat sy wel die volgende naweek die Midmar-myl gaan swem. Of waar ‘n jong opkomende geestelike leier, met ‘n groot toekoms in die Verenigde State, homself tot Suid-Afrika bekeer en huistoe kom, om ‘n versoenende kleipot gemeente te bou, waar wit en swart mekaar opsoek en leer ken. Dit is waar ons harte, geloofsharte, ons koelkop maak, herinner aan God se vermoens en waar ons energie en aandag gekonsentreer word op die dinge wat saak maak. Dit is hier waar ‘n wenspan gebore word.
Hashim is sekerlik bewus daarvan dat êrens in die toekoms hy weer ‘n nulletjie gaan aanteken of ‘n bal sal misvang. Daar sal weer tye kom waar hy gaan faal en uiteindelik uitree uit krieket. Baie van ons sal dalk sy kolfbeurt op Eden Gardens vergeet. Maar daar sal nuwe name, nuwe helde, nuwe tekens wat ons herinner daaraan dat dit uiteindelik Godself is wat die wenner is en van ons wenners maak.'

The State of the Nation

2010-02-17T06:44:00.004+02:00

I was thinking for a while now about the State of the Nation address by President Jacob Zuma, 20 years after the release of political prisoners like Nelson Mandela and the then banned liberation movements. This address was expected to be one of the most definitive in recent years. There are of course also the controversies which embroil the president. Apparantly there was some 'robust debate' behind closed doors before the speech and some serious damage control, the last few days. But he stepped up, as usual, jovial and (as usual) our ruling party clapped the hands vigorously as he made his points and laughed at his jokes.

There is however more to be said and done then mere 'robust debate' and another round of handwringing apologies from Zuma. The African National Congress voted him to be their leader at Polokwane and offered him to the nation and the world, as their finest. For them, he embodies the proud legacies of the African liberation movements, despite the serious misgivings from many, in particular from those who supported the liberation struggle and also paid dearly for our freedom.

But there is more, as these things also have an impact on our children. I also listened, in the week, to a interview by Tim Modise with three young people. These were special young learners. They were finalists, chosen in a nation-wide leadership competition. All three young bright leaders said, upon a question by Tim, that they would without doubt, choose ANC-Youth League President, Julius Malema, on their future cabinet. As long as he don't speak to the media and as long as he does his work. The only young man amongst these three candidly (and proudly!) proclaimed that indeed, Julius Malema is his role-model. Seriously.

Something is missing. Evidently there are different frames of references at work amongst a sizable number of our population. Perhaps, the words of Antje Krog expresses it better. In her book 'Begging to be Black', she confesses to her discourse partner, a distinguised philosopher in Western Philosophy.

'Since 1994 I have lived with a black majority that asserts itself more and more and more confidently, as well as the many black people from the rest of Africa who streams into the country. So I find most of my references and many of my frameworks of understanding to be useless and redundant...' (2009:93)

She continues later,

'At times when my president, Thabo Mbeki, (it was before the now famous re-call) speaks, and he is an intelligent man, I sit like somebody in complete darkness. It's not that I don't understand what he is saying; I don't know where it is coming from, from within what logic it wants to assert 'itself'as right. (:94)

One would think that this is simply a white, western malaise, as Krog think. But black intellectual, Xolela Mangcu however saw it coming already in 2007, as he was grappling with the Zuma phenomenon. He states,

I do not think there is any commentator who has been fairer to Zuma than I have. I have refrained from commenting on his guilt or innocence, arguing insistently that that should be the province of the courts. In article after article, I counselled the ANC to find a political solution to the matter. However, Zuma has brought a political solution without much help from the ANC or anybody else. By his own actions he has turned his campaign into a 'theatre of the absurd'. It is one thing to make a mistake, but quite another to display a congenial proclivity to self-destruction. One moment he is taking a shower after sex to prevent contracting HIV, the next moment he is an honorary priest....But one does not have to believe in Zuma's guilt or innocence to reach the conclusion that the man is out of his depth in the high-stakes game of repressentational politics. After all, leaders are the embodimens of our aspirations. We expect that they should carry themselves with grace and dignity. They should be carriers of the finest ethical traditions of their political movements and societies.

He continue,

Part of the attraction of ANC leaders such as A.B.Xuma, James Moroka, Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki is that their were or are gentlemen in the finest sense of that term, carrying themselves with grace and dignity. The same holds for those other eminent gentlemen of the revolution, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe and Steve Biko.

This is the attraction that Krog speaks of as she, in her book looks at the life of King Moshoeshoe and how he and the many African leaders mentioned earlier, have been embedded in a broader communinal sense of being. It is out of this community that the leaders emerged. The question then remains: what does the current leaders say about the parties that offer them to the electorate, but also (more disturbing): what does it say about the nation?

'love-child' vs love our children

2010-02-04T23:43:00.007+02:00

I've picked up that media speaks of President Jacob Zuma's latest offspring, as his 'love-child'. This is not a new expression and its often used. My hunch is that the users want to soften the impact or to rebrand children born outside the confines of marriages, or being born as a result of an affaire (Naas Botha, Steve Hofmeyer, etc). A lot of pain has perhaps resulted in the discovery of an unwanted pregnancy, so, it is felt that it would helpful, or better, crucial, to do away with concepts like 'illegitemate' child. We need to affirm that whether born within the confines of a legal marriage or not, children remain gifts and therefor special moments of grace from God. Children, in various cultures are rightly celebrated and so it should be. Yet, I would argue that the use of 'love-child' is unfortunate and not helpful. I am uncomfortable with it and the way its been used. This, I think, relates also to a warped confluence of sexual intercourse and 'making love'.

It seems to me that 'love-child' connects the notion 'love' to any form of sexual intercourse that produces a baby, irrespective of whether there is any relationship. The purpose is to protect the baby from social stigma. But, irrespective of whether the partners are married or not, the truth is that it is not always the case that children are born out relationships, let alone, of love. The idea of sexual intercourse, in itself, as 'making love', is possibly behind this notion of a 'love-child'. This usage however subverts the meaning of love. The birth of a child, we hope, automatically or magically, sanctifies the act. I believe we need to seperate the two (three?). Sexual intercourse, these days, does not imply any relationship, let alone love and the 'production' of a child, as the consequence of sexual intercourse and conception, does therefor not asume any relationship of love. Let me explain my understanding of the background: In the modern era, the sexual revolution that hit the West and influenced the rest of us through the massmedia and cultural industries, clearly caused a rift between the act of sexual intercourse and the type of commitments, sacrifices and discipline that goes along with love, as understood in most cultures and the major religious traditions. This means that we can have a pumping, commercially driven'sex industry', casual sex and the rest. Of course, faith communities and religious institutions have allways, up to today, mostly been objecting to these developments. It was argued that love, which is expressed and recognised, in a life-long commitment and endorsed by family and the community, was the space within which intimacy, sexual intercourse finds its place. It is a private affair. This is then also the environment, within which the children are born. Here, they experience the trust, safety and security, but also affection, intimacy and affirmation as part of a family, community. They are born in love and this shapes their resillience and identityformation.

But, its not like this anymore and no ammount of warped semantics will be able to gloss over the cruel reality, that even so-called consenting adults, are often not willing to live up to the responsibilities, sacrifices and discipline that goes along with loving relationships. Yes, there are adults that offer sophisticated excuses and who are able to hide behind PR and nice-sounding words, yet remain callous when it comes to the deep respect, sacrifices and commitment for a life-long partner, let alone a baby-gift from God. The notion of 'love-child' is a lie that aims to divert the attention away from the actions and choices made by consenting adults, and their collusion in bringing children into the world, where they, as adults themselves, are not willing or able to provide for a loving environment for our children to thrive. Let's call it out, let's call the bluff, otherwise this lie may hide the fear and violence millions of children are exposed to, as they open their eyes, and have to fend for themselves, in a world created by consenting adults.

Pastors and Sex..thinking pastor Ray and JZ

2010-01-31T23:34:00.009+02:00

Pastor Ray and Pastor Jacob Zuma are redefining the discussion on pastors and sex. We are talking sex again! Perhaps JayZee, would not qualify as a real pastor, but the way things goes these days, who cares? There remain a group of churches, who feel that he is annointed enough to wear the cloth. So, with tolerance stretched to new levels, in a spirit of brother and sisterhood, let's join hands and sing, Kum-bah-jah. Afterall, Pastor Ray and JayZee shared the same pulpit at some point, spreading the love (so to speak).

What I am interested in is how they are redefining the mores in a country that are predominantly Christian. My observations: I am aware of the rising tide of secularization, which desacralise open public discourses on all issues, yet, I also maintain that there has also been and upsurge in privatised religiosity, in particular the neo-charismatic, free-spirited, prosperity type. This is merely an observation, not a value judgement on these movements or churches.
Then, the new leaders of these, come are under intense public scrutiny-they gain celebrity status and their views on matters, matter. Also, how they handle, sex and marriage. So, understandably there was a huge public uproar when Pastor Ray divorced his first wife and soon after that married again. Some left his church, others joined perhaps, to get closer to the fire of God.
Further, these stories are timely reminders that pastors and public leaders are mere human beings, no demi-gods. They share the same struggles, vulnerabilities and needs. We also need to appreciate that theological differences exists with regards to morality, marriage and issues on sexuality.
However, society, at least as articulated through media, dispite open-ness and greater appreciation for a wide array of sexual expressions and positive appreciation for sexuality, remains surprisingly conservative, especially with regards to what is expected of public leaders.
Dispite condemnation and outrage, there is also no deep, ongoing debate on how to appreciate our sexuality as a divine gift of our Creator.

On the other hand, I need to note my own discomfort at the media reports on the behaviour, of our president. If the reports are accurate, on the birth of his latest offspring on Oct 2009, from another friend's daughter, then it supports the perception that he continues to have casual sexual intercourse, without the proper or any (?) use of condoms. If this is correct then it evidently undermine his authority in leading our nation in the fight against HIV infections. Whilst some would argue that his own sexual exploits and adventures, remain his private business and also embedded in the mores of his culture, these reports however strengthen the image of a president, who have scant regard for the scourge which plague our nation and subcontinent. In this respect, I would argue that he urgently need to set the record straight, and come out publically to shed light on his views. Otherwise, the questions will linger. Pastors, will have to talk sex, this time.

SA Church leaders (NCP) calls for unity

2010-01-21T12:04:00.002+02:00

In the spirit of a joint Christian witness, National Church Leaders met in Stellenbosch from the 18-19 January 2010 to reiterate their commitment to common efforts towards building a better South Africa. To this end, the leaders have agreed to work together to form a united Christian witness and will seek a meeting with President Zuma and other Government officials.

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’s reflection on the call and action of unity was the focal theme of the meeting. He called for a deeper experience of Jesus as the Source of unity. Church Leaders called for a greater unity in concern for the dignity of all in South Africa, in action to build a better society and in joint action as part of the world community.

United in concern, the leaders of church communities called for an urgent clarification of the status of formal agreements between faith communities and government. The leaders asked that human trafficking become a focus point for all communities. Countering trafficking in persons requires formation in communities and awareness raising, especially considering the 2010 World Cup.

United in action for a better South Africa, the national church leaders’ consultation is thankful to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for their commitment to fund Faith community programmes in HIV & AIDS Programmes.

United in concern for the situation after the earthquake in Haiti, the church leaders called for solidarity with Haiti in prayer and in a national collection in all represented churches

South African churches and Christians respond to Haiti crisis

2010-01-21T11:33:00.002+02:00

The people of Haiti need our bread – give them bread yourselves. (Mk 6.37)
The Earthquake in Haiti last week has left an already devastated country on its knees. The Leaders of the Christian Community in South Africa, gathered in Stellenbosch for a National Church Leaders’ Consultation, having prayed for the people of Haiti, appeal to your generosity. We acknowledge the courageous and heroic acts undertaken by the survivors of this calamity. Let us support the People in Haiti with our bread. Haiti’s devastation will need the whole world to respond.
Immediate needs are for food and water. Many other needs will become clear over the next weeks.

We ask each Church community to offer prayer for the situation. We also ask that each community consider a special collection for disaster relief in Haiti. Due to transport difficulties, it would be better that immediate contributions from South Africa be financial. We appeal to the International Financial Institutions (IMF, World Bank, etc) to cancel Haiti’s considerable international debt, allowing the country to make new start. This would be a significant act of compassion. We appeal to President Zuma to drive an African response at the upcoming African Union summit.
We commend the South African response. May this service be counted as mercy. We are confident that the People of God in South Africa, united behind this response and with the support of the Government, will be able to show our solidarity with a people in need of our Bread.

Details of the bank accounts for the appeal:
Project Caritas: (administered by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference)
Name: Project Caritas
Bank: Nedbank
Acc No: 1604750693
Swift code: NEDSZAJJ
Bank Code: 160445 Nedbank, Cnr. Andries and Pretorius, Pretoria
Donations should be marked ‘HAITI’.

Beyers Naude Special Fund: (administered by the South African Council of Churches)
Name: Beyers Naude Special Fund
Bank: Nedbank
Acc No: 21901966
Swift code: NEDSZAJJ
Bank Code: 190805 Nedbank, Fox Street, Johannesburg
Donations should be marked ‘HAITI’.

Are SA's black parents failing their children ?

2010-01-11T01:14:00.011+02:00

At various points in our history, we wrestled with (percieved) moments or periods of crisis. I would argue that, at least in the South African context, the recent publication of results of matriculants of 2009, signals that the serious crisis for the black community ain't over.

The Sunday Times (10-01-2010) editorial states, 'The national matric pass rate of 60.6%,which has been steadily declining since 2005, is a national disgrace.' The editorial continue correctly, 'The matric results are an important indicator of the quality of the country's education system', but then concludes naively, 'Taking politics out of the classroom and making teachers teach would be a good start'. If only it was that simplistic.

What did they miss here? They missed the fact, that it was black learners who failed, again (Here, I include African, Indian and coloureds, conscious of the fact that this could also jade the picture). Karen van Rooyen writes an article (in the same edition), where she states, 'Statistics for 2009, are not yet available, but in 2008 only 57% of the 460 000 black matrics passed, compared with the 99% of the 41 000 white matriculants.' This crisis is amongst the blacks, not the whites. The answers offered, at least here, therefore places the blame on the overwhelmingly black-led, ministry of education, SADTU and finally, on the black parents. Black parents are not interested in their child's development and, to put it bluntly: they are bad role models. The title of van Rooyen's article gloatingly ask the rhetorical question: 'Are SA's black parents failing their children?' If education is the key to development and progress, then the black community is evidently in deep trouble, and, according to this analysis, by their own making.

But let's delve deeper into this abyss. Of course, these results clearly debunks the notion (myth, dillusion) of a 'non-racial', 'multi-cultural', 'post-racial' (pick your favourate) rainbow paradise; or the parody of the post-colonial African state, where white people suffer brutally under policies of redress and the hands of vicious savages; whilst black people drive BMW's and sip expensive whiskey. What we find underneath these dilusions is the truth that not much have changed for the majority of black youth, as far as their future is concerned. This climate of despair is evident and is rife in working-class black communities and institutions and it impacts directly on the results we have seen. I've had many agonising conversations with teachers, in black communities (mostly coloured communities). They are at a loss for words to describe the utter desperation and powerlessness to simply teach (like the editor of The Sunday Times would have it). How do you teach young people, who are addicted to drugs, who are living by the grace of violent gang networks, whose parents crawl out before dusk to catch a taxi, only come home after dark, again dependant on the taxi's ? How can you expect them to walk to school meetings or use public transport after dark, to meetings in suburbs. How can these parents sit with projects and do internet searches, when they can barely afford 'koopkrag' (power). These black parents ensured that the white kids excel and be supported by the parents. Black schools are embedded in their communities and those few that excel, are the exception. The overwhelming majority of these schools however remain the bitter fruit of an elite transition, which left behind the 'throw away people', those left behind in the 'location', in the mukuku's, those who have to bear the brunt of the 'economic recession'. We must remember, that the so-called recession hit the working-class communities last year, in full blast. The elites got government bail-outs and golden handshakes for their mess. Government favour this elite and pay themselves handsomely for our 'peacefull' transition. But it came at a price. In a lucid exposition of the current elite transition, economist Sampie Terrblanche, shows in an article, (By 09-01-2010), how the current ANC-alliance, with white business, is gambling away the future of South Africa, in the way they enrich themselves. Terreblanche states that whilst, the capitalist ownersclass became a multi-racial since 1994, now 20% of the population, revieces and owns 74& of the country's income. The other 80 %, like in the story of Jesus about the poor man Lazarus, live from the crumbs that fall from the table of the rich man.

Chris Gibbons, conservative commentator, writes, 'At 23.6%, the country’s unemployment rate is the highest of 62 countries surveyed by Bloomberg News. Jonas Mosia, industrial policy co-ordinator at the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), estimates that the economy has lost “almost half a million jobs in the first half of 2009” and that “numbers could reach a million by the fourth quarter of 2009”. (Recession: what is SA doing about it ?) And let me add: the overwelming majority of those who lost their jobs, comes from these very same working-class communities-they are black. This is the kind of context in which black learners prepared for and wrote exams last year.

So whilst the ruling party, congratulates themselves, pat each other on the back and call each other 'comrade this' and 'cadre that', nothing much have changed. The crisis, but also the struggle for dignity, in the black community continues. This struggle remain political, but at the heart its a struggle rooted in the liberation struggle for the soul of the nation.

new conversations on suicide or looking away, in silence ?

2010-01-04T22:50:00.006+02:00

The suicide of a committed believer, an influential evangelist, over the festive season in Stellenbosch, unsettled us all. Again. Of course, on the one hand, it was the reality of death in itself, especially this time of the year. On the other hand, perhaps it was the fact that he committed suicide. He was suffering, for years, with depression and, in the words of a young medical student who shared at his funeral, 'our medical system failed uncle Ben'. This is a thoughful euphemism from her, because in actual fact medical facilities in and around Cape Town seemingly turned the family away, before his untimely departure. Apart from this critical, young voice most pastors speaking, however wanted us to 'look away' from how he died and focus on God. Well-meaning and inspring. Is it enough ?

His death however raised, as in many other silent cases, amongst others the issue of the relationship between spirituality and science. After a long conversation with a medical doctor, I am convinced even more that serious ongoing reflections and conversations need to be nurtured and maintained on issues of mental health, the pharmaceutical, as well as the private medical industry. Apart from the fact that people of faith still spiritualise these matters (often simply because this is the only language they know and which empowers them), leaders in faith communities often fail to adequately comprehend the complexities of medical conditions and ethics. Are we able to accompany people, in these trying times? I think we need a new conversation and language on these, which will hopefully, open up the old texts (and new ones !)which we read, in a new way. This could mean the death of the well-known, worn-out dogmas and cliches; it could also mean the birth of new voices sharing good news.

life, death, random musings, making sense?

2009-12-14T15:32:00.003+02:00

Right here at the end of the year, I am unsettled by the tragic deaths of young people. I often struggle with death-especially when it seems as if the wicked, like Robert Mugabe continue to live and destroy so many lives. And then, in an instant some-one is killed, some-one who still love passionately, who are humble, who stil had so much to offer. I don't know how to make sense of it all, to be honest.

Perhaps, we will never be able to fathom the mysteries of life, death, love, evil, ect. Perhaps we are created to often stand at the edge of non-sense, to be able to find meaning beyond our own logical systems, and intellectual abilities.

10 Common myths about suicide..

2009-11-21T11:21:00.005+02:00

Many would say that we are entering the season of suicides. This popular perception however hides the deeper reality, which need to be faced head on if we want to make a change. Carolyn Friedman posted a highly relevant and lucid article on her blog, which can help us dealing with this epidemic. Her information comes from pshychological research and even though it is written from in a US, it has relevance for other communities, as well

You can read the whole article under the title, 10 Common Myths About Suicide, which says it all; this great article says even more.

LIBERATION THEOLOGY IS ALIVE AND WELL

2009-11-16T21:47:00.005+02:00

Interesting post, today from the desk of the World Council of churches, written by Walter Altman. As I sat in on some oral examinations on 'Third World Theologies', it struck me how fascinated theology students are with the basic tennets of liberation theology. They've done well, so congrats to their teachers, but of course, the key question remain: is Liberation Theology still relevant today. In particular the writings of Nestor Paz, seems to have struck a cord of sorts, amongst these young people.

It is therefore significant that I recieved this little writing, today, by Brazilian, Walter Altman. He writes,

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, twenty years ago, many critics have been quick to sign liberation theology's death certificate. Most of them did so because they understood it to be an apology of bygone Soviet-style socialism. It seems, though, that this death certificate has been issued prematurely.

It is true that liberation theologians – some more than others – used Marxist categories for socioeconomic analysis and for a critique of capitalism's evils. However, the core of liberation theology has never been Marxism.

It is rather the compassionate identification with the poor and their struggle for justice, inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus himself, which is at its heart. Instead of on social analysis, which was seen as a methodological tool, from the outset liberation theology placed greater emphasis on the crucial role of God's people committed praxis – or, in other words, the Christian communities' action inspired by faith and informed by theological reflection.

Liberation theology is spiritually grounded on – and gets its motivation from – the life changing encounter with Christ as liberator and with our neighbours in need. Their suffering is not a result of fate but of systemic injustices and oppression, which can be overcome by transformative action.

If we look at our reality today, we are reminded that poverty has by no means been overcome in the world yet. On the contrary, the recent international financial crisis, produced by unrestrained capitalist forces governed by greed and private and corporate interests, has increased the number of the poor – or rather, the impoverished – in the world by hundreds of millions.

Liberation theology emerged in the late 1960s in Latin America. The ground had been prepared in the 1950s by Christian base community movements aiming for social, political and economic reforms in society, and for the active participation of laypeople in pastoral activities within the church.

Latin America being predominantly a "Catholic" continent, the new theological approach was widely linked with pastoral and theological developments within the Roman Catholic Church, although it was from the very beginning an ecumenical endeavour. The very term "liberation theology" was proposed almost simultaneously by the Roman Catholic priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, from Peru, and the Presbyterian theologian Rubem Alves, from Brazil.

It is then no surprise that in the seventies and eighties liberation theology had a strong influence on the ecumenical movement, including the World Council of Churches (WCC). The relevancy of its actions in supporting struggles for human rights under military dictatorships in Latin America, in developing effective methods of overcoming illiteracy (as did the exiled Brazilian pedagogue and WCC education adviser Paulo Freire), and in combating racism, mainly in Southern Africa, has been widely recognized.

As a contextual approach, aimed at critically reflecting on the praxis of God's people, liberation theology was never intended to become a static, dogmatic theoretical construction. Its intention was not to highlight a neglected theological theme, but rather to propose a new way of doing theology. It naturally underwent changes over the decades. At the outset it focused on the living conditions of the poor, later on it incorporated other issues, like indigenous peoples, racism, gender inequalities and ecology.

Nowadays liberation theology deals as well with the interpretation of cultures and with anthropological questions, for example the temptation of power. The goal of striving towards a more just society where there is "room for all" persists, yet the way of achieving it has shifted towards civil society action.

The influence of liberation theology goes way beyond the realm of the churches. Its contribution towards overcoming military dictatorships in Latin America and apartheid in Southern Africa has already been hinted at. Today it helps shape Latin American political efforts towards a model of democracy that overcomes poverty and social injustices. Several Latin American presidents – Lula da Silva in Brazil, Morales in Bolivia, Correa in Ecuador, Ortega in Nicaragua and Lugo in Paraguay - have all in different ways had close contact with Christian base communities and liberation theologians.

But, above all, liberation theology continues to be very much alive and well within civil society movements and Christian base communities.

The Rev. Dr Walter Altmann is the president of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil and the moderator of the World Council of Churches Central Committee.

Oggendmeditasie: Geestelike lewe

2009-11-12T06:17:00.003+02:00

Waar pas geestelikheid nou by my daaglikse werk, of my dagtake in ? Is dit genoeg om bloot ‘n gebed op te sê voor ek uitstap, en later in die dag dankie te sê. Natuurlik help dit om ons te herinner dat God met ons is deur die dag. Om egter my ‘geestelike lewe’ en my daaglikse lewe te skei van mekaar nie is egter nie net gevaarlik nie, maar dodelik.

Een die skerpste temas wat deur die profete optredes weerklink, is die gedagte dat God erns maak met al ons gewone, daaglikse optredes. God maak erns met die industrie, die landbou, ons skoolwerk.. God maak erns met ons daaglikse lewe by die huis of waar ons beweeg..Daarom is die profete gewone mense, soos ons baie keer hoor ‘ die gewone person in die straat’

Nehemia, sou nie deur baie as ‘n klassieke profeet beskou word nie. Sy optrede en omgang met die volk Israel het egter die trekke van iemand wat die onder God se leiding staan en wat as sodanig optree. In sy openingsgebed, (kom ons noem dit sy roepingsstorie), sien ons hoedat hy, soos die ander profete, geen skeiding maak tussen geestelike en daaglike ( sekulere sake) nie. Tydens sy broers se besoek aan hom in Persie, vra hy uit na die welstand van die bekendes. Hulle vertel hom toe van die benarde toestand van die mure van die Jerusalem. Hy beskryf, in sy dagboek, sy reaksie in Neh 1:4:
By die aanhoor van hierdie woorde het ek gaan sit en gehuil en dae lank getreur. Ek het gevas en tot die God van die hemel gebid…”Ag Here, God van die hemel groot en ontsagwekkende God wat u verbond en u troue liefde handhaaf teenoor die wat vir u liefhet en u gebooie gehoorsaam, luister tog, gee tog ag die gebed wat ek u dienaar, sonder ophou tot U bid.

Nehemia is duidelik besig om die situasie van die stad, die dinge soos mure en hekke, paaie en ander bouwerk en, kom ons sê maar infrastruktuur.. harde dinge en toestande te lees in die lig van sy geloof in God. Sy geloof in God werp lig op die toestande in die land, sy land en sy gebed is ineengeweef met sy analise van die situasie. In die res van die boek beskryf hy hoedat hy beplanning doen, onderhandelings voer, veiligheidsmaatreels instel, en terselfdertyd, biddend is, die Heillige Skrifte ondersoek en die volk nader na God bring. Vir hom is daar nie onderskeid nie.

Dit herinner aan ‘n legende wat Ferdinant Deist vertel van die bekende skrywer Tolstoi oor die twee monikke in ‘n eensame kloosterwat gehoor het dat daar iewers op aarde ‘n toring is met ‘n groot deur wat reguit na die hemel lei. Albei het toe besluit om na die wonderlike toring en die deur te gaan soek sodat hulle reguit na die hemel toe kon gaan. Hulle het geloop en geloop en geen moeite ontsien nie; hulle het hitte en koue verdra.
Na baie jare bereik hulle die toring. Hulle was baie bly en toe hulle na die deur toe stap, en dit oopmaak…het hulle in hul eie kloostersel gestaan (waar hulle begin het)
Deist sluit af met die woorde:
Wie hemel of aarde, geloof en lewe, Sondag en werksdag van mekaar skei: doen albei skade aan, want hulle hoort by mekaar.

Gebed:
Here, gee ons die genade om rondom ons te kyk, na ons dorp, ons huise, ons werksplekke, ons land, deur u oë. Gee genade dat ons, in alles, vir u sal sien.

Oggendmeditasie: God is by ons

2009-11-11T10:16:00.003+02:00

Speel vir ‘n oomblik die stemme en gebeure van die dag oor in jou gemoed. ‘n Tipe van ‘n ‘stadige aksie, kyk-weer’.. (stilte).. wie se stemme is prominent ? Vir wie hoor jy praat en op wie reageer jy ? Luister nou na die toon van die stemme… (stilte)… Is dit vol energie of bloot leë blikke? Is dit hopeloos, gefrustreerd OF is dit swanger aan hoop, vol lewe ?
As dit so is dat God sy stem laat hoor, in ons normale, menslike situasies, in normale mense se stemtoon; as dit so is dat God se profete gewone mense is, soos ek en jy… dan was hulle heel waarskynlik daar, tussen hierdie stemme en gebeure. Hulle is daar, maar meer nog, God is daar. Maar waar is God se stem hoorbaar…is dit in die wat oenskynlik wen, wat die meeste praat, wat kan groot praat ?
Elia, was ‘n interresante profeet in die Bybel. Hy het die magtiges van sy tyd striemend gelooi met die tong, selfs valse godsdienstiges terreggestel… maar in 1 Konings 19 lees ons hoedat hy in die hitte van die stryd, God se stem gehoor het. God verduidelik vooraf dat hy daar by die berg waar Elia skuil, aan hom sou verskyn. Die storie gaan verder,
‘Skielik was daar ‘n sterk wind wat die berg stukkend geruk en die rotse gebreek het vir die Here. Maar in die wind was die Here nie. Na die wind was daar ‘n aardbewing. Maar in die aardbewing was die here nie. Na die aarbewing was daar ‘n vuur. Maar in die vuur was die Here nie. En na die vuur was daar ‘n fluistering in die windstilte. Toe Elia dit hoor het hy sy gesig met sy mantel toegemaak en by die bek van die grot gaan staan. Toe hoor hy ‘n stem wat vir hom se: ‘wat maak jy hier Elia’?
Dis juis in die ‘fluistering in die windstilte’ in die stiltes, of beter die stemme van die gestildes, waar ons God se stem hoor….onsigbares wat daar tussen ons is, en tog met ons praat. Joan Osborne het ‘n lied gesing, wat mens iets laat verstaan oor hoekom ons nie soms met die title: ‘what if God was one of us’. Die lied is ook die temamusiek vir ‘n TV reeks Joan of Arcadia, waar ‘n gewone skooldogter op verskeie wyses God se stem hoor en mense bystaan Osborne sing,

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

If God had a face what would it look like?
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that
you would have to believe
in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints
and all the prophets (*)

Die verassende is dat God wel tussen ons is...

Gebed:
Ons hoor u vele keer, in die stemme van die onsigbares. Ons sluit vele kere ons ore vir u fluistering in die windstiltes.. Vergewe ons Heer en dankie dat u nogsteeds daar is.
Amen

Sign the Climate change document here

2009-11-05T10:04:00.005+02:00

How can we support actions to deal with the challenge of climate change. Here's a way to join the movement towards sustainable lifestyle, economicpolicy and social transformation. First read the Climate Change Document, released by SACC

Ernst Conradie, who is deeply involve in the process writes the following:
'I have told my children (aged 9 and 6) that their future may well be decided upon this December (in Copenhagen). The matter is that important and this is indeed a crucial moment in human history. As Christians in South Africa we need to discern how we should express a vision of Christian hope in such a context. The very purpose of this document is to invite discussion on this amongst churches in South Africa. The process of endorsing the document may serve as an opportunity to stimulate such discussion.'

ENDORSEMENT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE DOCUMENT

Please complete appropriate section (1 or 2)

Section 1
Name of church structure:……………………………………………………………..

Denominational or ecumenical context (if applicable):……………………………….

Town:………………………………………………………………………………….

Completed by (title and name and surname):

…………………………………………………………………………

Signature……………………………………………………………..

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Section 2
(to be completed by individuals)

Title, Name & Surname:………………………………………………………………,

Church affiliation:………………………………………………………………………

Town:…………………………………………………………………………………..

Signature:………………………………………………………….

Please mail completed form to SACC or Deon Snyman or fax to 011 492 1448/9 before 30 November 2009.

Thanks for your endorsement.

SACC Media Statement on the situation at Central Methodist Church

2009-11-04T21:32:00.003+02:00

I support the SACC, in standing with Central Methodist Mission, in Johannesburg. The statement is clear in stating the role of the church. It reads as follows:

The Central Methodist Church (CMC) in the Johannesburg city centre received an unexpected and unannounced visit last Friday, not the first of this kind. Members of the Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development from the Gauteng Legislature expressed moral outrage – understandable, yet rather late – at the living conditions of the refugees seeking shelter in the church.

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) wishes to add the following observations to a matter that has long been brewing and not been taken up satisfactorily by the structures responsible:

It is well known that the living conditions of the refugees at the CMC are poor and often appalling. No one wants to live in an over-crowded situation where there is no privacy, few sanitation facilities, etc. People are not living in these conditions out of choice. They are not living there because Bishop Paul Verryn and the staff at CMC have invited and encouraged them to live there. Nor is this the reason for Medicins Sans Frontier (MSF) camping at the CMC. The people have moved into CMC because it responded to a humanitarian crisis – to which few other people, including the local, provincial and national government responded. It is the calling of the church to provide care and refuge to the destitute and the vulnerable.

While it is easy to turn CMC into a villain in this scenario, SACC warns against jumping to that conclusion. The primary villain, if there is one, first and foremost are such governments as that of Zimbabwe and of those African countries whose nationals live at the church. Within South Africa the primary villain is government; and not the Central Methodist Church.

SACC acknowledges, that it is within the rights and competence of the health and social development portfolio committees, as part of their oversight functions, to engage in so-called oversight visits in order to carry out certain investigations. It needs to be noted that the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) at its recent conference held in Pietermaritzburg, admitted in a statement that allegations relating to the abuse of women and children had been brought to its leadership. To this end the church constituted a Public Concern Committee which has been interacting quite voluntarily and openly with relevant government departments. Neither the MCSA, the CMC nor the SACC will condone the alleged abuse of women and children at the CMC – which is why the church has been cooperating with government departments and with the NPA.

SACC is concerned that:

* to conduct such a visit without consulting the local (and national) leadership of the church, given the already established communication channels.
* to bring a substantial number of police and visiting at the time that they did, gave the whole event the feel of a raid rather than a cordial oversight and investigative visit.
* surely the Province has known about the plight of the refugees for long – what concrete alternatives have they put forward that justify the moral outrage and sudden feelings of care for the people living in the church?
* some of the statements already attributed to members of the committee appear to prejudge the matter, threatening to turn the visit into a pretext for predetermined, premeditated and unilateral decisions. A few hours’ visit at the CMC is not enough of an investigation for members of the committee to be issuing authoritative statements to the media already. Proper investigations produce proper formal reports and only thereafter media statements.
* the ‘closure of the CMC’ as threatened may satisfy the interests of those who want the sight of poor and destitute people removed from the centre of their beloved city – especially now that the FIFA 2010 World Cup is coming. But unless a lasting and humanitarian solution is found, all that will happen is that the inhabitants of the CMC will be poured into the streets of Johannesburg to fend for themselves by any means necessary, day and night.
* The Department of Home Affairs fails to develop policies and processes dealing with the influx of refugees in a humane manner.

As SACC we do not see the need for the Portfolio Committee to resort to strong arm tactics. We do not see the need to criminalise the CMC. This church has tried to do what government should have done, what every South African should do, what every other church should do, i.e. welcome the destitute, provide care for the sick, provide shelter to the homeless, tend to the souls of the battered and the suffering. That is the calling of every Christian. That is the calling of every religious person. We do not see the need to issue a legal summons to the CMC and its leadership to appear before any court or committee. The leadership of the CMC are not on the run, they are not about to flee the country.

Instead, SACC calls for the Gauteng legislature to engage the national and local leadership of the MCSA. Above all, we call on the Portfolio Committee to put the interest of the destitute living at the CMC above political point scoring. We urge the committee to exercise its oversight role with diligence, courtesy and with compassion.

For further information please contact
Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, SACC President 082 925 5232
Mr Eddie Makue, SACC General Secretary 082 853 8781

Reading Acts (again)

2009-10-24T19:03:00.003+02:00

Had a challenging, yet fascinating, conversation the last few days, with some (powerful!)New Testament scholars, on the book of Acts. I still wonder why I was also 'hosted', but, being the humble person that I am, it felt like a safe space to offer my irreverent questions, from the sidelines, so to speak. I should congratulate those who thought of this. Maybe, like one of the retired missiology scholars said, we should take the conversation further and invite poets and artists next time, because perhaps they might be even closer to the questions that real people ask.

For me, I am reminded that we all read texts differently. By posing only one authorative reading, we might miss some of the richness of the messages, in and also behind the wonder-ful stories in the texts. Let me illustrate: for some the emphasis on the 'kingdom of God' (1:3 & 28:31), meant the letting go of our kingdoms, empires and power. This imply that we acknowledge that the church operate within a world where external authorities and powers claim absolute adherance and worship (idolatry). This new movement, within Judaism, following Jesus of Nasareth, however now claim that there is a new emperor, a new emerging, alternative authority, called the 'kingdom of God'. The heart of this new movement lies then in the cross and ressurection of Jesus Christ. It calls for a vulnerability and alternative lifestyle of affirming that God is the real authority and power, not the church.

I can live with that, but I also argued that the reality is that people want to experience the power of God. People want to experience the 'hidden powers' of the kingdom, otherwise they remain trapped and in bondage-they are raped again and again by the powerful of this world. For them verses of 1:8, 'you will recieve power, when the Holy Spirit...' becomes critical; they read of the miracles, driving out of demons, of how the apostles and leaders confronted the powers and overcame them. The kingdom of God means a literal liberation from bondage, from the shackles of poverty, injustice, racism, from sickness, which are defined as the curse. Here, the gospel of prosperity make sense and churches that preach this message are hailed as hopegiving, as successful. At least one has to affirm that they are more attractive then churches, that still calls for vulnerability and 'laying down our lives'.

This little conversation illustrates how we might read the same text diffently.

There are also other themes within the book namely essence of work of the Holy Spirit, Mission, the Unity of the church as she crossed cultural borders, the contest between Paul and the political and economic auhtorities

I wondered also about the question, why Luke only focussed on expansion of the church Westwards. This relates to a statement by RS Sugirtharajah, a biblical scholar, where he states, 'The story of the expansion of the Church as it is told through Paul's journeys in Acts is selective and partial...It celebrates and priviledges only the Hellinistic expansion of the church namely from Jerusalem to Rome, and the Jewish mission to Gentiles in the Roman Empire. What the author of Acts fails to record is that there was another history of the founding of the Church east of the Euphrates and throughout the Persian Empire, whose territorial control extended to the borders of India'(2003:25). For Sugirtharajah, these considerations has implications for the old idea (myth) that Christianity only grew westwards and the so-called closed lands and Africa only recieved the gospel, 'as a gift from a benevolent West to enlighten the heathen'. Anyway, I think this line of thinking is worth exploring, because the 'Spirit goes (blows) wherever it will'.

Another celebration through dance

2009-10-13T13:06:00.008+02:00

Our church had a dance festival, last weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The children and young people had a real enjoyable time and hosted by Hosanna Dance Ministry, they succeeded in presenting an excellent demonstration of what is possible in terms of Dance Ministry in our churches, but more-so in developing our children young people.

I want to probe deeper into the possbilities that exists, for faith communities and youth organisations. A few comments would be enough for now:
1) Dance ministry, as we have seen this weekend, is not simply about entertainment, it is ministry. Ministry, relates to service, giving up of ourselves and relates to compassionate caring..its more then simply an 'item' in a concert.
2) Dance is rooted in holistic understanding of development or growth. Here the whole of a person is involved, i.e. the emotional, the body, the mind. We have come long way since the time where it was only the knowledge of people were valued. If I pass the exam, then I can become an adult, in the church, in the community, in the workplace. With the emergence of concepts like emotional intellegence, we slowly become aware of a bigger reality.. the appreciation of our integrated development, is demonstrated where children and young people dance and laugh, where they appreciate the power of music, beat and play.
3)If dance is about sexuality and an expression of the fact that we are also sexual, then we should explore this relationship. For too long our communities, espescially our faith communities did not want to ackowledge this reality. In the meantime, young people discovered their sexuality, explored it (on their own) and, in many cases hoped for some-one to guide them (or at least accompany) in making sense of these exiting discoveries. Dance provides a space for exploring this and for talking about it.
4) Dance ministries should be integrated in the centre of communities experiences, rituals and practices. In churches, we should seek to integrate it in our weekly worship events-not as a side show or (again) an item, but flowing out of and into what the community does and experience.
5) Lasly, I would hope that dance ministry should not only be about enacting the ancient forms of dance. These remain special and important. We also need to allow our newer generations, in terms of current youth cultures, to creatively explore new vistas, new styles and genres, to explore the contextualisation of the old cultural forms, with the new.

This is an exiting area for us all to explore, as it opens up new possibilities for, at a deeper level our 'spiritual'(?) development.

Flooding in the Phillipines- A call for prayer and support

2009-10-06T11:57:00.006+02:00

Hi there, I got this mail from a dear friend, Marilyn CamaClang, this morning. She was part of the Making a Difference Actionteam of WARC (MADIP), working in South Africa on the themes of the Accra document. Tyrone du Preez initiated a call for prayer and lets heed this call and see how we can make a differnce.

Marilyn (on the pic, in the makeshift boat) writes:

Dear All,
In spite of the alarming news from the Philippines, I still have much reason to greet you all with love and peace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

First, my family and the rest of those in our province, which is only kilometers away from Manila, are spared from the recent flooding.

Second, we are now able to connect with you after a week of silence. Our office was also affected by flood and telecommunications and computer system were all down. (We are located in one of the finest residential areas in Pasig City and residents were shocked for experiencing this for the first time!)

Third, we have experienced how much love and compassion we can draw from each other to be able to surpass this trial. (We have already organized two relief operations in favor of our community center in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City. Until now, the whole community is submerged with waist level of floodwaters. Christian Mission Service Philippines, Inc, my employer, has a community center here providing subsidized educational services to pre-schoolers, educational support from grade school to university and congregational ministries to the community. We have stopped operation since last week and our people are just waiting for our help. Please note that this community is at the heart of Pasig City, only few meters away from the city hall but is now accessible only by boat.

Lastly, for you and all concerned for remembering us in your prayers. It is indeed what we need in these times of great crises in our country.

Please continue praying, still many are suffering and need our helping hands. Pray for awakening, that we may now hear the cries of creation and the message of our Creator.

Let us continue to give thanks for we are at our best to extend help and to care.

Best regards,

Marilyn M. Camaclang
Technical Assistant/Admin Supervisor

“The best place on earth is at the center of God’s will”

Christian Mission Service Philippines, Inc. (CMSP)
Mailing Address: #188 Kaimitoville, Kaimito St. Valle Verde II
Pasig City, Philippines 1600
Tel/Fax: +632 631 1413; +632 637 2906
Website: http://cmsphilippines.org

Personal Contact Info:
Website: http://cyaf.uccphilippines.org
e-mail: jesusno14marilyn@yahoo.com
CP Nos.: + 639 17 351 3454

+ 639 22 880 4259

Strong emphasis on need for action by Christians against economic and ecological injustice

2009-09-30T10:09:00.001+02:00

Strong emphasis was laid on action by Christians to fight the injustices of the global economy and to seize the opportunity presented by the near-collapse of its financial system to change world institutions, in a message of an ecumenical conference at Willow Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"We are faced with a crisis that is far more than an economic or financial crisis. It is a spiritual crisis of a civilizational model that is economically unjust; ecologically unsustainable, structurally violent and socially degrading of human dignity," said the message from the Global Dialogue on the Accra Confession: Covenanting for Justice in the Economy and the Earth released on Friday, 10 September 2009.

The dialogue brought together nearly 60 high-profile theologians and church officials, mainly from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which represents 214 Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed and United churches in 107 countries, and 75 million congregants. For four days from 3 to 7 September they unpacked the implications of the WARC's adoption of the Accra Confession at its 24th general council in 2004 in Accra, Ghana.

"We recognized that the present global economic crisis has exposed the inadequacy of the system to meet the needs of the people across the globe. The crisis has unmasked the failure of the global economic system to nurture sustainable Earth communities," said the message of 28 articles.

It highlights one of the strongest themes throughout the conference, that of empire, describing it as, among other things, "an all-encompassing global reality serving, protecting and defending the interests of powerful corporations, nations, elites and privileged people, while imperiously excluding even sacrificing humanity and exploiting creation".

"The call on the churches in the present context is therefore to resist the life defeating and death dealing blows of the economics of empire and to present alternative economies that have their basis in the promise of life in its fullness for all."

Discussion during the four-day consultation held at the Willow Park conference centre focused on response by WARC member churches to a declaration known as the Accra Confession which was adopted at the Alliance's global assembly in Accra, Ghana in 2004. The Confession urges WARC member churches to accept that seeking alternatives to the current global economic model is a matter of faith.

WARC's general secretary, Setri Nyomi, affirms the importance to the Alliance of church action on economic and environmental justice. Nyomi states that the commitment to justice will remain central to the work of the Reformed church movement following the merger of WARC and the Reformed Ecumenical Council in June 2010 to create the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

"We are putting in place a structure that ensures that our covenanting for justice in the economy and the earth becomes stronger," says Nyomi. "We cannot ignore the millions of victims of injustice and the consequences of human devastation upon the Earth. I am grateful to all the participants for the forward-looking vision that came out of the consultation as reflected in the statement".

The group said covenanting for justice had to be a continuous process and that the Accra Confession had proven to be highly prophetic, and that it should be the basis for communion between churches in both rich and poor countries. "On the one hand, we give thanks for the gift of reconciliation in Christ, and on the other, we understand that authentic faith cannot be divorced from actions for justice. We come together in unity for the sake of justice.

"At our best communion is experienced in the struggle as we covenant for justice in the economy and the earth."

Another conference theme was also captured, that of the complicity of Christians and churches themselves in economic injustice: "We were also brought into an acute awareness of the seduction of globalization and the role that it plays in co-opting even the most radical movements while at the same time insulating the privileged from the violence it is based on and generates."

The group said "the answer to the crisis cannot be only economic or financial. We are in need of a more holistic and integrated strategy, led by a renewed and deepened spirituality of life."

But it also came with practical suggestions to be pursued: "We should develop and agree on a set of specific principles of economic justice that are based on the biblical values of care, compassion, responsibility and accountability, taking into account the work done by the ecumenical family.

Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, coordinator of the event and WARC's senior executive responsible for justice programmes, says: "The Global Dialogue has provided a way forward for the Accra Confession to be lived out in every place - from the streets to institutions; from communities to churches. It was made clear that today more than ever, it is vital that churches to connect with each other and with peoples' struggles, as we work together for justice and life sustaining communities."

A plan of action for churches is being developed for churches in preparation for the WARC/REC 2010 Uniting General Council.

The full statement follows.

Contact:
Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth
Executive Secretary, Church Renewal, Justice and Partnership
psb@warc.ch

tel. +41 (0)22 791 6156

MESSAGE FROM THE GLOBAL DIALOGUE ON THE ACCRA CONFESSION
Johannesburg, South Africa, 3 – 7 September

Introduction
1. In response to the urgent call to the common witness of a faith commitment in the Accra Confession: Covenanting for Justice in the Economy and the Earth adopted at the WARC 24th General Council, and in the continuing recognition of the urgency of the economic crisis and ecological destruction of our time, we write to reaffirm that the struggle for global economic justice and sustainable Earth communities is essential to the integrity of our faith in God and our discipleship as Christians. [Psalms 24:1]

2. In our continuing journey as a people of faith with the God of life - toward the June 2010 Uniting General Council, under the theme Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace [Ephesians 4:3], we are reminded of the reign of God who calls us into hope for justice, peace, wellness, harmony and unity [Titus 3:13-14]. Covenanting for justice in the economy and the earth is a testimony to just communion with God and God's creation.

3. From the 3rd to the 8th of September 2009, 58 church leaders, activists, pastors and theologians, who share a deep commitment to justice for the economy and the earth, representing churches of the Reformed tradition and global ecumenical institutions from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and the Middle East met in Johannesburg to reflect and dialogue on the Accra Confession.

4. The communication praxis of Jesus was to speak truth to power in word [Mark 7: 5, 6] and symbolic action [Mark 6: 30-44]. But Jesus not only spoke and acted, he also listened to the voices of those who were forced into silence by the violence of the system [John 4: 1- 26].

5. We, the participants of this Global Dialogue listened to the voices of people who struggle to come to terms with neo-liberal economic realities of post-apartheid South Africa. We heard from the people of Soweto about their collective action to resist the unjust system to find new ways of reclaiming their humanity. We learnt of ways in which people are reclaiming the economy to serve their interests - through political action directed against the state and its collusion with corporations. We also learnt of concrete action taken by people in making the state accountable to them as well as the church providing alternatives in places where the state has failed. Some of us also witnessed violence of the poor against the poor created by an economic system that pits them against each other in the struggle for life.

6. We were also brought into an acute awareness of the seduction of globalization and the role that it plays in co-opting even the most radical movements while at the same time insulating the privileged from the violence it is based on and generates.

7. We recognized that the present global economic crisis has exposed the inadequacy of the system to meet the needs of the people across the globe. The crisis has unmasked the failure of the global economic system to nurture sustainable Earth communities. The "idol" has been revealed as mammon. People are losing jobs, homes and access to public services. The growing awareness and acceptance of the ecological crisis and its rootedness in anti-people growth economies has further exacerbated the need for organized political action for global transformation. The need for churches and people's movements then is to use this crisis as an opportunity to initiate a paradigm shift in the economic system ensuring deeper democratic institutions enhances life giving economies. The call on the churches in the present context is therefore to resist the life defeating and death dealing blows of the economics of empire and to present alternative economies that have their basis in the promise of life in its fullness for all. (John 10.10)

Reading the Signs of the Times
8. The Accra Confession continues to be a prophetic response to the state of the world. This is due to the dramatic effects of the global financial crisis and the unprecedented level of ecological destruction and on-going climate change. We discerned a large consensus that the neoliberal economic paradigm, leading to a culture of greed, to unlimited growth and irresponsible consumption, is bankrupt.

9. Since Accra, we have deepened our understanding of empire, the system of death, contradicting God's will for life and justice for all. "We speak of empire, because we discern a coming together of economic, cultural, political and military power in our world today, that constitutes a reality and a spirit of lordless domination, created by humankind yet enslaving simultaneously; an all-encompassing global reality serving, protecting and defending the interests of powerful corporations, nations, elites and privileged people, while imperiously excluding even sacrificing humanity and exploiting creation; a pervasive spirit of destructive self-interest, even greed - the worship of money, goods and possessions; the gospel of consumerism, proclaimed through powerful propaganda and religiously justified, believed and followed; the colonization of consciousness, values and notions of human life by the imperial logic; a spirit lacking in compassionate justice and showing contemptuous disregard for the gifts of creation and the household of life." (Definition of empire from the Globalisation Project - Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa and Evangelical Reformed Church in Germany.)

10. Our churches, in different forms and to various extents, have not only struggled against empire through continuing reflection, dialogue and actions for justice and peace in the economy and the earth but we have also remained complicit to empire. This complicity remains the greatest threat to our communion, to our search for unity in Christ and is a betrayal of God's call for compassionate justice.

11. We see new opportunities in this moment of Kairos, in communion with other women and men at a grass-root, a national and an international level, to construct new economies of compassion, care and solidarity beyond empire.

Trinitarian Communion and Christian Justice
12. II Corinthian 13, verse 13 sees Trinitarian Communion as the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the community of the Holy Spirit. More particularly, Trinitarian Communion acknowledges God as the Creator-Sustainer, Jesus Christ as the reconciler between God and humanity, humanity and humanity and humanity and the earth, and the Holy Spirit as the ever-present power, inspiring the activity of the redeemed as doers of Christian Justice. On the one hand, we give thanks for the gift of reconciliation in Christ, and on the other, we understand that authentic faith cannot be divorced from actions for justice. We come together in unity for the sake of justice.

13. Because God is love we are confident in the assertion that God continues to love those who have been told repeatedly that they deserve no love. In obedience to the crucified Christ, we yield to the sovereign God our willing service. And with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we carefully analyse and expose gross systemic subordination as well as microstructures of "naturalness" and patterns of inequality, supposedly sanctioned as the providence of God. In other words, we hold Trinitarian Communion and Christian Justice as indivisible entities in the providential unfolding of God's purpose for humankind. At our best communion is experienced in the struggle as we covenant for justice in the economy and the earth.

Signs of Hope and Energy
14. We have listened carefully to the experiences of how people are resisting the effects of empire on their communities. We saw how women and men in Soweto are engaged in organising for change and reclaiming their respect and dignity through struggle for clean water and electricity in a context where the political leadership has failed them. These stories of resistance are attested to in many other places as well.

15. We heard of stories of how churches, both in the North and South, are living out the Accra Confession in their contexts. For example Churches in Zambia are involved in engaging in studying and understanding what globalization is and its impact on their daily lives. Some churches in the North have and are developing policies that enable them to set aside resources for the promotion of the Accra Confession and education for justice.

16. We have been encouraged by an emerging dialogue between churches in the North and those in the South, especially on Empire and what it means for both perspectives. The dialogue on globalization between the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) and the Evangelical Reformed Church (ERK) in Germany has served as a signpost of what is possible for us all. This journey of conversations holds potential for South to South dialogue also [Isaiah 1:18]. The growing consensus on empire as a lens from which to read the Accra Confession and to seek after justice is a sign of hope.

17. We listened to the pain of communion in the light of the South African churches experience of apartheid. We search for community in Bible study, prayer, and hearing of the healing word of God in our world with an awareness of the agony of pain that can only be healed by truth, repentance and reconciliation.

18. We look to the future with hope, new energy and the commitment to walk in communion and struggle together seeking justice despite our different social locations.

The Way Forward
19. In John Calvin's theology, human life is set in relation to the life of God. Life for the honour of God is based on faith in God, who puts God's own life at stake for the benefit of humankind. Our common journey forward as a people of faith is accompanied by our life giving God [Matthew 1:23].
20. We are faced with a crisis that is far more than an economic or financial crisis. It is a spiritual crisis of a civilizational model that is economically unjust; ecologically unsustainable, structurally violent and socially degrading of human dignity. Therefore the answer to the crisis cannot be only economic or financial. We are in need of a more holistic and integrated strategy, led by a renewed and deepened spirituality of life [John 10:10].
21. We need to recognize that all power is accountable to God. If economic or political structures fail to serve life, they must be changed. Theology of life needs to guide us in our way. Christians cannot accept that humanly constructed structures and systems, as powerful as they might be, are unchangeable. We experience everywhere in the world the struggle of people against an "economy of death" rearing its ugly life threatening head on the poor and marginalized. We need to seek for cooperation and solidarity of the body of Christ with grass-root movements, international groups and civil-society groups. For example the networking for global water justice.

22. In the faces of women, children, people living with disabilities, people living with HIV and AIDS, those discriminated on the basis of gender, race, caste, sexual orientation and sexuality we see the suffering of those most affected by the consequences of neo-liberal globalism. We affirm that all of life, in all its diversity, together is the image of God. The broken body of Christ that is united in the bond of love and with the Spirit of Peace invites us to journey together for justice and peace in the economy and the earth.

23. We need the expertise of Reformed women and feminist theologians, ecumenical leaders, young people, laypersons in economics and international relations to go forward, reflecting on the gender, race, caste and the other implications of empire that the Accra Confession addresses.

24. We found that a change of paradigm needs transforming education. This needs to take place on different levels and in different ways. This requires a mutual learning by exposure, engagement and dialogue and needs to happen on the levels of church-leaders as well as on the level of the local congregations.

25. We should develop and agree on a set of specific principles of economic justice that are based on the biblical values of care, compassion, responsibility and accountability, taking into account the work done by the ecumenical family. It should lead to the following steps:
- To organize a global ecumenical conference (including the Roman Catholic church) to propose a new international financial architecture, that is: a) based on the principles of economic and climate justice, b) serves the real economy, c) accounts for social and environmental risks, and d) sets clear limits to greed;
- To support processes of strengthening regional and local economies in the different social and cultural contexts.

- To make use of the 10 to 15 year time window to reach and implement the necessary goals of climate justice.

- To engage in climate justice with a twofold strategy: a) mitigation in order to slow down global warming to the level agreed in the ecumenical family (WCC Statement on eco-justice and ecological debt and campaigns of churches and ecumenical agencies), and b) adaptation to climate change and support especially of the most affected and vulnerable people.

26. In the Global Dialogue we found the necessity of an increased and sustained dialogue bringing together Reformed sisters and brothers from all ends of the earth. We need to share our experiences from each of our contexts, on the basis of our communion in Christ. This should take place in consultations between churches of the North and South as well as between churches from the same hemisphere. We also recognize that many people in the North live in conditions of the South and that there are elites in every country in the South, who live as those in the North. With commitment to one another in partnership and solidarity we need to engage in an open trustful space for an ongoing discussion and common understanding. In the light of communion and participation we need awareness for the different contexts we are coming from.

27. As WARC/WCRC looks towards its future, it needs to ask questions about its vision, its membership and their commitment and how it best lives out that vision. This process needs continuing support in organization and administration.

28. This vision of a way forward needs the development of policy and strategy for support, resources and engagement of its member churches to prioritize the urgency of covenanting for justice in the economy and the earth. The new communion needs to pay attention to this reality.

PARTICIPANTS

1. Rev. Dr Prince Moiseraele Dibeela, United Congregational Church of South Africa
2. Dr Johan Botha, URCSA/ERK Globalisation Project, Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa
3. Ms Martina Wasserloos-Strunk, URCSA/ERK Globalisation Project, Reformed Alliance, Germany
4. Dr Johann Weusmann, URCSA/ERK Globalisation Project, Evangelical Reformed Church, Germany
5. Dr Puleng LenkaBula, URCSA/ERK Globalisation Project, Covenanting for Justice network
6. Prof. Dr Allan Boesak, URCSA/ERK Globalisation Project, Uniting Reformed Church of South Africa
7. Rev. Dr Ben Du Toit, Dutch Reformed Church, South Africa
8. Prof. Dr Nico N Koopman, URCSA/ERK Globalisation Project, Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa
9. Rev. Basil Manning, United Congregational Church of South Africa
10. Rev. Cheryl Dibeela, United Congregational Church of South Africa
11. Rev. Dr Festus A. Asana, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon
12. Prof. Dr Maake Masango, United Presbyterian Church of South Africa South Africa
13. Rev. Coutinho M. Moma, Evangelical Congregational Church Angola
14. Rt. Rev. Christopher Mkandawire, United Presbyterian Church of South Africa
15. Ms Josephine Muchelemba, United Church of Zambia
16. Rev. Peggy Mulambya Kabonde, WARC executive committee member
17. Prof. Nelus Niemandt, Dutch Reformed Church
18. Rev. Dr Jerry Pillay, Alliance of Reformed Churches in Africa
19. Rev. Hendrick Pillay, United Congregational Church of South Africa
20. Prof. Dr Thias Kgatla, United Reformed Church of South Africa
21. Rev. Jimmy de Wet, Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa
22. Dr Sri Adiningsih, Reformed Ecumenical Council, Indonesia
23. Ms Maritza Anie Boudjikanian, Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches, Lebanon
24. Rev. Charles Norton Jansz, Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka
25. Ms Carmencita Karadag, Peace for Life, Philippines
26. Rev. Decky Kornelius Lolowang, Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa, Indonesia
27. Mr. Philip Peacock, Church of North India
28. Prof. Dr Mammen Varkki, Church of South India
29. Dr Martin Engels, Reformed Alliance in Germany
30. Rev. Matthias Hui, Reformed Church Bern Jura Solothurn, Switzerland
31. Rev. Dr Ulrich Möller, Evangelical Church of Westphalia, Germany
32. Rev. Jane Rowell United Reformed Church, UK
33. Prof. Dr. Christoph Carl Stückelberger, Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Switzerland
34. Rev. Dr Sjaak van't Kruis, Protestantse Kerk in Nederland, Netherlands
35. Mr. Helis Barraza Díaz, Moderator, Covenanting for Justice Network, Colombia
36. Rev. Clayton Leal da Silva, AIPRAL, Brazil
37. Ms Omega Bula, United Church of Canada
38. Prof. Dr Katie Geneva Cannon, PC (USA)
39. Rev. Dr Susan Davies, Covenanting for Justice Network
40. Rev. Daniel James Meeter, Reformed Church in America
41. Prof. Dr Oliver Patterson, Covenanting for Justice Network
42. Ms. Sara Pottschmidt, Covenanting for Justice Network
43. Mr. Peter Vander Meulen Covenanting for Justice Network
44. Rev. Robina Winbush Presbyterian Church (USA)
45. Dr Peter Borgdorff, President, Reformed Ecumenical Council, USA
46. Rev. Dr Clifton Kirkpatrick, WARC President, USA
47. Dr. Edwin Makue, South Africa Council of Churches
48. Prof. Dr Tinyiko Maluleke, South Africa Council of Churches
49. Rev. Dr Samuel Ayete Nyampong, Presbyterian Church of Ghana
50. Ms. Athena Peralta, WCC, Philippines
51. Mr. Moatlundhi Mogera, Student, South Africa
52. Rev. Philip Woods Council of World Mission (CWM)
53. Rev. Dr Vuyani Vellem South Africa Council of Churches
54. Mrs. Irma Patterson, USA
55. Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, WARC General Secretary, Ghana
56. Rev. Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, WARC Executive Secretary, Covenanting for Justice, Guyana
57. Rev. Dr Douwe Visser, WARC executive secretary, Theology and Ecumenical Engagement, Netherlands
58. Hans Pienaar, Correspondent, Ecumenical News International, Johannesburg

Bob, still milking the poor.

2009-09-29T14:53:00.004+02:00

Its multinational companies like Nestle, which keeps tyrants like Mugabe in power. They maintain their hold on poor, exploited nations, they remain silent at the cruel measures by the Mugabes of this world; together they milk the poor.

The Mugabe empire is still in place and thriving, irrespective of democratic elections, which emphatically rejected Bob, a 'government of national unity' or any interventions by SADC or, what's that guy's name again, the small one in the big chair and his pipe(dreams). In the mean time, Bob is still milking the poor Zimbabweans. When some of them realize what is going on, he just utter a few insults to fictitious British colonizers, pounce on white farmers and MDC, and then, almost magically, everything returns to 'normal'.

What is it that keeps his type in power? It's certainly not his people. They trusted 'the revolution'. They trusted democracy, SADC-style. They trusted 'the West'. It all failed them. We still see our leaders walking hand in hand with him, showering him with lofty praise and generous gifts. (Apparantly the Mugabe-empire pride themselves with some camels, gifts from the self-appointed president of the United States of Africa and guardian of Africa's interests against the West, the other village lunatic, Colonel M Ghadaffi.)

This evil system that keeps his ilk in place, is much more pervasive, insidious and powerful. It's a system that proclaims, above all else, our greatest virtue is in ruthless, economic growth, the accumulation of money. Its a system where those in power reward themselves with the cream of the crop, at the expense of millions of their poor underlings.

The Nestlé's of this world knows this and Mugabe and his comrades, demonstrate that in this world, even the most hard-core of revolutionaries are not able to overcome the lure and attraction of money and economic power. (Let's not forget about cde Blade, and the tools of his trade, as minister of Higher Education).

It's critical for us to start to ask the deeper questions, and to expose these companies and countries that continue to exploit the poor and if need be, indeed, we should start anew campaigns to boycott their products. In the 1980s clerics like Beyers Naude, Allan Boesak and Desmond Tutu travelled the world, calling for economic sanctions against the illegitimate regime of the Nats. They maintained that the call for economic sanctions, is a call of conscience, where people of faiths need to put pressure on the economic interests that keep Botha in power. I think that we are at a point where Mugabe's friends and allies need to be exposed and called to account. If need be, stronger pressure need to be placed upon them join us to dismantle the Mugabe-empire. Let's keep our eyes on how Nestle will respond to this new scandal...till further notice.

Let’s prevent suicide amongst young people

2009-09-19T23:54:00.004+02:00

I was invited by a dynamic young organisation, called MAD (Mothers and Daughters) here in the South of Johannesburg to speak on suicide amongst teenagers. This multi-religious group aims to build positive young girls, through information and support networks. The event took place at the Bill Jardine stadium and various people spoke including rugby heroes, Laurence Sephaka and Aswin Willemse and head physio of Orlando Pirates soccer club, John Williams.

My input was small yet, I received a lot from this interaction. I stood as some-one who experienced suicide in my own family, but also, I shared that one of our church's leaders committed suicide last year. We were perplexed, gutted, broken. It however challenged us to look deeper, to realise that no-one is to blame, for this illness.

I said:

The World Health Organisation released a report, in this month, finding that between the ages 10-24 years, suicide is amongst the top three reasons for death, especially amongst boys. Amongst the guys the biggest killer remains.... car accidents. I'm not going to say anything about drags tonight. This kind of car accidents rather refers to the toxic mix between speed, booze and adrenaline. It's what happens on our roads in the 'normal' run of things.

All over the world, (England; Israel; Ireland; China) suicide is on the increase, or at least amongst the top killers of young people. But, I believe we can prevent it. I believe we can turn it around. The WHO states, "Most causes of death of young people are preventable and treatable."
Daisy Mafubelu, from the WHO, states,
It is clear from these findings that considerable investment is needed - not only from the health sector, but also from sectors including education, welfare, transport, and justice - to improve access to information and services, and help young people avoid risky behaviours that can lead to death."

But there is another reason why, I think, we can turn these statistics around. I am reminded of a clip in a movie, from the film School of Rock, where Dewy (Jack Black) is a stand–in teacher for his friend. He is ask some deep question about his philosophy of education, especially on testing and then he says that he doesn't believe in testing, because he "believe the children are our are future"

Some of the teachers, hear this and say, but... doesn't that comes from a song.. he just continues...

Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

The story of this song is fascinating. It was of course, sung by Whitney Houston, but released originally for Mohammed Ali's 1977 movie called The Greatest, sung, of course by jazz artist, George Benson. This song was written by Michael Masser and a young woman called Linda Creed. She was fighting breast cancer and these were her words.

Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone who fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me

Chorus:
I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I'll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Greatest love of all

Linda Creed died in 10 April 1986, a few weeks before her hit made number one by Whitney Houston...and today this song lives on…This is the kind of spirit that will enable us to overcome teenage suicide today.

However, we need to do more. We can to do three things. This is taken from a campaign amongst high schools in Sydney Australia. It's called ACT
1) Acknowledge:
We need to acknowledge that there is a crisis of youth/teen mental health. Suicide is not a moral issue, it's a health issue. Let's take it out of the right and wrong, let's acknowledge when things are not well, let's allow young people to speak out when they feel they are not coping, when they have failed, in terms of expectations. Let's allow this, in order for us to grow. Many times we as parents need to set the example by asking for help, when we are not coping. Acknowledge when we struggle.
Further, we also need to say youth depression, one of the big causes of youth suicide, is a disease like any other, like flue, cold, diabetes, etc, and it can be treated. There is treatment and help available.
2) CARE: We need to build a community on a culture of care, instead of a culture of greed and materialism. What are our greatest assets, our greatest values- to win, to bling ? Sometimes, we as parents buy our children stuff, when they simply are looking for some-one who will be able to see the beauty that they already posses inside and to care. Let me say this: the greatest need of young people today... is to be some-one for some-one. Am I right here... the cell phone, the labels, the whack hairstyles, Mxit, Facebook, Twitter... is all about friendship... to be some-one for some- one. The greatest love of all is happening to me…learning to love yourself, is the greatest love of all (Linda Creed).
3) Tell:
If you know its going down with your friend, some-one in class.. tell. In Israel, amongst young people it was found that they don't want to talk because they might be considered to squeal, they will be labelled a 'tell-tale'. We need to speak out. Speak to a teacher, to a counsellor, a doctors, nurse, pastor, imam, who-ever... just tell. I like the picture on one Suicide Prevention Facebook groups "Never let your buddy fight alone". Another Facebook group, Suicide Prevention gives guidelines on what to spot for and If you see these tell, because you might save lives.
Your friend might be
- Talking about dying (Or any form of harming oneself)
- Recent loss or losses
- Change in personality (Sad, irritable, anxious, withdrawn, apathetic)
- Change in behaviours
- Change in sleep patterns (Can't sleep, nightmares, etc)
- Change in appetite (Not eating enough or overeating)
- Fear of losing control (Going "crazy")
- Loss of interest in things once enjoyed
- Low self esteem (Feeling worthless, self-hatred, a burden, shame)
- No hope for future (Believes things will never get better, nothing will change)

Let me conclude with this: we are all vulnerable, our children even more, given the developmental challenges they face, but we need to continue to keep the spirit strong-because we can win this fight. It will not be easy all the time, in your own life, in the life of your friend: The song of Linda Creed ended off with these words.

And if by chance, that special place
That you've been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love

Top of Form

On being intersexed

2009-09-15T12:50:00.007+02:00

Recent hurtful leaks and slanderous media reports, about the teenage sensation, and our most recent worldchampion has also highlighted our ignorance about people born by being intersexed. Whilst the jury is still out on whether this is the case, it does not really matter what the outcome will be. This is a particular medical condition, and in itself not a reason for unfair discrimination, ridicule or exclusion. The manner in which these sensitive matters have been reported on by certain media houses are reason for grave concern. The sad reality is the even Christian bloggers recently referred to this condition in the rather derogatory manner as being a 'hermaphrodite'.

Intersexed Society of South Africa, is an organisation who aim to 'spread knowledge about intersex, to provide the space for the development of an intersexed voice in Southern Africa, and to combat discrimination on grounds of intersex'
They state,

'Intersexed people are a natural variant and an important part of human diversity, the birth of an intersexed infant should be celebrated no less than the birth of any other infant and ALL diversity should be valued whether of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, ability, geography and or socio-economic status.'

I think it is critical for Christians to again affirm the dignity of all of God's people, and the inclusivity of the household of faith.
We have also just started a Facebook group, called, God Loves Intersexed People.

Caster Semenya, another Christian response

2009-09-13T08:18:00.003+02:00

Recent leaks and ‘revelations’ by newspapers and speculation about the gender of South Africa’s 800m winner at the recent World Championships, Caster Semenya, have highlighted the critical role that media play in our world. It has also raised the issue of ethical reporting, i.e. what is right and wrong in the way stories are carried.

Whilst the international athletics body, the IAAF, has maintained, up to now, that no official findings has been released, that sensitive matters like these, will be dealt with confidentially and that any official findings will remain private, the current spate of media speculation by some newspapers, and the manner in which it is done, challenge one to speak out and raise a voice of concern and protest against these.

It should be noted that various church leaders have been requested to say something, to come out. None of the recognised churchleaders wanted to say anything. The URCSA presbytery of Tulbach, Tom Smith of Soulgardeners, however came back with a strong endorsement of this statement. It should be noted that bloggers like My contemplations and Emergen Bracken, also released Christian viewpoints on this critical matter.

We say,

1) We call all of us, including members of media, to respect the privacy and dignity of Caster Semenya and her family.
Let us remind ourselves that we all have been created in dignity and according to the image of God and have the right that this dignity are to be protected and respected.

2) Without pre-empting the findings of any investigation, we would remind all, that any reporting on the complex matters of sexual and gender identity, the personal dignity of the body of people, in particular women, need to be done with the utmost of care and sensitivity.
Within a particular historical context of abuse and the demonization of the female body and physicality, speaking on these matters is never innocent or objective. It either entrench the oppression of women or liberates.

3) We therefore call not simply for restraint, but also for reporting that upholds the dignity, challenge the frenzy and warped images and maintains the strong ethical code that distinguish fine journalism from newer forms of abuse and character assassination, in the quest for wider circulation and profits.

We denounce any speculation and crude reporting and call our members to consciously analyse, expose and boycott such reports.
We as faith communities want to hereby affirm our commitment towards an inclusive and humane society that upholds and protects the dignity of all people, in particular those who remain vulnerable.
We publically declare our full spiritual and pastoral support to Caster Semenya and her family. We will continue to pray for this young, outstanding Christian and her family and we thank God for her own church, who stand with a great cloud of witnesses alongside her.
We want to remind Caster of the words of God to his young prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you…”

Dance festival- a celebration of our young people

2009-09-11T09:45:00.001+02:00

We had such a wonderful evening last night attending the West Rand Dance festival. I had some personal interest, so my reflections will be biased. Even so, I am exited in what our various dance studios, are doing in our communities with our children.

Often we are overwhelmed my so much negativity, in the meantime, the simply continue to produce excellence year after year. What we enjoyed last night, are in a sense the wealth of the potential, but more importantly, the verve, sheer hard work and determination of our young people, in particular our daughters. This time the issue was not nagging about sore thumbs (in this case hands), or gender verification tests, it was celebration of our best.

The evening was well organised, the costumes and dance technique of high quality (I'm actually quoting the adjudicator) and evidently of international standard (again, the adjudicator), but that's not my focus here. Here, I simply want to rant against our media, who often (like in this case) fail to elevate and celebrate this good news story. They are seemingly not interested in this and would chase after the gory stories, which sells. Back in the days, we debated at length, ad nauseam, the theme: the pen is mightier than the sword. Do you remember those highschool debates (or shouting contests, actually)? It's only the last few weeks that I've understood the real significance of that debate, although, I think, usually the pen (laptop) and sword, usually fight alongside each other, on the side of the powerful.

I think, we should, continue to enjoy and celebrate the finest accomplishments of our young people; we should challenge them to work hard at fine-tuning their talents, at aiming to be the best at what they do. Sebastian Coe, Olympic medallist at middle distance of the 80, is clear, 'anyone who is serious about reaching the top of their profession will get there through a combination of hard work, focus, application and sheer talent….' This is happening in our communities, under the radar of the public media yet, it is there and as parents and educators we should continue to support it.

Canada: the chickens have come home to roost

2009-09-02T08:22:00.004+02:00

What does the ruling, on a white refugee desparately fleeing South Africa, of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, say about their own competencies or sense of reality? Is it possible that the members did not know about the complexities of the current South African transition? Is it possible that they are not aware of their own struggles, with their own racialised history and the genocide of the First peoples in North America?

I'm not sure about the answers to these questions. Its complex. I however would hope that the Canadian government will look into this affair, come out of their innocence and declare where they stand with regards to these matters. They need to re-affirm their support for the complex peaceful transition in South Africa, towards a non-racial, just society; they need to affirm their seriousness in addressing redress. All communities in South Africa, face the cruel reality of an inherent violent society. Our challenge is to change it all, to keep the dream alive of a just society, for all who live in it, and to make it a reality.

Last weekend, I was part of a church meeting in Soweto, where we wrestled at length, on the safety of our churches and members, all black. Members were shot at, robbed, brutalised, the last few months. On Monday afternoon, coloured members of our church were traumatised in the middle of the Southgate Mall robbery and had to run for their lives. We support them in this situation, of course, but this is not the issue for me here and now. We all know that violence affects us all, even for a highschool in Welkom, in the Freestate.

The question is what lurks behind the ruling of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board. What we have here, is a manifestation, a commentary on their own struggles. Canada, a highly diverse country, some would argue, a deep settler community, like Australia, New Zealand and the US, is still struggling to come to terms with the growing demands of their own indigenous communities for reparation, for justice. The ruling elite also have to deal with the fears and insecurities of their constituencies, who amassed their personal wealth, power and prosperity, at the expense of the colonised. Somebody asked me on Sunday, why Austrlia have never been challenged in the same way, as white Afrikaners on their institutional racism, by the world community. My thinking is simple: they had the military, culturalm political and economic power to virtually wipe-out the indigenous peoples, whilst in Africa, it was impossible, simply because of the sheer numbers. I also think the reason why Australia is sometimes called 'little South Africa', and Canada to a lesser degree, is simply because these emigrants feel a sense of déjà-vous there Anyway, my point is simply that we need to look deeper into the current decision and challenge the Canadians to acknowledge that their government cannot innocently wash their hands, parading as the paragon of open-ness and diversity…the chickens have come home to roost.

Some freaky stuff at schools... drugs, etc challenge a deeper look

2009-08-31T13:13:00.002+02:00

I recently, on the spur of the moment, was commanded by my youngest to go to school and listen to the guy speaking on drug-abuse. Well, actually my wife bought a ticket and couldn't go. So, I had to go and honestly speaking, it was one of those 'had-to-go' ones, because 'the ticket was bought', etc. It turned out to be quite an informative (if not sobering and thought-provoking) evening with other parents, who probably were there, also because they well…. 'had to go'.

The speaker walked, like an evangelist, up and down on the stage, had a cap drawn deep into his eyes, and opened with something like… 'I am an addict and I am currently committing a criminal offence'. It soon dawned on all of us that he had a cigarette in his hand. Later, he dramatically, (maybe not like the evangelist) lit it and took few puffs, illustrating a little story of how he got started. This was but one of the many funny, yet deeply moving stories he shared out of his own life. For most of us, it could have been just another moralistic diatribe making us, as parents feel guilty again. Having felt guilty enough to feel that this is a had-to-go meeting, at school, I did not need more guilt trips. Fortunately, (*sigh*)I don't smoke and do those kinds of stuff, but the story of Steve went deeper.

Steven, having worked in schools for many years, was telling us that our children are exposed to drugs, on a daily basis and that, up to 80% of high school kids here in Johannesburg are on one or the other kind of drug. Yes, I know. For me it also sounded a bit like a wild-eyed, doomsday preacher. Walking up and down, cap deep in the eyes, he however continued to share anecdotes of how children in 'our' primary school, in his morning session, were able to easily debate on which booze was the best; they knew the labels, the tastes and felt it cool to be into these. For him the fundamental problem was that we as parents deny these realities. For us, it is always those kids, that family and never our very own. We would conveniently 'other-fy' the druaddict and go on with business as usual. I could however see, over the crowd of parents, many heads going, 'wow', 'eish', etc. Here, we were confronted with a reality that we thought was only possible in the media and Hollywood (Beverley Hills 90210, to be exact), or 'on the other side'.

I work also in Riverlea, where on an annual basis, in our church community I am privileged to have a little group of 6-7 teenagers (15-17 years) in a little 'bible class.' Most of the time, at the face of the ire of parents and the churchboard, we stray too far from talking about the ten commandments and the teachings of the church, to simply talk about sex, drugs and hip-hop or (these days 'house'). They like that and they like to talk about that. I like to listen. They are clear: their schools are infested with 'corruption' (that's the words they use). Corruption is amongst others, where, on their school yards, now, drugs of all shapes and sizes, are available. Whether it be 'sugars' , coke, weed, 'rocks', 'gafief'… whateva, you want it, you can have it. Teachers, in their view, are impotent to deal with this, the police useless, because, according to them they are as corrupt as the 'merchands'. These young people tell me that they are clean, but it's a tough-tough world to go out of your house and attend school. The stuff that Steve, is sharing is for real!

I wondered, what lies at the heart of this? Why would young people, want to consciously become 'throw-away people'? Why would they want to collectively become the prey of highly efficient, highly connected criminal syndicates, bend on selling young bodies at the highest bidder. This, of course is an age-old question. To present drug abuse, and young people, today, as wild, urban folk devils will not adequately deal with the deeper roots of this collective suicide. It simply deny the fact that there might be deeper structural roots, i.e. community and cultural patterns that drive them towards depression, a loss of vision, but also a loss of internal reference points, to chart their way. I think that the current surge of consumerism, where one's identity is formed by the trappings of wealth, remain one of the key drivers of a loss of community and a morphing of our identities from communally (family) based towards consumer based. This is not an easy matter. In fact, having said this, I would concede that the encroachment of the current world system on families, on our children is much more pervasive and powerful then we think. Perhaps its more powerful that what parents or church communities currently can handle. Its not simply a medical condition to be sorted out by an institution… the roots goes deeper in the kind of system where, even church communities, or schools, have become efficient corporations, at the expense of deep community. We are faced with a culture, which prize boozing and where advertising campaigns have deaden our sensitivities to softer (legal)drugs, in the pursuit of profits, our ultimate human achievement. For those that fell through the cracks, who simply did not fit these categories, or who simply failed to make the system work, the only solution is to become the consumer… to doze off and eventually are consumed by this system.

This talk by Steven was sobering. It made, at least this parent to think again, to hope and pray again that his teenagers might not fall prey. It challenged me again to look deeper into our lifestyles and what we hold dear. Perhaps, we all need had-to go experiences, forced upon us, by our children, to challenge us, even as parents, to listen and to be changed.

"Auntie Vicky" se dieper vrae

2009-08-20T00:47:00.002+02:00

Ek het onlangs grepe uit die interessante storie van “auntie Vicky” Jardine gelees. Wel, eintlik het die boek van die bekroonde skrywer Chris van Wyk nie oor haar gegaan nie, maar oor haar seun. Sy was egter ook daar, deel van die storie. ’n Gewone huisvrou wat in Johannesburg in ’n klerefabriek gewerk het.

Wat egter opval, is dat dié merkwaardige vrou by verskeie geleenthede ernstig gebots het met die owerheid. Sy het openlik gestry teen apartheid. Trouens, in haar huis is ’n besprekingsgroep van vroue begin. Dié groep het ’n rol gespeel in duisende vroue se opmars na die Uniegebou – destyds vir vroueregte. Die staaltjie word ook vertel hoedat sy in ’n stadium met geweld weggesleep is van die Johannesburgse stadsaal in haar stryd vir gelykheid en die reg.

Wat is die erfenis van “auntie Vicky” se stryd vir vandag? Op die oog af is daar is nie veel oor nie.

Luister maar na die manier waarop jong mans neerhalend praat oor vroue, of kyk maar na ons skokkende verkragtingsyfers. As ons egter dieper kyk, merk ons op dat dié onthutsende verskynsels simptome is. Dieper skuil daar ’n manier van dink en handel wat die waardigheid van mense skend en wat telkens op nuwe maniere kop uitsteek. Waarom kan ons dan nog nie ’n verskil sien nie?

Kom laat ons nou eerlik wees.

Die meeste van ons het gehoop dat bloot ’n meer verteenwoordigende regering, met die insluiting van swart mense, die land onherkenbaar sou verander na ’n wonderlike paradys vir almal: Vroue, kinders, swart, bruin, wit, gays en lesbiërs. ’n Hemel op aarde. Ons het gedink dat die dag toe almal geduldig in rye gestaan het vir ’n kans om ’n kruisie te trek, die demone van rassisme, geslagsdiskriminasie, maar ook die ongelyke verdeling van rykdom, uiteindelik uitgewis is. Mettertyd kom ons agter dinge lyk maar dieselfde; ons herken dieselfde gesigte, dieselfde gedragspatrone – met dieselfde wrang gevolge. Waar “auntie Vicky” en die vroue hand aan hand opgestaan het vir ’n beter toekoms vir hul kinders, waar hulle gehoop en gestry het vir ’n nuwe land, wonder ons al hoe meer of daar diep genoeg gekyk is, of daar diep genoeg gesny is, of daar werklik na hulle geluister is.

As ons kyk na die diep woede in gemeenskappe oor die ooglopende materialisme en magsmisbruik onder ons regeringslui, moet ons weer vra: Is ons regering ernstig genoeg oor die waardes van gelykheid en geregtigheid? Ons vra vrae waar besope geregsdienaars hul voertuie bestuur en probeer wegjaag wanneer hulle uitgevang word. Ons vra vrae vra as openbare instellings gebruik word om ons terug te neem na die ou verlede van knoeiery, verdrukking en geweld, waar mense op die kleur van hul vel getakseer word. Die verandering van gesigte in die sagte parlementsbanke was duidelik nie genoeg nie.

Wat moes ons gehoor het? Wat het hierdie onbekende vroue-profete aangevuur en ander profete, soos die vervolgde Birmese vryheidsleier Aung San Suu Kyi, om die dieper vrae te vra en ons verder te neem na die omverwerp van verdrukkende stelsels? Ek vermoed dat daar vele antwoorde op hierdie vraag is. Vir my staan daar twee uit. Eerstens is daar by hulle die onwrikbare begrip dat mense, wie ook, ten diepste gelyk is, dat hulle beelddraers van God is en daarom met ’n inherente waardigheid beklee is. Tweedens is daar die geloof dat God gewone mense gebruik om ’n verskil in die wêreld te maak.

Die geloof wat aan sekere klasse in ons samelewing meer mag en eer toeken, word ontmasker.

Ook vandag is daar nuwe “auntie Vickys”. Hulle is deel van massas wat die strate vat en dié in magsposisies op hul tone hou. Hul stemme word gehoor wanneer hulle die stilte verbreek in die intieme ruimtes, maar ook by die werkplek. Hulle vra dieper vrae, ongemaklike vrae wanneer ons ons aandadigheid aan verknegtende stelsels probeer verdoesel in mooi, groot óf selfs godsdienstige woorde.

(Verskyn in Die Beeld 17 Aug 2009)

Colour would count for nothing in a free Africa...

2009-08-19T17:03:00.007+02:00

I am one of those who argue that we need to talk. Julius Malema, might be loathed by some, but, what I like about him is that, at least from him, we can hear what are being said behind closed doors. He is the babble mouth toddler who 'innocently' tells the world what daddy did or say last night, when it was dark. I think these toddlers know more then we give them credit for.

Anyway, it's no dark secret that the sentiment that black Africans, suffered more and deserve more runs deep. Xolela Mangcu speaks of 'racial nativism', i.e. 'the idea the true custodians of Africans are the natives. The natives are often defined as black Africans because they are indigenous to the country, and within that group the true natives are those who participated in the resistance struggle' (2008:2) He continues to explain this thinking, 'by dint of their authenticity, these natives have the right to silence white interlopers or black sell-outs'.

Mangcu, who hails from the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), however argues for what he calls 'racial syncretism', which, for him is congruent with the best traditions of Pan Africanist and Black Consciousness movements and which uphold the 'ideal of a non-racial democratic society in which all citizens are regarded as equal...'.

For Robert Sobukwe, Africans are 'those, of any colour, who accepts Africa as their home'. Benjamin Pogrund, writes of his experiences, as a white person, alongside Africanists. 'Amongst the Africanists there were certainly people who could be described as having intense animosity for whites.... But to dub all the Africanists or the movement (PAC) as anti-white was crude. Sobukwe, for example, was already a friend of mine, and our relationship was to grow a lot closer with the years. There was not a vestage of racial felling in him. he simply accepted people as people, both then and allways.'(2006: 101-102) In Sobukwe's response to an attack by liberal polititians that he was anti-white, he writes, 'We guarantee no minority rights because we are fighting precisely that group-exclusiveness which those who plead for minority rights would like to perpetuate...I have said it before, and I still say so now, that I see no reason why, in a free democratic Africa, a predominantly black electorate should not return a white man (sic) to parliament, for colour will count for nothing in a free Africa... (105-106)

I,think, for now, that settles it....(to be continued)

Xolela Mangcu. To the brink: The state of democracy in South Africa.
Benjamin Pogrund. How can a man die better: The life of Robert Sobukwe

Cele should stop the charade and clean up SAPS

2009-08-09T23:45:00.007+02:00

Our new top cop got his job cut out. One of his biggest challenges is going to be to stamp out corruption, but also those incompetent and downright, rotten police officers. I'm sure Mr Cele will never run after a thug, in his purple jackets and Italian shoes. He would however leave a legacy if he can run after his own-those rotten, cadres.

Let me tell you what I mean. Whilst, we all loathe those who drag our beloved country with her proud legacy of struggling for equality and justice, down the drain, let's not look too far in some dark corner of our communities. The enemy is closer. On Saturday night after some rugby and 'kuier', one of our close friends left our home in good spirits (and we did not have any 'spirits' al all). Young husband, wife and their beautiful baby daughter, our godchild. After 12 minutes we got a call, they were in an accident. We rushed to the scene, at about ten to ten to find them shocked, struggling to gain composure. Their car is wrecked, which they bought and kept on the road, with a modest income; the car with which they serve their community. This, I suppose one could describe as 'a normal accident' (this description is important), but there's more.

After we made sure our two-year old was okay, we saw the guy who drove in them, almost killing mother and child. He was drunk and tried to drive away, but was stopped by the damage to his own bakkie. Now, stil struggling to stay on his feet, he tried to convince my friend that he should not call the cops. He tried to explain, that we are all human and that he will make everything right for him. By this time my friend called our famous 10111 a few times, and gradually grew more and more frustrated and furious, as there were no signs of our SAPS, as yet. The usual suspects arrived, we call them the 'vultures', ready to tow the cars away, at exorbitant rates (which you only discover afterwards). So, we discovered that they 'overheard' the radio conversations, because one of them (tow truckers) is an off-duty cop. He confronted the drunk, corrupt offender, who also pulled out his police identification card, it turns out, he is an inspector at the Johannesburg police station, and displayed proudly on his cellphone wallpaper, a proud ANC supporter.

To make a long story short- we ended up in the Florida police station, after 12, at night, being told off by the inspector, in charge, that this drunk, corrupt inspector of SAPS, will be out the next day (today) and, most probably, be back on duty (read: on the road again), serving the community. He explained rather, annoyingly, that we need to understand that this rotten cop is actually like all of us. According to 'procedure' the blood tests usually takes from 6-8 weeks to a year to come back and that the court dates, most probably will only be next year June. In fact, the colleagues there, agreed amongst themselves that this is 'a normal accident', the subtext being, nothing will come of this.

I am outraged. I saw it last night at the scene how cynical members of our community remains of the integrity of SAPS. They openly declared that nothing will come of this; that the cops will protect each other and that what happened there is normal. The good people will come nowhere, maintaining their trust in the system. I tried to convince them otherwise, but how can I maintain the lie? How long will I be able to convince people of the integrity of our systems, when they know and have experienced that the powerful, the corrupt will allways win. It's is at this level that Cele, will have to make substantial inroads. If he fails to convince us that his cops are clean, competent professionals, driven by passion and integrity, then all his mafia-type bavado will remain simply that, empty bravado. But, that's not all. More and more people, like the community members on the scene, will start to protect their own, themselves, against the system. They will be left with few choices. This is a scary scenario and one that we certainly would want to prevent. The question is for how long will the people remain victims, for how long will people remain quiet, whilst those who we entrust the responsibility to safeguard our communities, maintain a charade whilst protecting the vile...Its seems there is no question:
Mr Cele, you've got your job cut out: clean up the SAPS !

Plaaswerkers, in die Boland ruk op !

2009-07-28T09:04:00.007+02:00

Ek sien die berig in Die Burger, dat plaaswerkers, oppad is na die parliament. Plaaswerkers, in die Boland, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Wellington, asook die Hexriviervallei, Weskus, Breërivier, Witzenberg, Overberg, Oostenberg, Breedevallei en Swartland is die onsigbare slawe wat die sagtevrugte en wynproduksie van die Weskaap, aan die gang hou. Meer nog: dis hulle wat die skatryk boere, in die Weskaap, se lewenstyl omhoog hou. Naweke, word hulle dan letterlik, in trokke aangery, soos diere en op die straat gegooi, met 'n skrapse hongerloon, en geen uitlaatkleppe nie. Wat is die gevolg: die mense, my mense, 'emerge' uit die landerye, uit die plantasies, gestroop van hul menswees, van hul waardigheid, en haas hulle na die eerste beste 'off-sales', of 'smokkelhuis'. Hulle is gekweek om te werk en leef vir die 'dop'.

Daar is ook diegene wat moedig tot sport en die kerk, hulle toevlug vind. Kerke, floreer in die gemeenskappe, veral die 'handjies-klappende'pinksterkerke. Met 'n hoogs emosionele aanbiddingstyl, vuurwarm en dramatiese predikers, vermaaklike kragtoere, word die diepste behoeftes van hierdie plaasgemeenskappe aanspreek. Die emosionele dwang en vlugtige bekerings, die wonderwerke en die 'kragtige werking van die Heilige Gees' oordeel sommige geleerdes, is maar net nog 'n uitwas van 'n 'pie in die sky' evangelie of 'n 'opium-gedrewe religie'. So is teologiese studente soos ek geleer, God is hier bloot 'n 'projeksie van die menslike psige' (Feuerbach), die produk van menslike begeertes' ens. Tog, maak dit vir die meeste plaaswerkers nie saak wat hierdie slim wit mense, van hulle sê nie. Hulle weet en ervaar wat hier op die plaas aangaan en die pastore, hier by ons, by die 'ope lug', verstaan hulle, meer nog vervul hulle behoeftes en gee hulle waardigheid. Hier, is daar mense wat hulle ernstig opneem en nie beskou as die 'dronk, lui en vuil' nie. Hier kan hulle hulself uitleef en hul eie leefruimte skep.

Daar is maar hier en daar, waar van die gevestigde kerke iets verstaan van die bedieningsbehoeftes van plaaswerkers en toepaslike style ontwikkel. Ek dink ook dat, ongeag die veranderinge in die land, die ANC nie 'n clue het oor die behoeftes van die sektor nie- en hulle daarom nogsteeds afgeskeep is. Waar hulle verstaan word, gebeur dinge en keer hulle, hul wereld om. Dit is egter raar. Die pinksterkerke verstaan baie beter en daarom, maak hulle so 'n groot indruk en verskil. Hulle gee krag aan die mense, krag om 'n verskil te maak, krag om waardig in die wêreld in te stap.

Dit is om hierdie rede dat die opmars (instap) van plaaswerkers, so belangrik is. Erens het hulle krag gekry om op te staan en op te ruk. Ek is hier in die Noorde, maar my hart is in Eikendal, Roulou, Uitkyk, Alto, Liquenda, Devonvalley, Spier, Vlottenburg, tussen die mense. Ek kom van die plaas af en staan met hulle teen hul verdukkers. Maar meer nog, ek is oortuig dat God saam met hulle 'march'.

Mag die stryd voortgaan !

On The Life and times of Bill Jardine, by Chris van Wyk of Riverlea

2009-07-25T14:53:00.013+02:00

I just finished 'Now listen here: The Live and Times of Bill Jardine', by renowned author from Riverlea, Chris van Wyk. From the moment go I gobbled up, the over 200 pages, enthralled by the way in which van Wyk draw pictures, weave aromas and emotions, through his words. It was almost a state of nirvanah,for me. Enough of trying to emulate van Wyk. I like the book.

van Wyk gives in another interview with Litnet a glimpse of his soul. He states,

'A few years before Shirley I wrote a biography (entitled Now Listen Here) of one Bill Jardine, an ANC activist who lived in Riverlea. In order to write Bill’s life story I interviewed dozens of people in Riverlea. The stories were so incredibly interesting that I continued to do the interviews even after I had finished writing the biography. So interesting, in fact, that I became almost obsessed with it. I became a kind of stalker of oupas and oumas, looking out for someone to interview everywhere I went. I now have in my possession dozens of cassettes crammed with stories which I can use in any creative way I like. And I strongly recommend that all writers in this country embark on a similar exercise. Apart from enriching one’s own writing, it is crucial that ordinary people, who in many cases did not believe they were part of our history, tell their stories.'

The African Book centre states of this book,

A biography of Bill Jardine telling the story of his childhood in Johannesburg and the formation of his beliefs to his adult political activism. Index,gloss, bib, b/w illus, 263pp, SOUTH AFRICA. STE, PUBLISHERS, 1919855084.

But this is much more then that. This book, like van Wyk states, is about people, 'ordinary people', who make history. it is the grit and gut struggle of making people's history, of creating a strong sense of identity, a strong self-hood, of pride, nurturing subjects, who will take life into their own hands- who think for themselves and act accordingly.

In a sense, this is also the story of Bill Jardine. Van Wyk tells the story of a coloured man from 'Fietas', who raised himself, his family and community up to walk tall and look any-one in the eye. His humble background, the obstacles of institutional racism, in the sport which was so close to his heart, rugby, did not deter Jardine to excel and to leave a legacy, for generations to come. He had to make difficult decisions, many times in the face of the brutal assault from the white regime, many times at the expence of his family-life, and fiendships, to unite South Africans, espescially through rugby. There are two anecdotes, which remains with me.

In the early to middle 80's black sport was to a large degree dictated by the SACOS slogan, 'No normal sport in an abnormal situation'. In this context however, more and more calls were made to 'normalise' sport from being an endorsement of the apartheid ideology. These anti-apartheid ideological positions was to a large degree dictated by the movements pushing for non-collaboration, yet, for some, it did not move beyond mere rhetoric. I remember that in our communities, the sport was well-organised, in our local clubs, and schools, from local up to national level. Yet, it was seperated. It was in this context that people like Jardine and others, from the rugby frateral (SARU) started, in consultation with the UDF, and later the MDM, pushed for non-racial sport (unity), under the banner of the National Sports Council (NSC). This paved the way for our re-admittance to international competition and, like we allways say: the rest is history. We enjoy the fruit.

Another story was how, in 1995, the then president Nelson Mandela instructed Jardine and the NSC to leave the Springbok as national rugby symbol, as a gesture of goodwill, for the sake of reconciliation. Van Wyk vividly tells how 'Uncle Bill' Jardine, literally in tears, asked the policy conference of the NSC to respect the instruction from the President. A few weeks after that, Louis Luyt, then president of SARFU, took the government to court and the same President Nelson Mandela was humiliated, when he was sapoenaed to appear in the dock.

This book not only presents deep insights in the anti-apartheid, struggles of rugby in the then Transvaal, it also take us into the colourful, yet up to now, invisible world and traumatic, yet resilient journeys of Johannesburg's coloured communities. Yet, it is a book of hope, a book that give birth to a new 'self-believe', that, indeed they are part of history. It's then so tragic then that recently the nomination of Jardine's son, Neville, as the next, possibly the first coloured president of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, was simply sweeped from the table. I guess, the struggle continues, as it was in the life and the times of Bill Jardine, as it is now, with hope...

Let Kaka be.....long.

2009-07-23T01:01:00.013+02:00

Kaka, one of the world's richest and best soccerplayers, from Brazil, often brandish a t-shirt stating that, actually, he belongs to Jesus. I suppose all his soccerwealth, as well. I recently twumbled across an article, retweeted by Dollabrand, in a Danish newspaper, where apparently pressure is put on him and the rest of his Brazilian team, by the Danish Football federation, to stop it. They should stop telling the world who they belong to.

Danish, according to my scant knowledge of the ways of the world, are famous for a kind of a sweetened pastry called a 'Danish', but also for publishing some offensive, cartoons mocking Islam. Their soccer-team, however remain nowhere close to the Brazilians at all. I suppose focusing on the religious affiliations and t-shirts that some team members wear after the game, would be their best chance at scoring any goal against the Brazilians. Perhaps, the Danish Secretary-General Jim Stjerne Hansen should try to focus on soccer and, of course, baking and exporting those sweet pastries.

The issue is however deeper. Its well-known that the Bokteam, bended their knees on the field, on two occasions after winning the William-Webb Ellis trophy. No-one said a word. Yet, recently, our very own successful rugby-coach, in the aftermath of scoring an historic series win over the British and Irish Lions, seemingly, were also 'asked' amongst other things, to refrain from speaking religion. His words, many times littered with biblical quotes and his own pop theology, seemingly affects the game. It's seems as if Hansen's statement summaries this trend of attacking the faith of sports people. Hansen (the Dane) explains: "Personally I do not think that sport and religion should be mixed to such a degree that we more or less see a manifestation of a religious stance..."

Many successful sportspeople, however, drive themselves in many different ways to their ultimate performance or to a life of discipline, which gives them the edge over competition. Some of the world's foremost super athletes, in this quest, nurture a deep religious commitment and seemingly 'it works for them' or it sustains them through the 'lows'. That is hopefully not in dispute.

What some find objectionable is the where they make these deepest commitments and most probably (for them!) their secrets to success, known to the world. It is at this point where they should remain, in the closet, where they should simply shut up and play, not pray (!).

Whilst some of these advocates, still builds their argument on a modernist ideological view which separates personal faith from public commitments, most people, these days, would subscribe to a position of tolerance and plurality. Whether a person adheres to no specific faith or religious system or whether they are devout believers, what matters most is how they live their lives, amongst a diversity of people, but more so, how they perform to the best of their abilities. If on any of these two levels, sports people are failing and becomes offensive, because of their faith, I would be the first to call for their silencing. As far, as Kaka and co, Peter de Villiers and his 'Mighty Men', Victor, Luke, Brian H, Bakkies, etc are concerned, my observation is that they remain heroes and welcoming to all, irrespective of still being overtly religious.

So, my suggestion to the Danish would be to just let them be...long, whilst, doing themselves and the world a favour by focusing on their game (and, of course, those sweet delicacies!)

Statements of DRC and URCSA on Belhar Confession

2009-07-22T00:07:00.005+02:00

Translated statement from the Dutch Reformed Church:
*The Moderamen feels that Southern Africa has in more ways then one reached a cross road.
* The Moderamen confirms the conviction that the Church in a time like this, must be directed by the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, the prophetic voice of the one and catholic (Algemene/ general) Christian Church as it came to us throughout the centuries, as well as the formulations as it is expressed in die confessions of the church.
* In light of this, the Moderamen of the General Synod in line with decisions of the General Synod of 1998 and 2004, accepts the Word of God, the Three formulas of Unity and the content of the Belhar Confession as guideline for our decisions and actions.
*We are convinced that our existing confessions still express the essential truths of our faith in a comprehensive and conclusive manner.
* We are convinced that the Belhar Confession expresses crucial truths, which give to us Biblical guidelines to approach the important contextual challenges of our day in a Biblically responsible way. We accept the Belhar Confession as a gift to guide us on this way.
* At the same time we hope that a serious conversation about confessional issues can be held in the near future to discuss the current functioning of our existing confessions.

This was translated from the following Afrikaans statement:

Die Moderamen van die Algemene Sinode en die inhoud van die Belydenis van Belhar
* Die Moderamen voel aan dat Suider-Afrika in meer as een opsig by ‘n kruispad gekom het.
* Die Moderamen bevestig die oortuiging dat die kerk in ‘n tyd soos hierdie gerig moet word deur die Skrif, die Heilige Gees, die profetiese stem van die een heilige en algemene Christelike kerk soos wat dit deur die eeue na ons toe kom, asook formuleringe soos dit veral tot uitdrukking kom in kerklike belydenisse.
* In die lig hiervan aanvaar die Moderamen van die Algemene Sinode, in lyn met die Algemene Sinode-besluite van 1998 en 2004, die Woord van God, die Drie Formuliere van Eenheid en die inhoud van die Belydenis van Belhar as rigsnoer vir ons besluite en optrede.
* Ons is oortuig daarvan dat ons bestaande belydenisse steeds die kernwaarhede van ons geloof op omvattende en beslissende wyse verwoord.
* Ons is oortuig daarvan dat die Belydenis van Belhar kernwaarhede verwoord wat aan ons Bybelse riglyne verskaf om van die belangrikste kontekstuele uitdagings van ons dag op Bybels-verantwoordbare wyse tegemoet te gaan. Ons aanvaar die Belydenis van Belhar as ‘n gawe om ons as gids op dié pad te begelei.
* Terselfdertyd hoop ons dat ‘n ernstige gesprek oor belydenisaangeleenthede in die nabye toekoms gevoer sal word om onder meer die huidige funksionering van ons bestaande belydenisskrifte te bespreek.

The reponse of the URCSA is as follows:

We, the Moderamen of URCSA, took note that the Moderamen of the DRC declared that the Belhar Confession
1) express fundamental truths on some of the key challenges of the day;
2) accepts the Belhar Confession as a gift to guide them on these matters.

We also took note of the lack of advocacy in the said statement that the Belhar Confession should be part of the confessional basis of the re-united church.

Therefore we reaffirm our decisions of the General Synod of 2008 and our commitment to assist the DRC and other churches on the study of the value and importance of Belhar Confession, as a confession. in a re-united church and the acceptance thereof.

(Decided at Moderamen meeting-13 July 2009)

Voortrekker monument- feel the magic

2009-07-21T22:56:00.006+02:00

I visited the Voortrekker monument, today and worked (struggled) again through it all: the history, the symbolism and the power, the drama, the art..is too much. That place has some serious power (spell) over me...

Maybe people don't go there anymore, only tourists. I honestly don't know. I also took a Dutch tourist there. What I do know is that the aura of that space is seriously spiritual(?), daunting, intimidating and unnerving. It's like a shrine, a holy place, with all the spiritual, biblical and theological trappings, mixed with a people's story, identityconstruction, mythmaking, creating lifeworld, etc.

But then, it is also violent, crude, painful, yet, its real. It's history, part of our history, my history, my story, my blood.

Whether I want it or not.. it's there. But what are we to do with it ?

Jonathan Jansen belowe een jaar van transformasie by Kovsies

2009-07-19T20:45:00.009+02:00

Ek moet erken, ek is nie 'n Jonathan Jansen 'fan' nie. Ek het hom by verskeie geleenthede ervaar as bombasties en arrogant. Sy onlangse grootse belofte, dat ons Kovsies, oor 'n jaar nie sal herken nie, kan dalk teen die agtergrond verstaan word. Daar is egter meer aan Jansen. En miskien is dit hier waar my hoop lê. Hy is nie bang vir 'n uitdaging nie en sy assosiasie met Kovsies spreek daarvan. Miskien is dit juis wat nodig is vir 'n 'Vry'-staat.

Baie 'Black consciousness insiders' of selfs 'Charterists' wonder soms in die binnekringe, waar Prof Jansen sy sg 'struggle-credentials' vandaan gekry het. Miskien beskou hy homself selfs as 'n 'exile', aangesien hy in die buiteland was toe die land gebrand het. Miskien maak dit nie saak nie. Wat bo twyfel is, hier en in die buiteland, is die feit dat hy homself akademies en in sy bestuur by Tukkies, onderskei het as 'n opvoedkundige wat respek verdien. Hyself, dink ek, sou selfs 'n goeie saak daarvoor wou uitmaak dat die obsessie met 'struggle-credentials', juis een van die grootste struikelblokke is vir akademiese prestasie. Oor hierdie kwessie sal ek nou nou ingaan nie. Wat wel belangrik is, is dat Prof Jansen, 'n uitnemende akademikus, 'n besondere stuk geskiedenis en daarom invalshoek bring in die landskap van akademiese leierskap, in die Vrystaat en in die land.

Kovsies, word meer en meer gesien, as 'n sleutel tersiêre instelling, vir studente, uit die sentrale provinsies, asook die Noord-Kaap en ek sou dink, Namibië. Die besondere ontwikkelingsvraagstukke, die unieke uitdagings vir fundamentele transformasie daar, sou kritiese aandag, in die instelling verg. Dit sou selfs 'n nis vir Kovsies vestig, vir nasionale en internasionale belangstelling. Die gewraakte tragiese voorval verlede jaar, het egter die mislukte pogings tot transformasie, deur die bestaande bestuur, kru aan die wêreld bekendgestel. Dit was jammer, maar was dalk nodig om juis uit te wys dat nie enige vorm van transformasie vir ons sal help nie. Prosesse van transformasie, asook die voorveronderstellings en vertrekpunte moet gewoon ook onder die loep bly. Miskien is dit juis die unieke wat Jansen tot hierdie uitdaging bring, miskien is dit juis in sy persoon en geskiedenis dat hy sy belofte gestand kan doen.

Dit sou, na my oordeel dus wys wees om die ontwikkelings by Kovsies fyn dop te hou. Op verskeie ander tradisioneel Afrikaner instellings, was daar ook groot beloftes en waagmoedige aanstellings en prosesse. Nie almal wat transformasie en verandering praat, praat dieselfde taal nie, en het dieselfde uitkoms in die oog nie. Ek wil egter waag om Prof Jansen my mosie van vertroue te gee, vir nou.... Miskien moet ons weer oor 'n jaar gesels... maar onthou net asseblief dit: ek is nie en sal ook nie dan goeie 'fan' materiaal wees nie.

Madiba day, no holiday ?

2009-07-17T13:22:00.002+02:00

I put my vote amongst those who say, no holiday.

Madiba Day celebrates the service and sacrifice of one of the key leaders in the struggle against apartheid, a struggle for humanity, for dignity. I also appreciate the legacy of Mr Nelson Mandela, and the role he played in the transition towards democracy, since his release from prison. Its impossible to pay him back, or any other political prisoner, who spend decades in jail, for a South Africa free from apartheid. We may draw strength and inspiration from his example that human beings, normal, fallible as we are, can make a difference. Through service, dedication to values of humanity, compassion and justice, but also through struggle, through hard work, we can make a change.

Today, we still face new challenges, as a nation, as the world. We have not yet been able to stem the tide of violence, of racism, but also the scourge of poverty, illiteracy and disease. We still reel under the impact of unfair discrimination and the demonisation of people, who are different from us. The road to freedom is still under construction and a lot of hard, tireless effort still await us. My view is simple: we can only celebrate the legacy of the great humanitarian leaders like Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jnr, Aung San Suu Kyi, mother Theresa, etc, when we, ourselves get up and out of our comfort and join the messy struggles of peoples in the streets, on the farms and in the hell-holes, we hide from the tourists' gaze.

It would be contrary to what these people stood for, and some died for, if another day of rest, of going to the mall and spending our money on popcorn and coke is called. Let's keep on struggling for a new day, for and with all of humanity and the earth. There is more work to be done !

re-imaging ourselves in New Zealand, and South Africa today

2009-07-16T10:21:00.005+02:00

I listened yesterday to David Tutti, a New Zealander, a Kiwi, a Pakeha ( he would call himself!) on re-imaging God. Tutti, a social justice trainer, argues that people will only change when their image of God change. Of course, I wondered, whether God still matters, in a secularised context like New Zealand/Aotearoa.

For Tutti, we need a pedagogy for the priviledged, where, in terms of his context, Pakeha, are accepted and respected, i.e. provided a safe space to experiment with their own re-imaging, the re-imaging of their identity. In this process, immersion and exposure to the other, to different lifeworlds are critical, as well as emotional support for dealing with the discomfort, unease and trauma of letting go of old, obsolete gods and worldviews.

Of course, in many ways, New Zealand and South Africa share the same deep-settlement history and the quest for new self-images is unleashed upon us all, in the context of new colonialisms. How does one provide space for those who do honestly search for some life-affirming image that can only be imagined, in the midst of a re-entrenchment of older images, which manifest itself on so many new sophisticated ways. The article of Xolela Mangcy, in today's Business Day illustrates the ways in which we are vulnerable to keep the old gods alive, or even the ways we are pushed to maintain their old order. Indeed, new, creative, but also bold images are needed, maybe a conversion for a new time

Peter de Villiers, you're on your own

2009-07-12T23:46:00.007+02:00

Peter de Villiers het my teleurgestel. Hy het my teleurgestel in sy spankeuses vir die 'squad' teen Namibië, vir die span van die 'Emerging Boks', en uiteindelik het ek nie geweet wat volgende gaan gebeur nie. Die laaste span, en die plaasvervangings was dus, snaaks genoeg, geen verassing nie. Maar, nou wil ek byvoeg. So het Rudolf 'kampstaaldraad', asook Jake White, voor hom, by tye vele van ons verras en teleurgestel. Maar laat ons tog maar ook weer perspektief kry en onsself herinner: ons is nie in die binnekringe van die gesprekke tussen 'coach', agente en spelers nie, ons (ten minste ekself) is geen professionele rugby afrigter wat die fyner tegniese aspekte op 'n daaglikse basis bestudeer, eet en slaap nie, en laatstens, ons elkeen het maar ons eie spesiale, 'besonders begaafde' speler of span. Hierdie uitverkorenes, sit mos nooit 'n voet verkeerd nie, en is, ten minste in ons koppe, 'die beste in die wereld'. Ek het ook 'n paar van hulle... geen name nie, sommige lesers mag dalk naar word.

In elk geval, ek wil nie oor die aspek veel meer uitlaat nie... daaroor spoeg ek gereeld op twitter. Ek wil my eerder uitlaat oor die golf van kritiek teen sy 'media en taal vaardighede', om dit heel diplomaties te stel. Daar is vandag weer 'n 'onderhoud' in 'n Afrikaanse Sondagkoerant, waar de Villiers, op 'n fyn, voorbedagde wyse, uitgehang word en uitgevang word, tot groot genot van lesers en die skielike taalpuriste onder die rugbypubliek. Die meerderheid van Afrikaanse kommentaar op die rubriek, eis Peter se kop. Hy is volgens die kenners, 'n 'verleentheid' vir hulle en vir Suid Afrika se rugby en daarom is dit ook genoeg getuienis dat hy deur die ANC aangedra is en as 'kwota' aanstelling, natuurlik totaal onbevoeg is vir die pos. Die argument loop min of meer so: hy worstel met Engels, hy worstel om homself teenoor joernaliste uit te druk, daarom is hy onbevoeg as rugby afrigter.

Die vraag is, wat skuil agter hierdie ooglopende drogredenasie? Dis eenvoudig: die aandag van die publiek, word hier fyn en baie effektief, weggelei van sy prestasies op die veld, van die ondersteuning en respek wat hy kennelik, onder die huidige Springbok spelers geniet, van sy prestasies op junior vlakke, m.a.w. sy bewese baanrekord. Terwyl Suid-Afrikaanse rugby, destyds onder die presidentskap van Brian van Rooyen en nou Oregin Hoskins, op die kruin van die golf is op die veld, en terwyl die spel onder verskeie gemeenskappe veld wen, maar SARU ook in die internasionale arena hoog aangeskryf is, word daar, doelbewus en meedoenloos, verkies om op ander aspekte soos op sy snor, sy stem, sy privaatlewe, sy geloofsverstaan, sy Engels, sy Afrikaans, en so kan ons aangaan, te fokus, met die doel om die huidige afrigter as belaglik af te maak. As ons eerlik is, sal ons moet erken dat dit duidelik was van die begin af, dat die Afrikaanse media hom geen kans sou gun vir sukses nie. Vanaf die eerste aankondiging, as die 'eerste swart Springbok afrigter', was die lyne getrek en was hy voëlvry. Hierdie aankondiging was 'n oorlogsverklaring.

Maar dis nie al nie. Wat verder gebeur het, was dat daar op opportunistiese wyse, kragte saamgesnoer is met die Britse afrigtingspan en die Britse media, toe die geleentheid hom voordoen, om ons afrigter sielkundig by te kom en sy selfvertroue en selfwaarde te vernietig. Wat het gebeur? Die Britte se gesoute afrigtingspan en string veteraan joernaliste het effektief saamgespan na die reeksnederlaag meestervol maar ook karaktervol geklink is op Loftus Versveld, om die impak te neutraliseer en die grootsheid van die oomblik, in ons onlangse rugbygeskiedenis, te ondermyn. Hul reaksie was te verwagte. Hulle strategie was, met die oog op die derde toets, om Peter de Villiers, een van die sleutels in ons huidge sukses, te teiken en sy beeld in die openbare oog te vernietig. Hy moes geteken word as totaal onbeholpe en dom, 'n karikatuur wat baie subtiel die spot dryf met sy sogenaamde 'kwota-aanstelling'. Hy is 'n hanswors van SA rugby en ons almal moet saamlag. Die tragiese is, dat ons eie magtige Afrikaanse media, hier, by die Britte, die gaping gesien het om verder vir Peter de Villiers bespotlik te maak en te isoleer, in 'n poging om hom finaal uit die weg te ruim. Dit gaan egter hier nie bloot oor vermaaklikheid nie of die derde toets nie. Peter de Villiers se aanvanklike aanstelling is die teiken en binne die groter prent, was dit die ideale geleentheid om aan te gryp, en 'n paar punte te aan te teken. Dit gaan hier om dieper belange as die viering van 'n Suid Afrikaanse suksestorie en om daardeur die moraal van ons land te lig. Peter de Villiers, geteken as simbool van regstellende aksie, en boonop nog 'n self-erkende lid van die ANC, mag nie suksesvol wees nie.

Waar laat dit vir my ? Dit laat my as gewone passievolle, Bok ondersteuner, in 'n moeilike dilemma: aan die een kant is ek ook krities op sekere van sy rugby besluite, ek vind sommige van sy sêgoed uiters snaaks. Tog geniet ek ook sy mens-wees, is gefasineer deur sy popteologie, en sien ek niks fout daarmee om dit uit te wys en daarmee krities om te gaan nie. Ek is seker daarvan dat de Villiers ook daarmee kan saamleef. Aan die ander kant, kan ek myself nie skaar by die kru, bittere aftakeling van die grootse prestasies en die besondere unieke karakter van Peter de Villiers, ons afrigter, die afgelope paar weke nie. Ek vra myself: waar is die Bokke se media en openbare betrekkinge spesialiste wat vir die ware Peter de Villiers moet praat. Ek is nogsteeds diep beïndruk met die waardes wat hy nastreef en die voorbeeld wat hy is in ons land en breer, in besonder vir jong mans asook die hardebaarde in ons gemeenskappe.

Daarom is wat hier gebeur, ongelukkig niks nuut nie en herinner ek my onwillig aan iemand anders wat op 'n stadium vir ons gewaarsku het, 'black man, you're on your own'. Maar dan dink ek, of te wel, dan antwoord ek so half skuldig vir myself, 'maar die dinge het mos verander..' of 'die stryd is mos afgehandel...'. Todat, ek die dagblaaie oopslaan, dit in my ma se taal lees, en tot die pynlike besef kom, PdV, you're (still!) on your own....

Michael Jackson's memorial: spirituality, human-ness and popculture.

2009-07-08T14:27:00.003+02:00

Fascinating, intriguing, moving... what else ? How can one describe the Michael Jackson Memorial? Is it significant for churches and Christians to ponder over this question?

CNN suggest that this memorial was in the class of Diana Spencer-Windsor's funeral, or the JFK-assassination or the landing on the moon. Given the traffic on Twitter and Facebook, the audience, was huge and highly significant in pop culture. Social commentators call Michael, the King of Pop (I've reflected on his significance,in a post February, last year) and the pastor, who closed the memorial with prayer, said: (paraphrased) 'The King of Pop will now have to bow to the King of Kings'. How are we to assess this mixture of pop culture and spirituality. This is a much deeper question, which needs a lot of research, but the Memorial yesterday, provides an opportunity to make some comments.

The memorial brought home a few random thoughts:
1) Jackson (as with all these celebrities, who spoke last night) was a human being, exceptional in many ways, but also flawed and dependent on God.
2) For many, he was simply a brother, son, father, a friend...Michael Joseph Jackson, MJJ not MJ, an 'icon', 'legend', hypertext image, a 'sex symbol', etc.
3) Seemingly, the music industry own these people.It seems as if they create pop products, mirages of eternal youth, of sensuality and power, which they sell for billions. We all buy these 'products' and never ask the deeper questions about the tortured souls and broken bodies that are hidden behind the plastic. We often glare into their lives, and with contempt spew at any indication of being like us, fallible and weak. We expect them to live up to the dream, whether they are on stage or not.
4) The 'Michael Jackson' phenomenon and following on the previous point, the brand, like 'Elvis Presley', 'Marvin Gaye' and 'The Beatles', amongst others will live on and continue to rake in the millions.
5) These pop products will continue to shape different generations...
6) It shaped and will continue to shape inter-racial relations even to the point of creating a 'post-racial' context.
7) The world looks for healing, one-ness; not essentialist identities, but love, etc
etc.... not institutional politics or powergames. They look for glorious mirages of healing, hope and human-ness.

These things, I think may have a bearing on how we share the gospel, today. Maybe, Michael Jackson has done more for a post-racial America, then her churches or maybe this pop product, is a dangerous delusion, a false prophet, of sorts.

Yet, last night I realized that deep down, I feel compassion for the people behind the glove. Because maybe, I have my own little gloves, which hide the real self. In this memorial, last night, we've seen, and felt (!) glimpses of the vulnerability, of the human-ness, that we all share.

We never knew the real Michael Joseph Jackson, the son, brother, uncle, friend, which is fine. We cannot know every one. But we may pray, in our common human-ness, may you rest in peace, brother, and may your family find comfort and consolation, by the power of the Holy Spirit...

postcolonial church (2)

2009-07-06T22:23:00.005+02:00

I found a speech by Tinyiko Maluleke, entitled, a Postcolonial (South) African church: Problems and Promises, which he apparantly presented a year ago (2008), at the annual Desmond Tutu lecture. This was an unedited version, yet it may take us deeper in Maluleke's thinking on postcoloniality and the church. Whilst he is not fulltime, involved in academic work anymore, his recent (26 June 2009) invitation to present a keynote address at the Joint theological conference, of all the theological societies in the region, celebrating Stellenbosch University's 150 years of theology, suggests that he is still, one of the foremost African thinkers, in South Africa and African theology (possibly the world?).

In the Tutu lecture, on the postcolonial (South African) church, Maluleke starts by sharing his experience, possibly last year, on a radio show where listener after listener tormented him with their scathing critique of the Christian church. The essence of their critique was that the church remains 'in bed with government', like the previous white, missionary, colonial churches; also that the church was the repressentation of a 'foreign and culpable religion' and that this role was perpetuated, even in the 'new South Africa'. Here, he surmised, that some callers confronted him, with the challenge that decolonization should go hand in hand with dechristianization and that African's full liberation means, a return to the religion of their forefathers and mothers. Lastly, the charge of the callers were, that black theologians suffered from a 'massive religious false consciousness', in that they fool themselves to think that they can 'dismantle' the master's house, with the 'master's tools'. How can middle class, patriarchal institutions ever deal with the power-imbalances, these callers seem to ask.

Ironically, Maluleke surmises that his callers, were actually calling for the church to take their proper place, yet as vulnerable, human, open to critique, giving hope prophetically. He recalls an incident with Prof Kader Asmal, last year (2008) who simply dismissed the possibility that religion could still play any role in protecting human rights (given our track record). His response is noteworthy.

I restrained myself because it is my view that we churches need a different set of strategies than the ones we have been using. To begin with we need to listen deeply to the criticisms – even the cruelest of these. We need to hear the message and the message behind the message. As churches, we need to take responsibility not merely for this particular phase in the history of the church; not only for the history of our church denominations; but for both our good and our bad legacies.

After delving into the reasons behind the current absence of the church, Maluleke then goes into his understanding of the 'postcolonial thing'. He suggest three understandings.
1) the entire world today is postcolonial..'both the great grand children of former colonialists and those of the colonised have to make sense of a world, which is deeply marked, albeit differently, by colonialism';
2)some put the emphasis on 'post', as if colonialism is something of the past;
3) others understand the 'post' as something 'since', which acknowledge of the 'continuing impact of colonialism after the fact'.

In alligning himself with the later, he then states, working (again) with the analysis of Achille Mbembe of Cameroon,

The tyranny of the postcolony is intimate – it binds the powerful and the powerless together in one destiny until they are convinced that the choice they have is one of either staying together, going up together or doing down together. I want to suggest that the church in a postcolony is one of the first victims, purveyors and theatres of the (violent) power of the state.

How does the church escape this collusion? Maluleke suggests the following:
1) listen the critique from ordinary people and the call for moral leadership,
2) the church need to

'get off the 'Apartheid is dead bandwagon, because, no, Apartheid is not dead. We need to see it in its latest guises and its latest mutations. When 60% of our population still lives in poverty then Apartheid is not dead.....When millions in our country still die needlessly and prematurely of preventable, curable and manageable diseases then we know that Apartheid is not dead. The church must wake up to the fact that Apartheid is not dead, it is here among us; here and there it may have replaced blacks with Zimbabweans and whites with BEE blacks, here and there, but the evil system is alive in our midst.'

3) Face up to the fact that 'one of the distinct features of the new South Africa is the manner in which, as the media tells us again and again, African policemen are authorized or encouraged to arrest fellow African for looking too African, for being dressed too African and for sounding too African and too black.'
4) The church will have to confess that the notion of 'critical solidarity' with government was a 'monstrous error' which has caused much death and mayhem...'

Let us confess the sin of critical solidarity. Let us confess this post-Apartheid heresy. The government need no solidarity, critical or non critical, from nobody.

5) the church need to get down from the elite position and walk with the people again,
6) the church need to be faithful,not hegemony, not what she cannot be...
7) the church need to deal with the crisis and models of leadership and power, and 8)the church need to offer South African and the world, faith, imagination, that things can change.

As I read Maluleke's speech, there seems evidently, given the context in the second part of last year, a deeper awareness of the vulnerabilities of the church's responses. It seems as if he is conscious of the fact that the church, even the prophetic black church, have colluded with the elitetransition, which we all called 'rainbow' nation. A church with such a consciousness, or even vulnerability may be better placed to exlore self-transformation, prompted by the Spirit.

xenophobic hell for black Zimbabweans not over yet

2009-07-04T17:50:00.005+02:00

In the middle of a bitter, bitter cold winter, in Johannesburg, the weather seems to be the least of their concerns. This time its officialdom and who they serve, which make life for Zimbabwean (and other African) refugees, a living hell!

The South African police (SAPS) and the Metro police in Johannesburg, this weekend again targeted poor refugees, in particular those who are desperately seeking shelter in and around the Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg. Easy prey, as they flock to this church in the hope of escaping another living hell, under Mugabe. Apparantly, SAPS and Metro police pounced upon these destitude for the serious offence of 'loitering' and 'sleeping on the pavements'. According to an article in News 24, these violent actions and arrests have been condemned by the Legal Resources Centre and Lawyers for Human Rights (statement), confirmed by doctors from Medesines Sans Frontires. In a joint statement LHR and LRC say,

The City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Provincial Government have been aware of the predicament of the people living in and around the church for well over a year. Despite undertaking to provide shelter for these people, we understand that the government authorised the unlawful police action to arrest them. The only crime they have committed is to be destitute and without shelter

These human rights organisations, then call upon SAPS to immediately release the detainees, but also to the

'City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Provincial Government to urgently deliver on their undertaking to provide basic shelter to the people seeking refuge at the Central Methodist Church (sic).'

.

These attacks on refugees fleeing the hell of Zimbabwe, is not an isolated incident that sometimes flare up and South Africans should not act surprise. Our criminal justice system should prioritise serious violent crime, instead of spending much-needed resources pretending to be 'fighting crime'. Their most recent actions last night, feed into the suspiscion that our public institutions are still being used to protect the powerful and the elite. The vulnerable sectors in our society are institutionally being singled out, 'other-fied' and demonised, as the new menace to be fought and stamped out. In an article, on xenophobia, migrant labour, and the role of the church, Dr Genevieve James from Unisa, in a publication on theology, development and ethics, From Our side, states that way before the much publicised xenophobic attacks in that shameful, bloody May last year, our various institutions were key agents of xenophobia. She names the South African government’s Home Affairs Department, the media, the South African Police Services and then what she calls “the South African public at large” who blames, create and tell urban myths and jokes that “belittle” and “blame”, but also that unleash “verbal and physical abuse” and start “all-out wars against migrant communities” (James 2008:67-68).

Pumle Dineo Gqodla, in Go Home or die here (2008:211) concurs, but is more scathing in her analysis,

'Unless South Africans are an exceedingly naïve nation, it is not possible to be ignorant of how we arrived at a point where Ernesto Nhamuave could be burnt alive for being ‘foreign’. Even a cursory glance at South African society a few years ago would throw up the ways in which, progressive Constitution notwithstanding, there are ‘throw away’ people. These are people who do not matter, whose humanity, once successfully misrecognised, renders them safe to violate. Such people range in the South African public eye from poor people of various sorts who can be nameless ‘victims’ of violence, farm workers in remote parts of the country and Black lesbians against whom a consistent war is waged, to immigrants from the African continent.

So, here I stand and I join the chorus condeming the latest attack on these poor, black refugees from Zimbabwe and renew the call for our government instead, to provide services to these asymumseekers, to the desperately poor, otherwise, it seems as if their hell is not over yet.

postcolonial church

2009-06-18T12:54:00.005+02:00

A lot have been said recently about the postcolonial church. This time I, unfortunately, missed Amahoro (again), but also had some interesting and (difficult)conversations about postcolonial church, mission, etc, amongst others, in a bar in Utrecht. Let me maybe make a few scattered, uneasy (?)comments, maybe in dialogue with my friends in the Amahoro conversation(or maybe just on my own!)
1) Postcolonial mission or church for some, is an oxymoron-certainly not easy bedfellows. Missionary Christianity was inherently colonial, invasive, violent. It created people who don't speak truth to power, especially, it created christians, who are nice and warm, who know the lingo, but are afraid to speak the truth. It destroyed sense of self, because it destroyed our archives, of a proud culture. What is our culture ? From a bruin perspective, I have to say in my mothertongue: dit was nie bloot die vernedering vanaf christen sendelinge nie, dit was die vernietiging van 'n selftrots in ons geskiedenis, in ons voorouers, in wie ons is, wat die diepste tref. Colonial mission/ colonial churches destroyed a history of pride, in our forbears and left many with shame and self-hate. This is why the assertion from black consciousness: 'black is beautiful' was such an liberating act.
2) the church is for many thinkers in our community- a place of submission, of stooping low, being reminded of inferiority, being dirty, sinful. Many intellectuals find conversations on mission (espescially when it is still only whites speaking) absolutely irrelevant. Maybe 'irrelevant' is not even the right word. Too soft. Maybe the word is absurd, deluded. Unless we engage these angry, honest voices and are confronted with the depth of the divide, we'll be fooling ourselves. When I spoke to people about the gathering, inviting themm there was a blank silence: why still bother- get on with what is relevant for the real Southern African context, was many a response...
3) Tinyiko Maluleke wrote an article on Postcolonial Mission: Oxymoron or new Paradigm, in 2007. Uncomforting and uncompromisingly black theology in ferment! He also wrote something on the postcolonial church ( I will come back later on this one !)
In 'Oxymoron or New Paradigm', he explains:
'The 'postcolony' does not denote that the colony is no more; rather postcolonial studies are a study of the interface, interaction and dialectic between postcolony and colony. Postcolony does not mean ‘after colonialism’ but rather ‘since colonialism’. Whilst he (Tinyiko) is generally positive of the poco/theology dialogue he is also critical. He states, '[in postcolonial theory] little has been done in terms of hardnose analysis of the postcolony as the material space where colonial and postcolonial strivings compete, coalesce, multiply, clash, mutate, reinvent, connive and materialise.
He propose the postcolony (Mbembe) as a key lense to 'see' the Africa. He states, "From my point of view, in order to properly consider Africa and African countries it is necessary to critically delve into Western history and the theories that claim to interpret it(510)… the othering of Africa is not merely about Africa, it is also about the West."
The possibility of postcolonial mission is linked to addressing the reality of a frightening God-image that still haunts the postcolony, but also the overcoming of the invented history of the colonised. Can it ever be overcome ?

Another name is Musa Dube, who are recognised as one of the key African thinkers on post-colonial theory and African (feminist)theology. Both of them, I found to be deeply wonderful Christians, but also speaking the truth in difficult uncomfortable ways. There are easy blacks who are cool to know and quote, then there are those uncomfortable blacks, whom you don't know what's coming. It seems to me that unless we hear these, we will remain trapped in colonial power relations, where only certain groups remain in charge.
3) Then there is the issue of land. This is one of those issues we should not talk about in christian circles- property and wealth. (Maybe only when we were blessed by it)I hear Paul Verryn saying that churches own probably a the largest chunk of land in SA (in a context of homelessness and refugees!) I dont have the figures, what I do know is that the land-issue, buildings, properties will haunt us, unless it is faced head-on.

Of course, this is simply some of my own agony and struggles with being authentically a christian and being part of church, born and messed up by colonialism and (still!) steeped in foreign culture..

Faith seeking action

2009-06-03T13:33:00.005+02:00

Can churches really change their world ? Often this question is asked, especially where church communities and religious people have publically colluded with evil. The rest of us would walk away: I am not part of 'that' church. I am not like that, at all. Deep down we however know, that something else, more sinister is at work within us.. a faith or understanding of faith that wants to hide our fears and interest. What the world need is communities who, are willing to let go of these securities and lead people into lives of faith, real faith in the real world.

I listened to Greg Leffel today, where he is arguing for churches, to humble themselves and listen more. In his recent book, Faith Seeking Action, he suggest, what he calls a missio-ecclesiology (new understanding of church and mission), which takes a lead from social movements. Social movements are those like Treatment Action Campaign, Jubilee 2000, Making Poverty History, 46664, etc. This, for him is the place where social change is taking place, not government meetings, or a tent-'veldtog'.

In a time, where the voices of those faith communities that struggled against apartheid, have gone silent, in spite of growing inequalities and the fact that we live in a deeply violent society, maybe, our focus have been at the wrong place, maybe we need to look outside to find God, in the streets..

Fleece the fat cats

2009-05-27T09:19:00.006+02:00

Who are the worse hit by the current recession ? Certainly not the contenders for the Champion's League.

Whilst listening to many economists and experts, I wondered who will suffer most. For some it will mean that there will be no bonus (13th or 14th cheque) or that the value of their shares will drop. For others, they loose their jobs. Some experts speaks of another round of possibly 150 000 jobs that will go. For them, it means possibly loosing their income, food, homes, etc.

Zwelinzima Vavi, of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU), have been pushed on radio to call off strikes of workers and do their bit to tighten the belt. His argument is simple: 'fleece the fat cats'. For him, whilst the workers have been steadily, loosing value on their salaries since 1991, the top brass have awarded themselves earnings of close to 150% annually. Whilst this analysis might a bit over the top, there is no question that the level of inequality, over the last 15 years, since 'democracy' has consistently increased between the rich and the poor.

This is a difficult conundrum: on the one hand the need to wipe out the inequality
(after all, that was the point of the struggle, right ?), on the other hand, as a nation, we need to stimulate and sustain economic growth. Indeed, we need each other and, it does not help with our current situation, when we simplistically point fingers. I however think, as a start, we have to at least affirm that it remains blatantly obscene, when those (qualified doctors, teachers, nurses, police officers, etc,) who loose their livelihood, should dampen their cry for life, when, in the same world, others earns and splash 143,438 pounds (per week!) for playing football.. (Here, I am not even referring to the gulf between the mine owners, and the dying miners.) Tonight, whilst we ask the poor to dampen their demands, two soccerclubs, Manchester United and Barcelona play for a prize money of close to 110 million Euro.

What is my point ? Maybe we need to hear Vavi on the real victims of the 'recession'. It seems, at least tonight, in Rome, that the fat cats will become fatter and have a feast...

To Premier Zille: Action speaks louder then words

2009-05-14T14:45:00.002+02:00

I think Hellen Zille and the DA made a strategic mistake by stooping to the level of the Youth League. As premier of the Western Cape, she should remember that she is not anymore sitting in the opposition benches, shooting from the hip, so to speak. Me Zille, or Madam Premier you are now repressenting the office of the provincial government- hence you should trancend shallow and wild accusations and loose statements. I think, It is up to the ruling party to address their youth leaders and they have done that. For all in public office there can only be one advice: Let's get down to business and deliver on your promises.

Go vote and think for yourself

2009-04-21T10:59:00.007+02:00

Its not simply our national duty to go and vote, or even an attempt to stop the magical 'two-thirds majority'; its in a significant way taking responsibility for our future. The question is not whether voting for a smaller party is significant; the question is why we vote for this or that party.

I am going to vote. In fact I am exited to go out and join my fellow-South Africans in queues, For me, this is not insignificant. Its an experience that our people struggled and died for, but also, its an experience that signifies my dignity as a South African. Whilst there might be others who laughs dismissively at the thought of a dignified South Africa, because of various reasons, I am however still proud of what we have achieved and are to achieve, as a nation. I might be aware of the failures of some of our nation's leaders, of the flaws inherent in our electoral system, and yes, I might not be ecstatic about the options. There might still be the dark cloud of, in the words of Mondli Makhanya, that 'darn arms deal': 'the deal that poisoned our souls and turned our heroes into grubby mortals' (in X Mangcu). Yet, I look around me at work and passionately shout and scream for our national teams on the pitch, see how my children embrace the 'new South Africa' with their friends and school-mates and I feel proud. I am proud when media institutions, courts of law, artists may continue to critique and even ridicule party leaders, in an open democracy. When we go out to vote, broadly speaking without fear of violence. I am proud when traveling all over the world, and meet up with other proudly South Africans.

Does this mean that I accept the decay in public accountability, the growing inequalities between the stinking rich and the poor masses, or the newer forms of sophisticated racism and xenophobia that still simmer, under the surface of the 'new South Africa'. Of course not ! Whilst I do speak out and will continue to speak my mind, I also vote. I have the power to register for myself and the world that even though 99,999% might be enchanted simply by the singing and dancing, the paintbrushed photos, the polished images or even the language and choreographed drama re-enacting former liberation movements, me, that 0,00001% will maintain my dignity, my proudly South African dignity, to uphold my constitutional right to think for myself.

Made in China

2009-04-16T15:24:00.002+02:00

One of the weird things about our party politics is the fact that 'our' parties actually belong to foreign powers. 'Our' leaders dread the idea of telling us who pays the piper.

Maybe its time to sing with Eddie Grant, 'I don't wanna dance, dance with you baby, no more'. Apart from the t-shirts, I think the tunes are also 'Made in China'.