my maternal grandfather
the struggle continues, respected Bajee ✌👍✊
Tag Archive: African philosophy
President Nelson Mandela's Inauguration 1994
Madiba lives …
http://mobi.orlandopiratesfc.com/
Orlando Pirates FC, Soweto
Hamba Kahle*, Senzo Meyiwa 1987 – 2014.
My Captain is gone.
Shot dead,
in cold blood,
another senseless killing,
another son of the soil snatched away from us,
leaving us empty,
cold,
desolate.
My Captain is gone.
shot and killed,
my Captain is gone,
leaving a void,
that can never be filled!
Hamba Kahle, my Captain!
Hamba Kahle, Senzo Meyiwa!
May your soul rest in eternal peace.
___________
* – ‘Hamba Kahle’ – lit. – Travel Well, an isiXhosa expression, used especially to bid farewell to a person who has passed away.
_________________
From News24:
Cape Town – Senzo Meyiwa, who was tragically shot dead on Sunday evening, began his football career as a striker for hometown club London Cosmos in Umlazi, Durban in the 1990s.
He soon converted to the goalkeeper position and went on to represent KwaZulu-Natal in the Transnet Under-14 and Coca-Cola Under-17 Inter-Provincial tournaments in 2000 as a 13-year-old. His performances caught the eye of Orlando Pirates scouts, who brought him to the club’s development programme.
After making impressive progress through the youth levels, Meyiwa made his official debut for Orlando Pirates in a 2-1 win over AmaZulu on November 8, 2006.
He was an important part of the Pirates squad that won a famous ‘Double Treble’ in 2010/11 and 2011/12, claiming two MTN8 titles, two Absa Premiership titles, the Telkom Knockout and Nedbank Cup.
In 2013 Meyiwa’s career took a dramatic upswing, as he reclaimed the number one position at Orlando Pirates and was the team’s best player on their epic run to the final of the CAF Champions League, with his heroic performance in the away leg of the second round tie against DR Congo’s TP Mazembe particularly memorable.
He also made his Bafana Bafana debut, coming on as a substitute for Wayne Sandilands at half-time of a 2-0 friendly win over Lesotho in Maseru on June 2, 2013.
In 2014 the goalkeeper continued his rise to prominence, helping Orlando Pirates win the 2014 Nedbank Cup before taking advantage of the injury-enforced absence of close friend and goalkeeping rival Itumeleng Khune to be Bafana Bafana’s first choice goalkeeper for their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches in September and October.
Meyiwa was not only the first choice goalkeeper, but also handed the captain’s armband by new coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba. Inspired by the honour, the Pirates goalkeeper kept four successive clean sheets as South Africa claimed top spot on the standings after four matches and put themselves within touching distance of qualification for the 2015 AFCON.
Meyiwa’s last professional appearance was on Saturday, October 25 at Orlando Stadium as he helped the Buccaneers to a 4-1 victory over Ajax Cape Town in a Telkom Knockout quarter-final.
He was aged 27 years and 32 days upon his death on October 26 in Vosloorus.
Senzo Meyiwa factfile:
Born: September 24, 1987
Place of birth: Umlazi, Durban
Position: Goalkeeper
Former clubs: Orlando Pirates juniors and Yebo Yes United (Pirates reserve team)
Orlando Pirates debut: November 8, 2006, Orlando Pirates 2-1 AmaZulu
Orlando Pirates starts: 157
International honours: Former South Africa U-17, U-20 & U-23 international; 7 Bafana Bafana caps (6 starts, 1 sub)
Bafana Bafana debut: June 2, 2013, Lesotho 0 South Africa 2
Honours: 2010 & 2011 MTN8 winner; 2011 & 2012 Absa Premiership winner; 2011 & 2014 Nedbank Cup winner; 2013 CAF Champions League runner-up
http://www.orlandopiratesfc.com/default.asp?aId=3068134
a child of war.
as she lies bleeding,
the girl who skipped, hopped to school,
all of nine and a half years old,
with ribbons in her hair and a laugh that was her parent’s pride.
as she lies bleeding,
shrapnel lodged in her torn stomach,
she stares at her skipping rope,
as her blood soaks it the colour of cherries her mummy buys.
as she lies bleeding,
she sees people all around thick black smoke,
blurred visions of scattering feet, shoes left behind,
hearing nothing but the pinging in her smashed eardrums.
as she lies bleeding,
she slips away and then she is dead,
a mangled heap of a nine and a half year old girl,
whose laugh was her mother’s pride.
as she lies bleeding,
for even in death she bleeds some more,
shrapnel wedged in her torn stomach,
stealing the light from her bright little eyes.
as she lies bleeding …
in jallianwala bagh in ‘19,
leningrad in ‘42,
freetown in ‘98,
soweto in ‘76,
jenin in ‘02,
hanoi in ‘68,
beirut in ‘85,
raqqa now,
basra still,
gaza too.
as she lies bleeding,
a little nine and a half year old girl,
whose laugh was her parent’s pride,
we know she’ll bleed more,
tomorrow and in many tomorrows yet unborn,
with shrapnel in her stomach,
ripped open and torn.
as she lies bleeding.
N O T
I N
M Y
N A M E …
uBuntu - the philosophy of the interconnectedness of humanity
Soaking,
the rains settle,
meandering over jagged faultlines of our memory.
Drenching,
the rains settle,
streaming through veins,
the thud-thudding of the heartbeat of Africa.
Absorbing,
the rains that settle,
within each of us,
herald rebirth.
And,
if you listen,
if you strain to hear,
while shedding the raucous noise of your inner turmoil.
If you listen,
the whispers of the ancestors,
speak to us all,
lending us warmth,
urging us to stand,
even though we may
stumble,
even though we may fall.
Published in A&U Magazine, May 2013
They left so abruptly,
the valiant ones.
Countless,
many known,
many more nameless.
The truest sons and singers,
husbands and poets,
lovers and wives,
daughters and farmers,
workers and sisters,
brothers and friends.
They left so abruptly,
with quiet pride,
a steely courage,
and a gentle dignity.
They left so abruptly,
leaving us our tomorrows,
brighter!
Hopeful!
filled with promise.
They left so abruptly,
so that we may breathe,
the breath of liberty!
The air of freedom!
The warmth of justice!
They left so abruptly,
leaving with us their parting gift …
freedom!
inkululeko!
swatantrata!
liberte!
azadi!
vhudilangi!
libertad!
esteghlal!
They left so abruptly,
yet we remember them all today,
and in the days to come,
their legacy will light our way!
They left so abruptly,
yet they remain!
Hewn into our memory and conscience,
engraved in our heart!
They left so abruptly,
and yet they endure,
with us,
within us,
now and forever more!
double-helixed uBuntu …
these interwoven veins
dna
double-helixed
microscopically
binding
me
you
us
all
through
this common
shared
truth:
‘I am because you are’*
all of us
together
as one
me
you …
… uBuntu*
* – uBuntu is an isiXhosa/isiZulu concept that espouses the “belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”
A Finnish Karelian and a South African Refugee (1990)
this is not a scribble.
this is living memory.
in 1990, we were in exile in Finland, where my father represented the African National Congress (ANC) at the World Peace Council (WPC) in Helsinki.
it was a tumultuous time.
the Wall had come down.
Nelson Mandela was a free man and arrangements were being made for us, along with so many political exiles, to return to South Africa.
it was around that time that we were invited to a Finnish comrades home for a meal.
during the course of the evening I saw my mother hugging an elderly lady, who appeared to be sobbing, on my mom’s shoulder.
it was on the metro ride back to our apartment on an island just east of Helsinki that mom told us the following:
that old lady was a Karelian Finn, who after the 1940 Winter War (Talvisota in Finnish) found herself among so many who had to flee Karelia and became refugees in their own country.
the old lady broke down and recalled her days as a refugee in the merciless Finnish winter of 1940.
you see, my mom and that old lady who’s name i dont even know shared a bond that transcended race colour religion political social and ideological boundaries.
my mom and the fellow refugee shared a human connection of shared pain, displacement, and loss and hurt.
long may the humanity of ordinary people live on, often the poorest and most deprived and ostracised and banished who constantly cling onto the threads and fragile strands that make us human.
they remind us
they shame us
they jab us to open our eyes
they prod us to do more
and they tell us
what we know
but what we often forget …
that we, the people, shall always, always be many many more
____________
with many thanks to the Kallio family of Helsinki, Finland.
for Anja, Jussi, Antti, Matti, Miikko & Liisa Kallio
thank you for your warmth and generosity of spirit and for your friendship
____________
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation_of_Finnish_Karelia
walking through the crowd …
alone
not lonely
traversing oceans
skipping mountains
tugged by beckoning smiles
absorbed along
endless miles
seeking strands of hope
loosely strung
untying the noose
where desolation once hung
while
scribbling verses unfathomably obtuse
discarding meter and rhyme
frantically
chasing ever-fleeing time
knowing
my moulting skin
is all that i have to lose
while still
walking through the crowd
alone
not lonely
an outsider
always
seeking peace
within
ever hopeful
of gentler days
when
healing may begin
soothing the soul
casting off leaden weight
of so much that has in tne past,
past
The African Rains …
Soaking,
the rains settle,
meandering over jagged faultlines of our memory.
Drenching,
the rains settle,
streaming through veins,
the thud-thudding of the heartbeat of Africa.
Absorbing,
the rains that settle,
within each of us,
herald rebirth.
And,
if you listen,
if you strain to hear,
while shedding the raucous noise of your inner turmoil.
If you listen,
the whispers of the ancestors,
speak to us all,
lending us warmth,
urging us to stand,
even though we may
stumble,
even though we may fall.
a shared mosaic.
threads
intertwined
bind
him
her
you
&
i
together.
earthy
shades
colours
hues
fuse
him
her
you
&
i
together.
one mosaic
one world
one race
human …
him
her
you
&
i
together …
uBuntu = humanity
all roots
alive
weaving intricate veins
over our shared
common plains
feeding tributaries
slipping over streams
all so
one sea
one world
one earth
us all
may be fed
like our shared blood
for
the river feeding us
all of us
the river ebbing and flowing through our veins
etching tributaries within all of us
is of one colour
it is
all of it …
red.
____________________
uBuntu is an isiXhosa/isiZulu concept that espouses “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”
Scribbled Verse 