Recently, whilst I was
pushing some agendas in Africa’s best city, Cape Town, I witnessed something
which invoked a deep impression in me. It was nothing I have never witnessed
before but it certainly triggered a multitude of emotions in me.
What provoked these
emotions were memories of what used to be.
One day, during my
morning jog I saw an aeroplane making the lowering down in preparation for
landing at Cape Town International Airport. Suddenly, something hit me and it simultaneously
brought me to a vivid mental glimpse of what used to happen when I was young.
Growing up in the ghetto,
whenever we would see an aeroplane flying by, there was something we would do
religiously and always spontaneously, without any provocation or motivation.
We would run down the dust roads in a gesture making us feel
like chasing after the aeroplane, shouting, 'aeroplane, aeroplane, aeroplane'
until it was out of sight. That brought a great deal of fascination and
fulfilment to us.
During that time in our world, that was the closest we could get to an
aeroplane and we concluded that it was other people’s portion and that we were
virtually destined to end with using Zupco buses and emergency taxis for
travelling.
We had ascertained and defined our own peripheries which constricted us
to a second class, back of beyond curve. We were our own limitations because
everything about our worldview in this aspect only fitted in the little boxes
we inherited and lived with.
The devil thrives on such mentalities and worldviews!
That devil is a liar, isn't he? You have to know that you are not a
second class citizen, you are not inferior. You are not going to spend your
lifetime cheering others as they enjoy their blessings. You are blessed too.
You are not going to die running after aeroplanes like we used to do.
You will fly anywhere without even feeling the cost. You are not going
to spend your life talking about sushi. You will eat the best sushi too. You
are not going to spend your life seeing pictures of nice cars or houses in
magazines. That too is your portion. It’s your turn, go get your blessing.
Docpeedee
Mwana Mutoko
Mwana Mutoko
