Africa Day: An intern reflects

"....Africa unite, coz we are moving out of Babylon,

Unite for the benefit of your people,

Unite for its later than you think...." Bob Marley-Africa Unite

As we celebrate Africa Day we are reminded of the heroes and heroines who fought side by side for Africa to be liberated. We commemorate leaders from Cape to Cairo, Morocco to Madagascar and it is without doubt that those were not easy victories but they were worth the fight. If there is one thing to learn from those before us, it is to be resilient and stand strong in solidarity, and immortalise the vision of being an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa as set out by the African Union.

Inspired by Bob Marley’s song Africa Unite, one realizes that there is a need for several things to be unlearned for us to bring that vision to life. To name a few, we need to unlearn being xenophobic; we have a duty to love and accept one another as children of the African soil because one of the vital roles to progress is through unity. We need to unlearn racism and tribalism because these are the very actions that divide us not only as a nation but a continent. More than anything, Africa needs healing from past injustices of social and economic exclusion, which persist today.

However there is still hope, the Speech delivered by President Ramaphosa in February this year Titled “Thuma mina” desired to bring about winds of change for the betterment of the country. The idealism of this speech is appealing because it symbolizes a sense of accountability, transparency and responsibility we as citizens require from our African leaders. Therefore, if we could all rise up collectively in our societies like the United Democratic Front (UDF) did in the 1970s by bringing together people from all walks of life to achieve one goal, we can indeed have the Africa we want.

To read more on the UDF follow this link http://www.saha.org.za/udf/origins.htm