I have travelled far and wide within the borders of our republic and met people from all walks of life over the last decade. From the struggling but bucolic existence in the North West, Eastern Cape and Free State provinces to the relative comfort of urban life. I’ve discovered places such as Jansenville, Pofadder and Dwaalboom. Look them up. They exist. Wonderful people live there.
Everywhere people tend to converse in their mother tongues – with English as the language of compromise in most cases of intercultural exchange. Afrikaans is by far the most spoken language in the western half of the country and so too in many other parts as well – even if only as a second or third language. African customs and Nguni languages prevail in vast swathes of South Africa, punctuated by significant Asian and European influences. KwaZulu-Natal is a pertinent case in point.
South Africans of all stripes tend to value their own cultures and languages highly and see it as a way of life, but nowhere has anyone tried to exert undue pressure on me to adopt something I am still unfamiliar with (such as speaking Zulu). Invariably, I am met with widespread amity and assistance wherever I go. Sometimes with scepticism and suspicion. But nowhere did I feel completely unsafe and unwanted.
To paraphrase, renowned historian Professor Hermann Giliomee said multicultural societies’ success and stability depend on mutual respect. It is true that respect is often sorely lacking in our discourse – especially on X (formerly Twitter) and in politics. However, daily exchanges remain cordial in general. People get on with life and do what they need to do while political entrepreneurs try to make hay. Although they hog some headlines, most people pay no real heed to it.
Nation-building would always be difficult in a country such as South Africa with a fractious and controversial past and sans a common culture and language. Even the current national symbols and institutions command listless commitment among millions of people. Respect, humility and cultural intelligence would have to fill the void and thus far the country has avoided the worst-case scenario that has befallen so many other countries – especially in Africa after decolonisation.
Business and the market have also contributed more to social cohesion and trust than any top-down government programme ever did. Unemployment and poverty are still very rife but where people work and trade together, there is a common understanding and goodwill that spontaneously arise. I have yet to see the exception to this rule – here or in other parts of the world I have visited.
It is imperative and indeed possible that we could all be a little more curious about the various communities and individuals that we share this country with. This can be done while having a healthy appreciation for, and devotion to, one’s own culture, customs and language. In other words, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Seek to understand and be curious by asking questions and being teachable.
And yet, the ANC has set about homogenizing the country with an all-conceived and frankly, vague, attempt at nation-building which has not had great success. They have sought to capture the State while excluding minorities from it and weaponising it against them.
This flies in the face of being “united in our diversity”, as the Constitution’s preamble envisages. It is not sufficient for a country such as South Africa to have elections, which have been ethnic censuses since 1994, as a sole yardstick for democracy.
Its dispensation must be tailored to not merely tolerate diversity, but to give effect to it. The Constitution makes ample provision for this in the Bill of Rights. As the Canadian political theorist Will Kymlicka contends: “One of the most important determinants of whether a culture survives is whether its language is a language of government—that is, whether its language is used in public schooling, courts, legislatures, welfare agencies, health services etc.”
This is not happening to even the slightest degree in South Africa as it pertains to its rich variety of cultures and languages, despite these cultures proving to be extremely resilient in the absence of such measures.
Although South Africa is no dictatorship, corruption as well as homogenisation and centralisation have frayed the fabric of society – even more so as the ANC is losing its grip on power. However, this decision to promote certain common elements to bolster loyalty to the State (and by implication, the ruling party) has produced a vapid response.
A civic nationalism has been much more effectively nurtured from the ground up through respect, cultural understanding, trade, and friendship. That is the only way South Africa will survive in the long-run, seeing as it entails self-preservation, accommodation and spontaneity – and no ulterior political motives.
Dr Eugene Brink is a business consultant, entrepreneur and political analyst based in Paarl.
