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Africa belongs to all of us!
We should also engage in programmes such as cultural exchanges so as to sharpen our minds and broaden our knowledge about other nations in this country, in other countries and all its people. We are after all one people, Africans.
Last Wednesday Africa Month was celebrated all over the continent and I, like many others, was filled with pride that all the colours that were on display (flags and clothing) represented Africa.
My pride also stemmed from realising that bit by bit people are starting to realise that Africa belongs to all of us, those who live in it (be it Lesotho nationals, Ethiopians, Zimbabweans, Congolese, Nigerian’s etc).
It is good that the Minister of Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa said, “South Africa recognises itself as an integral part of the African continent. Therefore the country understands its national interest to be intrinsically linked to continental stability, unity and prosperity.
Our national interest is therefore defined by the development and upliftment of all African people.” Africa Month should rightfully seek to increase awareness about others in the continent.
Programmes such as those of the Department of Arts and Culture which seek to inculcate an African identity through the popularisation of the national flag and continental flag as well as the National Anthem and the African Union Anthem, are important also for up-and-coming generation to know who they are, where they come from so that a better future can be built.
We should also engage in programmes such as cultural exchanges so as to sharpen our minds and broaden our knowledge about other nations in this country, in other countries and all its people. We are after all one people, Africans.
In his poem I Am An African, Wayne Visser says: I am an African
Not because I was born there
But because my heart beats with Africa’s
I am an African
Not because my skin is black
But because my mind is engaged by Africa
I am an African
Not because I live on its soil
But because my soul is at home in Africa
When the music of Africa beats in the wind
My blood pulses to its rhythm
And I become the essence of sound
When the colours of Africa dazzle in the sun
My senses drink in its rainbow
And I become the palette of nature
When the stories of Africa echo round the fire
My feet walk in its pathways
And I become the footprints of history
I am an African
Because she is the land of tomorrow
And I recognise her gifts as sacred
I too, am an african, Happy Africa Month.
Lerato…
