RubriNdela

Crossing the RubriNdela

"The crossing of a small stream in northern Italy became one of ancient history's most pivotal events" (Eye Witness to History; 2015, 1). Azania behold your children bringing two worlds that have coexisted together. No water flows in this stream, but rail tracks. The Mandela Bridge, a symbolic Azanian structure, runs over the still tracks connecting two worlds of the same people. Across the bridge lies the bustle and hustle of Johannesburg CBD, where millions have come in search of fortune or escape from poverty; Egoli, the fabled city of gold, where mine fields use to exist. On the other side lies Braamfontein, where many hopes and dreams are intellectually weaved. On both sides of the bridge lie people looking for Better Lives. 

"It was January 49 BC, Caesar was staying in the northern Italian city of Ravenna and he had a decision to make" (Eye Witness to History; 2015, 1 ). On the 22nd of October 2015, an abrupt decision to cross a symbolic man-made structure tilted the course of Azanian history. The young Azanian population decided to cross a bridge made as a symbolic stride in transforming Azania. These young brothers and sisters had their own Caesars who tested their fears above and beyond. The "born frees" acted where Azania lamented...

"From it sprang the Roman Empire and the Genesis is of of modern European culture" (Eye Witness to History; 2015, 1). The ant-looking masses, to many sceptics, "their defiant act will reward a white elephant", they said mockingly. But masses care not. They are on a quest; a long walk to the oldest movement. They took a walk defiantly, like Nelson Mandela did, in the name of what is due, and true, to mankind. He might have fallen to a world that lies beyond, but his soul laid a path on which the "born frees" trotted on for salvation.

"This tiny stream would reveal Caesar's intentions and mark the point of no return" (Eye Witness to History; 2015, 1 ). Below the bridge lies trains, a historical locomotive of Azania. A carrier of the masses; slow in speed, but possessing deadly, unrivalled power. One witnesses all sorts of people and activities in these locomotives; some making a living, some coming from such; deep in thought.

"Either he acquiesced to the Senate's command or he moved southward to confront Pompey and plunge the Roman Republic into a bloody civil war" (Eye Witness to History; 2015, 1 ). Backward never, forward forever! The masses' determination is reflected by the trains' sheer capability of carrying as much load as possible. As they walk over the trains they are carrying Azania's broken promises. After days of demonstration, their demands were not met. Yet they did not yield to the authorities' weak response. They Marched to Luthuli House's doorstep.

"An ancient Roman law forbade any general from crossing the Rubicon River and entering Italy proper with a standing army. To do so was treason" (Eye Witness to History; 2015, 1 ). The Luthuli House is also known as the revolutionary house. No one has led a counter-revolution against the house. It was an unwritten law until these young brothers and sisters challenged the status quo. 

What has always resided next to the bridge under our noses finally raised its majestic head and cried out; MAKE HISTORY; a command echoed by The OOH BILLBOARD, edging the young brigade across the Nelson Mandela bridge. This is the language of the ancient, the spirit of unity; these are the words that revolutionaries of all time had suckled from their mothers' breast; a truth known since infancy, an epithet of life since the beginning of time. Sometimes the most powerful events in life are expressed vehemently by what we ignore each day. All days walking across the bridge were the same, until we decide to cross the RubriNdela.

List of References 

Eye Witness to History, 2015. Julius Caesar: Crossing the Rubricon. [Available] http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/caesar.htm. Accessed: 23 October 2015