Cape Town come back to South Africa

Africa my Beginning

They came from the west

Sailing to the east

With hatred and disease flowing

From their flesh

And a burden to harden our lives

They claimed to be friends

When they found us friendly

And when foreigner met foreigner

They fought for the reign

Exploiters of Africa http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/goodlife/2011/07/08/africa-my-beginning-africa-my-ending 

I came from the East headed towards the west suffered from a disadvantage stereotype or belief although I believe I had no disease I suffered from uncertainty and abundant hope. Why was this? For the first time I was going to reside in an enormous city which was once hailed as Africa's capital city. I have had good things about it in fact all I ever heard was all good, 'I would be great there' I thought 'I would finally make it as a footballer'. I needed to settle, part of that meant I needed to find a school, not just a school, but a prestigious one. This involved putting on my Barnetts 'all weather' stuck in an office with my sister, father and a doubtful Principal. This was my first 'one on one' although it lacked any ‘da uomo a uomo’, my sister started it went well I suppose, but seemingly her definite success relied on me. My results were awful, I knew that I wanted to study there that's all ke qa, to the Principal seemingly my results weren't the problem, but where I came from. I came from the Eastern Cape where nothing good seemed to have descended behinds 'over glorified' liberators it's education, health and everything was flawed and beyond repairs. Taking me would be taking a product of that system, he chose to ignore that my educational foundation did not commence in that province (Eastern Cape). His misinformed notion of thinking all schools were defective took over him; I mean Holy Cross High School is one of the schools that hold educational achievement cradles for this beautiful but haunted province. Whatever I said meant nothing, to torture the deluded belief he actually thought I wouldn't survive diversity as if I have never had contact with Indian/Muslim/Coloured People, I went to school with these people we interacted with no regard of our identity.

'I have arrived', I thought

And 'fuck it' I told myself,

After he said 'I want you to tell me what you think I don't want to hear'

My response was silence,

With my dad interjecting 'kwedini thetha'

I was so disgusted by the thought of being undermined that I unashamedly responded by saying 'andifuni'. 

When we left that office with a desk and a chair in the bag I made a vow of achieving as highly as I can in his name, not to spite him but to show that the east is not all rotten. My dad's comment of me taking a break on football scared me forever I hated football receded from it for it only brought me pain and its educational competition had its odds in its favour. 

My philosophy was do everything you are asked, they know better ask no questions, study every day, express your heritage every time, sit in front, act confuse no one would expect anything from you and when you conquer 'they won't see you coming' (devil’s advocate), be in the shadows, don't be afraid of being forlorn... I knew as much as there were benefits for being different it came at a price of which I was willing to bear.  Firstly, I had competition driven by the same odd notion of lack of educational background I possessed due to my previous provincial situation. I made no affiliation to this challenge and when I conquered people continued to be surprised till I matriculated. I must say the environmental change was rife with the subject that I cruised in; in June I changed to the Standard Grade class where our fall was so important then their own rise. The work ethic of the previous class made me ndiceleze (venture with ease), not all was bad after all.

My solitude led to self-discovery and a lot of curiosity led to the love of words in books not just any books, but African literature. Thanks to the rebel Irish blood this was possible, my first thick book Indaba My Children was recommended by Ms Forgarty God rest his soul, in me she saw a philosopher don't know how since I dear to utter a single syllable. For the first time English was not a curse, but could be used to connect my heritage dots of expression, later strengthened by the inclusion of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart in our curriculum; this concealed my anger of the racial characterization of Othello by William Shakespeare. My long trips were not in vain Mrs Du Ploy dug my automobile enabled vision I saw on the road; the rivers, landscape and diverse climate I witnessed and experienced was advantageous what we learnt in Geography I saw and knew. The close relation I had with nature and drawing meant Physical Science would be possible to conquer, thanks to Mrs Kay she realised my potential and the first time in a while I was marked, the answers I produced at UCT scientific invitation confirmed her inkling. 

The Table Mountain

A place of beauty and rekindling of hope is where I resided, but my township trips painted a bleak picture not all were beautiful in the mother city.   What contributed towards the segregation and naiveté was the mountain that captured the prisoners who were on route to the East for spices. They came for the Mountain and the Mountain is what they got. The closer you are to this overrated natural structure the better you are. I could see it from my bedroom window, it was in the periphery but I could see it. The scene of seeing uTamkhulu Two dying with no honour for a farm that he so much identified with in a room so cold, sunless and small that could have contributed to his death made me become conscious of the economic gap that I and my family embodied. They came from the east, they served the mountain like everyone not on it, but they were further away so their service was vainly rewarded. I saw two worlds in my time there, a fight for crumbs between Coloured and Black instilled by Whites, I saw a picture visible to the whole South Africa a picture of perfection, Cape Town extends further than the natural structure, I saw a place where being foreign or white meant being treasured with no contestation, I saw gang ridden Cape Flats with no prospects of growth in the ground where sand blinded the masses for tomorrow would arrive with a forced smile, but most importantly I saw a country on its own. If you still dwell in one of the British Colonies come back to South Africa...