The end of an era

I was woken at 0:45 this morning by a message saying "Mandela died tonight". I quickly checked News24 and Facebook and promptly jumped out of bed to check the news channels and there it was. People gathered outside his house and a press conference with the ridiculous man we are supposed to respect as our president confirming the news. It was officially the end of an era and the closing of the final chapter of my childhood as a white South African child.

When I was growing up, in the northern (white) suburbs of Joburg, I had no idea that we were living under an apartheid regime. It didn't occur to me that I never played with black children or that there weren't a lot of black people. I saw them all the time at my house, my granny's house and at nursery school. I'd have long 4 year old conversations with Cain, our gardener, and watch him work while I collected snails. I'd follow Johanna, our maid, around the house getting in her way. Some of my favourite grownups at school were the black ladies who looked after us. I didn't realise that when we drove anywhere they had to sit in the back seat by law, I was just excited to sit in front!

As I grew up, I got the feeling that there was something going on. There were things happening in the world, on the news that my parents watched every night. I saw glimpses of the Berlin Wall coming down, angry Afrikaans men were shouting all sorts of things and shaking their fingers and then we got a new friendlier looking President.

When I was in Standard 5 (Grade 7) things really started to change. As much as a 12 year old can understand apartheid and politics, my father tried to explain it to me. But as it always happens, other people talk and the mixed stories and reactions abound. I heard about how the country would go to the dogs if black people had rights, if they released Mandela (whoever he was!!) and that we (white people) would suffer. On the flipside, I heard about how black people were badly treated and deserved rights. I never heard anything about the human rights abuses or what was really going on in the townships. I saw him being released and how happy and hopeful it made some people.

Time went on and there were stories of fighting and bloodshed between the IFP and ANC and about the general political unrest. We weren’t allowed to go to a leadership camp because it was too dangerous for us – god only knows what would happen to 3 busloads of white teenage girls! I watched the news once in a while and this "New South Africa" process seemed to go on and on... FW de Klerk and Mandela talking, the education system changing, flags and provinces changing and the rest of us trying to keep up. But still, there wasn’t much being shared about what had happened.

And then the 1994 elections were around the corner. My grandmother stockpiled canned food, candles and bottled water (as did a lot of white people!!). My parents hosted a Goodbye Old South Africa fancy dress dinner party where everyone got a copy of the upcoming ballot paper with all 19 parties (including the Soccer Party and KISS party). Times they were a-changing and we were cautiously excited!

I'd watched my parents vote in previous elections and the referendums but for some reason I couldn’t quite fathom this one just seemed bigger and much more important. The historical significance was not lost on me. We watched the live broadcasts that day of the looong voting queues in the rural areas and townships of these millions of South Africans who were voting for the first time. We watched Mandela cast his vote with a huge smile on his face and the faces around him. How could you not love him and feel optimistic?

Almost 20 years later, things have changed so much. We have been privileged to be led by the great man that is Nelson Mandela. Even after his term was over he continued to inspire us and give us hope that things would eventually work out and that we would be one big happy nation. He was the buffer between us and the incompetent people we have had in office, making us feel a bit more optimistic. If the ridiculousness of the SA government got too much, we had a happy place to go to….

But that's gone now. A legend has moved on and we are left with the clowns of parliament. We can only hope that the natural order of the universe sorts it out and recreates the balance that is needed.

Today a country mourns the loss of a remarkable man who guided and urged us on to a better South Africa and a better life. The world mourns a role model who gave them hope that things could change in their countries.

We thank you.