The Onerous Mantle of Colonialism.

An invitation to the Kings and Queens of Africa...A New Covenant setting aside the onerous mantle of Colonialism.

BELINDA METLITZKY SILBERT·WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019

Something happened here...the past jackbooted Africa with hobnailed boots and crushed her pubescent flowering. Something else is happening here now too...the present. We have come to the point where there are agents of chaos who serve anarchy in its muddiest form.

I would aver that we do not need to break down structures of the past in order to deny them power. We can remove the sting of the trauma in our ancestral marrow by acknowledging that the past cannot be changed and that even though we may try many lenses, our vision will still be too narrow to perceive what our ancestors endured. We do have the gift of being subject to the repercussions of the past- and I use the word “gift” advisedly. If we choose to frame the past and its indignities as having been a burden and a cursed time, we are no longer heirs, we remain victims.

Practising collective punishment based on the “sins of the fathers” will hold back all of us and prevent the coronation of the new Kings and Queens of our continent. It is incumbent on ALL of us to feel sorrow and regret for what was done to those who had their land abused by unwelcome guests. We cannot avoid this spiritual stocktaking and nor can we free of our collective conscience. At the same time, if we all remain mired in the past, we shall waste very valuable time that needs to be devoted to constructing an African Utopia and a New Dawn for our collective South African Consciousness. I issue a clarion call to the builders of South Africa, I invite you to a new covenant with Africa and a unification of purpose with your brothers and sisters.

The word “dismantle” needs to be transmuted. Dismantling structures that could be used as foundations for our own new glorious aeon could turn out to be mere destruction. However, extracting the word “mantle” from the word “dismantle” can transform us into Kings and Queens who are heirs to all the bounty of our land . This removes the power of our past oppressors since we have not been broken......

Assume the mantle of royalty and stride with pride as you build upon the foundations laid by the blood and sweat of your ancestors. They were “enslaved” by the Colonials, but do not dishonour their labour by destroying what they built. You are THEIR heirs and you can build this country into the great civilization that our ancestors yearned for and for which the seeds were planted thousands of years ago. The principles of Ubuntu are honourable and can encompass every sphere of life that will enable an ethical and abundant future for all. Amandla!