South Africa - “First and foremost, we are sons and daughters of this soil. We are born of Africa and have this land mass as our vantage point. Therefore we should not look at our destiny through the eyes of others but through our own wit and wisdom, through an understanding of ubuntu and a common humanity, as this is what makes us at one with ourselves and at home with the world.”
These were the words Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa used ahead of Africa Day which is being celebrated today. He was addressing delegates at an Africa Month colloquium in the city this week when he urged people to categorise the continent based on their own experiences, not the perception of others.
“Even as we have been subjected to the ravages of colonialism, segregation and apartheid and as we acknowledge that we reside in an era of rapid globalisation, even as others seek to dehumanise us and leave us with their culture of violence, which we fight every day, every point of the way, we still need to stand our ground,” Mthethwa said.