Keep dreaming and working

If you have a dream protect it from all the negative people in your life. They are so negative because their insecurities and broken dreams are giving them nightmares when they look at you and when they look in the mirror. You failed a couple of times, SO WHAT! You made a couple of mistakes, SO WHAT! The only thing that matters is that you keep trying and pushing to make your dream a reality.

Nobody said or made promises that it is going to be easy, but surely it will be worth it. If they say negative things towards your dreams and aspirations, please tell them they have no right to comment on yours if theirs are in pieces or stagnant.

I came to realise that people who are working on their dreams are generally positive and supportive towards others’ dreams. They help others in achieving theirs. On the contrary, I came to realise that negative people (in most cases it are people very close to you) either gave up theirs or they fear yours might end up like theirs.

This is one of the biggest mistakes of most friends, family and parents. You share an idea or dream with them and the first words they utter are: ‘it will not work.’ This is the last thing you want to hear especially since you already know the risks; and when these words are uttered it shatters the last bit of confidence you had into a million pieces. What parents, family, guardians and spouses do not realise is that they are systematically sabotaging the future of their children, family members and spouses. A little bit of positivity is all the person needs to get him or her going.

I remember back in 2006 when I had to make a decision whether I must register the next year or not, I needed only two people’s positive reactions to get me into action. There were those who were negative but I needed the confirmation of two people. The first was my Grandmother and the second was Ant Lenie.

Of the two I expected my Grandmother to be the most critical but when I mentioned it to her, her first and only words on the subject were: my kind gaan studeer (my child go study). It was exactly the same response I got from Ant Lenie, and so I registered in 2007 and since then graduated thrice.

You really do not help anyone by being negative if they came to you with their dreams. You must be flattered because that person trusts you! You have two choices either say nothing or motivate that person. If you decide to motivate and support that person, please make sure they answer these questions to themselves before they start their dreams.

The first is why the person wants to do it? It is important the person answer this question because it will keep the person going when they are experiencing difficulties. The second is how would it add value to his or her life? Not all value is monetary, some are intrinsic. Thus make sure the person knows what he or she will be getting from the dream because that will keep them going. Finally, ask the person whether he or she is willing to take the sacrifices that come with pursuing the dream. Pursuing any dream is not easy and there will come days when you feel like giving up. Make sure the person understand this.

These questions are merely a guide but a good way of encouraging someone to start his or her dream. Remember some people were laughed at when they said they want to go to the moon, build an aeroplane, a telephone, a car, etc. Your best response to negativity must be success. 

Kerfees in Namakwaland

Kerfees in Namakwaland is ‘n wonderlike tyd en al het ons nie baie nie laat dit ons nie afsit om ‘n heerlike tyd te he nie. Die musiek, die mense, die braai vleis en die kinders wat lag is van die beste herinneringe wat ek koester. Soos ‘n mens ouer word verloor jy dinge in die lewe, eers is dit die mense om jou,  later is dit jou drome een vir een en eendag as jy jouk om kry is dit Kersfees. Dit is ‘n moeilike werklikheid wat ons as mens moet aanvaar.

Ek skryf hierdie stuk met die musiek van Allou April in die agtergrond terwyl ek omring is met geboue en die gejaag na wind. Soos die Prediker gese het, is al ons drome en suksesse aan die einde van jou leeftyd ‘n gejaag na wind. Alles waar voor jy so hard gewerk het kom tot niks. Niks.

So, terwyl ek besig is met my gejaag na wind verlang ek na die mense van Namakwaland – my oorlede Ouma en Oupa, my oorlede vriend Neels (Oor wie ek nie gehuil kan kry nie. Die huil sit hier binne in my maar dit is moeilik om uit te kom. As dit net wil uitkom sal ek beter voel maar nou wil dit nie.), my vriende wat oor die jare my famlie geword het en my familie.

Die beste en die laaste keer wat ons as familie bymekaar gewees het ‘n Kersfees was in 2005. Die jaar wat by die army klaar gemaak het. Dit het spontaan gebeur. Eers het my een Antie laat weet sy kom en toe my een oom (die ander een was by die huis) en op Kersfees het my ander Antie kom kuier. Al hoewel twee van my Ouma en Oupa se kinders nie daar was nie het dit nie saak gemaak nie.

Ek het lang arm musiek op my laptop gehad wat ek op ‘n CD gesit het en wat ons in die DVD klaar gespeel het. Ek het gedans – ons almal het gedans. Ek het die voorreg gehad om saam met my Ouma te dans. Dit was toe sy nog sterk was want die jare daarna het sy al agteruit gegaan tot sy ‘n skaduwee van haarself was. Ons het gemmerbier gedrink en koek geeet. Vleis geeet.

Wat ‘n tyd.

Vandag dink ek daaraan en verlang na my wereld en sy mense. Waar vandaan ek kom is nou wel droog en kaal in die sommer maar die mense is gasvry en te gemoedkommend; wat ‘n eindproduk van swaarkry is. Is net wanneer jy regtig swaar gekry het of rerig swaarkry dat jy so gasvry en mededeelsaam kan wees sonder voorgee. Mense kan nou maar wat se van ons wereld en sy mense maar nie een kan se ons is suinig en vrekkig nie. Ons almal weet hoe om suiker tot more te vra.

Ons mense het ook hulle eie soorte trots, ‘n trots wat jy nie uit hulle sal kry nie. En dit verskil van hoogmoed. ‘n Trots wat hulle ook partykeer in stilte sal laat vergaan net sodat jy nie hulle menslikheid van hulle kan neem nie. Daardie trots is wat hulle nog mens hou al kry hulle hoe swaar. En dit is die trots wat in my en enige ander kind van die Namakwaland is. Jy kan probeer om oor ons te loop en jy kan dit miskien regkry maar my menslikheid sal agterbly al beteken dit my eie ondergaan. Kruip is vir enige mens swaar maar nog swaarder vir iemand van Namakwaland.

Maar genoeg van die trots en die swaarkry en terug na Kersfees in Namakwaland.

Een van die dinge wat my altyd nostalgies maak is die reuk van vuur in die skemer en die langarm musiek wat so eie aan ons mense is. Die tipe musiek wat dit ontmoontlik vir jou maak om stil te sit. Of jy nou kan dans of nie maar dans sal jy – al is dit net voutjies klop. Gee vir Pieter Pillie en Oorlede Ant Grietjie ‘n kitaar en jy het ‘n party wat die son sal laat op kom.

En terwyl Allou se Madiba’s Jive my terug bring na die werklikheid toe, laat die herinneringe van Kersfees in Namakwaland my met ‘n snaakse tevredenheid.

Geseende Kersfees.

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Toe gewy aan my vriend Cornelius Ovies, vriende en familie.

Enhancing Humanities in Africa

It seems as Humanities across the globe is in a crisis. Several reports contribute this crisis to a decrease in funding, a declining number of students who enrol for Humanities and a declining number of graduates who find a job after they graduated in Humanities (Delany, 2013; Levitz & Belkin, 2013 and Tworek, 2013).

A recent study by the Academy of Science of South Africa echoes some of the global trends. One of the key findings, in their report titled Consensus Study on the Future of the Humanities in South Africa, indicates that humanities is a state of intellectual stagnation and has been in this moribund condition for the past 15 years. A report commissioned by the Department of Higher Education called the Charter for Humanities and Social Sciences had similar findings. The difference between the two was that the Charter was institutionalised as the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences and has to address the challenges Humanities in South Africa are facing. Even though these reports are only based on the state of Humanities in South Africa we may infer that this is most likely the case in the rest of Africa.

However, the reality is Humanities in Africa inherited a particular history of privilege and subjection at independence and since then we have been grappling with it, and it seems as we are stuck. These reports opened a debate in South Africa and other parts of Africa as to what is the way forward for Humanities in Africa.

Pillay (05 April 2013, Mail & Guardian) argues that “we should lead the critique of the humanities and social sciences we have inherited by pointing to its limitation.” Leading the critique would mean we are taking responsibility for a ‘new’ Humanities going forward. In addition to this, Premesh Lalu in an article in the Mail & Guardian encourages African scholars to think ahead and out of the deadlock (Lalu, 07 June 2014, Mail and Guardian). I have to agree as I found that the majority of scholarly work in Africa is stuck in the past and disregard the present and the future. There are two things we have to bear in mind in this debate: we cannot change the past and we live in the present. I am not disputing the importance of the past but we have the tendency of disregarding the present and the future in scholarly work.

Like many other disciplines, Humanities also operates in the present. Our reality is that the present is materialistic and technologically driven society. Technological advances shapes a future which is changing so rapidly that even the most progressive technologically driven disciplines find it hard to keep up. This can be either a threat or an opportunity. If we see it as an opportunity a new generation of Humanities students has to be innovative, contemporary and at the fore front of societal change. Thus, we must anticipate changes and approach it progressively. However, this can only be possible if we are clear of the future we want for Humanities in Africa.

So what is our point of departure?

Mahmood Mamdani of the Makerere Institute for Social Research (MISR) recently asked the question how do we think the world from Africa? In the famous Hollywood movie ‘Blood Diamond’ the mentor of the protagonist said to him TIA which means ‘this is Africa.’ He referred to the main stream Western view of Africa which is seen as violent, corrupt and exotic. Since then a new movement amongst young African musicians developed which is called TINA which stands for ‘this is new Africa’. This movement decided to reclaim African music and expose it to world. They are not standing back for any of their Western counterparts and have some of the most popular videos on Youtube. It is time for Humanities in Africa to reclaim their place in world but we can only do this if we know what our point of departure is and only then we are able to think the world from Africa.