It was a long and painful time for South Africa and South Africans. It left scary and sad scars on many. Even today, some haven’t healed. Mentally black people are still disturbed. I think there will be never be enough time to help us heal.

Sometimes I wonder what we have gained by reconciling with white people. OK, peace and harmony is not enough. We still live in overcrowded places with little or no land; we don’t have decent housing, whilst all the land is occupied by the minority of the country. This results to crime and disasters. What did white people have to lose by reconciling? They had and still have everything. So reconciliation was just a ways and means to stop the violence in South Africa.

South Africa is slowly changing and progressing to better its people. Black people now need to come out of this mentality that white people are superior to them. I am shocked, even today that there are still people who call their employers lekgowa or mlungu (white person). Even if the employer is a black person he/she is considered as ‘lekgowa or mlungu’.

Our minds are not yet totally free. We must come out of this mentality that wealth, prosperity and good life is for white people, that black people are only suited for working class.

Schools must also change this mentality of teaching us to get a job or to be a good employee. Township schools must teach to empower black people to be entrepreneurs who are going to be employers, not employees.

Apartheid is over. It is our bad history that took a lot of young, innocent, good and strong individuals down. We can forgive but never forget. It still lingers in our minds so let’s use our history to teach, motivate and to fuel our determination even more. It’s time to strive for better life in South Africa. Our past must not hold us back but push us to much more than there was back then.

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika.

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Tell us: What do you think our schools should be teaching black children?