Yes he fought for our freedom, but so did they!

Can too much credit ever be given to someone? Nelson Mandela, for example, has had the whole world singing his praises since his release from prison. There's Nelson Mandela everything, from Nelson Mandela square, NMMU, NM drive, just to name a few. I'm not hating here, nor do I mean to be all political, but how much credit can be given to one man? What about everyone else who played a role in the fight for our freedom, people whose names were never mentioned in history books and people whose praises aren't sung by the whole world, don't they at least deserve some recognition too? Mostly, "who on earth is that ?" is the first thing that comes to our minds when we see a street named after someone other than Utata or any other famous struggle hero. I still don't know whether this is due to our ignorance or the praises the likes of Utata, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu and the others receive. I'm not saying we should stop celebrating Nelson Mandela's birthday or stop naming the whole country after him but the fact that there are other people who helped him, even though they were not imprisoned for 27 years like, should be considered. He didn't fight for this country's freedom alone. No harm is meant in writing this, I love Utata but hayi! I'm just voicing out my opinion.

in too deep

Standing in the middle of the road, torn between two sides and you just don't know which one to go to. With a terrible yet amazing feeling inside, you wish someone could just make it stop or at least go away for the time being, but then again; it's that exact weird feeling that makes you feel complete. You just feel numb and you wish you could just feel something or at least something different. You try all the methods ever invented in the history of mankind but it still seems impossible to make it stop. It gets worse with every memory you share and every thought of him, you've even ran out of words to describe it. Those times when a mere a sight of him is enough to bring a smile on your face and seeing him smile just brightens your day even more. Then in time you realise that you are in too deep!  

Take time to know me

That awkward moment when you realise that people think they actually know you, it's the worst yet funniest moment ever. Being confronted by someone for laughing at something really petty is something you can deal with, but having them say "I expected better from you" is just unbelievable. The fact that one is friendly towards everyone doesn't that person is a saint, we all have our flaws. Having another person tell you that you are too pretty to laugh in a certain way is beyond belief. Who set the universal rules on how pretty people should act, or how friendly people should act, anyway? All i'm saying is; you don't have to conform to anybody's way of living, you may be a good person but people need to understand that we all have a rougher side to ourselves. Should we ask for permission before we laugh at anybody or anything at all, you know, just in case somebody will be offended? Being oversensitive just doesn't cut it sometimes, but then again, as much as they don't know me, I don't know them. So trying to be a bit sensitive(which will kill me within two minutes of trying) might help. My point: You never really know a person until you spend time with them and until then, you have no right to tell them what you expect of them. You don't know them!!!

Through the eyes of the abused

“Forgive me, it won’t happen again.” She pleads. Pushing her against the wall he continues. Lying on the floor, “you bastard” are the only words he can utter. She smiles till one can see her last molar, while inside she’s yearning for joy, peacefulness and the love she used to get in the beginning of the relationship. “I still love him” is the excuse she gives for not leaving him. Gone are the days when he’d buy her a bouquet of flowers and whisper sweet nothings in her ears, she realises. Gone are the days when the only reason for HIM taking off his pants was to bathe him, he noticed. “Help me!” the poor little boy screams, yet his plea for help falls on deaf ears. Walking around the street with his head held high he tries to hide his pain, longing for the smiles he sees his peers wearing all day. Face battered to the last extent; “I fell off the stairs” is her excuse. How hard she tries to hide all her wounds from everyone, while the deepest wounds, the ones in her heart are slowly but surely killing her. “You made me do this!” he accuses him. Dying for his only hope, his mother, to believe him, “Don’t say such about your elders” is the response he gets from her. “Think about the family’s reputation” her father’s words echo through her mind all day and through every episode of abuse she has to endure. “Life before I met him...” is the tale she lives to tell. When he finally dies at the hands of the man who was supposed to protect him, “If only I had believed him” Is the regret his mother lives with all her life. When found drowning in the pool of her own blood, “we heard her screams every night” is the tale the neighbours live to tell. How I wonder, what the world would’ve been...had we seen life through the eyes of the abused!

By Zizipo Mbeki

Venture away

Having decided to dedicate the year 2012 to getting to know myself more, i've been venturing into a whole lot of things. Yesterday, I found myself saying "once you go bullet, you never go back". Well, that's because i've decided to use bullets now (tampons)...I couldn't deal with the uncomfortability of pads anymore. I'm even learning new languages with my friends, i'm going Italian and i've learnt a bit of South African sign language. I know a few Italian sentences now and the whole experience has taught me a lot, not only to respect other people's cultures but to learn to embrace them as well. To be open to a world that's a whole lot more different from yours doesn't hurt either. The result of my Italian lessons is a social networking site I came across (livemocha.com), it consists of many people willing to go beyond just being English, Zulu or Spanish, people who want to learn different languages, and i'm loving every moment of it. There'll be more venturing taking place throughout the year, a cric mag might be a part of it...