if you are south african - you need healing

 

the process of healing starts with acknowledgement of the need for it, but for many the level of woundedness is so deep that they need to be supported in order to acknowledge their pain. strong and effective leadership is essential to encourage a movement towards the quest for healing. when that acknowledgement is blocked for whatever reason, the emotions which have an impact on the immune system, the neurological system, the circulatory system, the whole body, trigger psychological changes such as blood pressure, temperature, digestion and end up making the whole body ill. there is always a tight relationship between the illness we suffer and the emotions we express or suppress. it is sometimes difficult to explain why South Africa should be so focused on social pain from the legacy of the past, given that other post-colonial African countries have also suffered discrimination and oppression. my own view is that most Africans in post-colonial Africa are also affected by social pain but the difference between SA and the rest of the continent is the extent and impact of social pain. the visibility of the stark differences between lives of grinding poverty and those spent in comfort and conspicuous consumption rubs salt into the wounds of those enduring social pain. given its advanced urbanised economy relative to the rest of the continent, SA has created intimate proximity between the haves and the have-nots in which domestic and other menial workers are daily witnesses to, and servants of, the lives of the wealthy. black South Africans have alwyas been essential to the creation, maintenance and prosperity of the privileged lifestyles of their white compatriots. they have always been part of the intimate domain of homes, hospitals, retirement facilities where they have rendered essential services. they were constantly subjected to the humiliation of being denied the dignity of sharing entrances, utensils and other basic facilities with their fellow citizens. for example, simple issues such as a clean flushing toilet for white people versus a smelly long-drop for black people working in the same company or household from part of the painful memories of many. or black mine workers having to live in an overcrowded mine hostel whilst white colleagues enjoy family homes. it is relative deprivation in SA that makes inequality so painful for so many and the social pain so deep and so widespread in our society.

(from Conversations with my Sons and Daughters by Mamphela Ramphele)