As I reflected on the past year leading up to 2023, the words of Irish poet and Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney came to mind.
In Heaney’s ‘Cure at Troy’, a particular verse stands out….
“History says don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.”
The significance of the poetry moves me in particular because Heaney, in penning this particular piece, first published in 1991, drew his inspiration from Nelson Mandela and the political situation in South Africa at the time.
Heaney’s words ring true decades later at a moment when South Africa desperately needs hope.
The past few years have sprung forth severe challenges. We continue to grapple with a severe energy crisis, our economy is under pressure, unemployment is at an all time high, rising inflation, crime, corruption, inequality… the list could go on.
Despite the severity of the challenges, South Africans through their resilience and daring continue to search for moments when hope and history rhyme.
We have been through so much as a nation. The brutality of apartheid and the legacy of structural inequality still looms large in South African society.
Through our past experiences, perhaps some will be despondent and dismissive. Perhaps some will be wary and tempted not to hope. Some are scarred from previous battles and a psyche that won’t allow one to forget let alone forgive.
But what will be left if we do not use the lessons of our history to create moments of hope?
There have been numerous periods in our history that we felt hopelessness, but there were also moments when hope and history rhymed – moments like achieving our liberation, our sporting achievements, our triumph of the South African spirit, our arrival on the world stage and our contribution as a nation in almost every sphere of human existence.
As a nation, we punch way above our weight and in this moment we need to use that spirit and fight to rebuild our nation.
This will mean infusing into every South African the importance of the task at hand. The rebuilding process will not be easy and a key ingredient for us to succeed will be unity.
The recent elective conference of the ANC is done and dusted. Despite the fierce contestation, President Cyril Ramaphosa has received a clear mandate from the ruling party to march forward towards rebuilding the ANC and the country.
It is a task that requires every South African to work together to build our great nation and realise its true and full potential.
As a patriot and a business leader, I have always and will continue to ensure that we work hard to build our economy, create jobs for our people and build our nation.
I also wish President Ramaphosa success, as I have done and would do for any President and Leader in our democracy because South Africa is that important to me.
Despite any differences political leaders, civic leaders and ordinary South Africans may have with one another, we all need to rally around and strive tirelessly to build our nation – we owe it to our collective history to ensure that we succeed as a nation.
So as we move into 2023, let us as a nation find more of those precious moments of victory where hope and history rhyme.
The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes
Seamus Heaney
Human beings suffer,
They torture one another,
They get hurt and get hard.
No poem or play or song
Can fully right a wrong
Inflicted and endured.
The innocent in gaols
Beat on their bars together.
A hunger-striker’s father
Stands in the graveyard dumb.
The police widow in veils
Faints at the funeral home.
History says, don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
So hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that further shore
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracle
And cures and healing wells.
Call miracle self-healing:
The utter, self-revealing
Double-take of feeling.
If there’s fire on the mountain
Or lightning and storm
And a god speaks from the sky
That means someone is hearing
The outcry and the birth-cry
Of new life at its term.
