CONTEXT

South African Apartheid: Systemic racism flowed like bloody rivers and seeped into the souls of the South African people. A time where the Black, Indian, Mixed-Race and Asian majority were segregated and dehumanised because of the colour of their skin. For 50 years, people of colour fought, marched, rioted and died for their basic human rights and equality with their fair-skinned peers.

26 years later, besides racism not being the law, we are nowhere close to the equality and freedom that people like Mandela, Biko, Hani and so many others fought and died for.

This is a song I wrote about the situation as a way to highlight the truth about the country, and tear the rose-tinted veil that is the "Rainbow Nation"

The word "kaffirs" is a derogatory term for people of colour in South Africa.

FOR THE BEST EXPERIENCE, PLEASE SAY THE SONG OR POEM OUT LOUD.

I am going to leave you with this quote by Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

"I've never doubted that apartheid - because it was of itself fundamentally, intrinsically evil - was going to bite the dust eventually."

MY AFRICAN SONG

I sit and stare at the tedious scene portrayed, 

The sweet, desired words blast from the radio,

filling my ears,

“It’s time, the end of Apartheid” 

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits, 

The masses in the town begin to weep,

Cries of joy and sorrow that cut so deep. 

To the people who lost their lives in the struggle for liberty

They will always be remembered as the fighters for an equal society. 

I listen to Mandela’s words 

His cry for dignity, his call for equal opportunity,

Never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another

The new South Africa: a world pledged to unity.

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits,

With my two hundred rand, and my head full of dreams

I left for the urban area

A world where freedom screams 

While the repetitive lifestyle of the townships brought very little grief,

The desire for a better future flows heavily in me. 

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits,

On a taxi, my journey begins,

Sitting next to a cynic with the darkest skin.

He laughs at dreams, he calls me crazy,

“Oh, darling, you’re as fresh as a daisy.” 

But I believe, 

Deep down, inside of me —

There was hope for the new South Africa, 

One day he will see. 

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits,

I arrive in city,

With my head held high.

But I suddenly realise that the new South Africa,

Could all be a lie. 

The white people stare,

Their faces full with disgust.

It’s still the early days though, 

Racism will fall when unity settles likes dust. 

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits,

Sometimes, dust doesn’t settle, 

It scatters in the wind. 

Twenty years down the road,

Where is the new South Africa we are supposed to be living in?

We may be living together, 

But where is the harmony?

The only thing that has seems to be growing,

The sense of absurdity. 

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits,

I lie on the road,

A rifle, my only sense of home 

Going to shops to buy food, 

The security behind me, disdainfully, they roam. 

I try to get a job, 

But I never fit the position 

Tell me, if education is the key to success,

How I am supposed to live, 

Living without this one condition?

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits,

I watch my brothers and sisters, 

Who manage to keep going strong,

But still, it’s easy to see, 

That they still don’t feel like they belong.

Because still they are compared to animals, 

And still known as, kaffirs,

And are expected to work in minimal jobs, 

Because apparently, all we know how to do is “hunt and gather.”

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits,

As I sit on the ground, begging for help, 

But get thrown a, how much for a taste, instead,

Tempted to say yes, 

I look up to God, 

And think to myself, 

What happened to what Mandela said?

Maybe I dreamt too big, 

Maybe there was nothing wrong,

With a crimson sky and a rooster that cries,

At least I could live a happy song. 

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which awaits, 

This isn’t a fictional story,

It’s a story of reality, 

That millions of people have to live with, 

In this so-called, “rainbow society.”

Yes, things are not as bad as they used to be, 

At least there is more liberty. 

But, is the world really a better place, 

When this is someone’s reality?

The turning over of a new leaf,

An era has come to an end.

With an ecstatic heart and a hope that indicates 

The new South Africa which we still await.