Revive SA’s hope

I AM writing this letter as I feel compelled to join the plethora of writers expressing their opinions about figures who are and have been at the forefront of leading this nation – no matter what their colour or culture or religion. It is about the fight for truth and integrity. What has happened to our land that we can no longer write the truth and ask our leaders to take responsibility for their actions?

I remember, as a little girl, borrowing a friend’s tape recorder and breaking it and having to pay for it to be fixed out of my pocket money.

I remember going to the library and having to pay a fine as my books were overdue. This really hurt my pocket and meant I was unable to eat my usual cache of sweets. We were taught to take responsibility for our actions and to tell the truth.

Today we cannot be sure what is truth and what is untruth in our newspapers and we discover that key figures in our land can tell lies and be believed despite the evidence against them. I am talking about so many in positions of power.

When I went to my father’s funeral, there was no eulogy. It was the first funeral I had attended and I was not able to help my mother with arrangements as I had no idea what should happen.

It is the only funeral I have been to ever where there was no eulogy. And yet my father was the one person in the world who should have had good and beautiful things said about him.

I never knew him to tell a lie, though I often tested him in my youth. He was like a rock, a strong rock of great integrity who trembled with righteousness and who left behind nothing but a Bible, a pair of binoculars and a watch. I am saddened by the vitriol that spews from our newspapers and long for a time when we will no longer sling mud at one another.

Let there be integrity in reporting and let the truth be told. And let us do away with hate speech and racist barbs, no matter which “side” we are supporting.

What have we done to the land of our beloved fathers? This rainbow nation that began so positively and creatively and with great support from all the people needs to recover and revive her vision and hope.

We need to look up to the blue African sky and the clouds so fair and work for a better land. And we need to share what we have because there is enough in South Africa for all. Andrea Henderson Cape Town