Let ’ s give thanks to those who make SA special, despite our politicians

There were times, and they were the lowest of times, when it seemed the apocalypse had arrived. Entire blocks of busy Bree Street rumbled as the road opened, split in two like the doors of a mythical hell opening to consume the Gomorrah we’ve become. Weeks later, dozens burned to death as the hijacked Usindiso building — turned into a high-rise shackland — blazed a vicious light on the scandal of neglect of laws and people’s lives. Saddled with a government whose members and officials are either inert or devising ever more ingenious ways to milk their public positions, we are left looking in the cracks of this edifice of despair for those shards of light that confirm the best of the South

African spirit. Against mounting odds.

For every public servant and politician on the take and abusing their office for personal gain, there are dozens of ordinary South Africans holding high the banner of steadfastness, patriotism, loyalty and generosity to one’s countrymen. They’re in the schools, the hospitals, the courts and the police. People doing the jobs for which they are paid, and expecting nothing more than what they have rightly earned. And a thank you from all of us.

While non-governmental organisations may be a thorn in the government’s flesh, with the authorities questioning their motives, we can look with pride at a civil society that is vibrant, independent and which undoubtedly has the best interests of all South Africans at heart. The charity sector in South Africa is thriving and it’s become a badge of honour for celebrities — sports stars being the best example — to have a foundation or a charity raising funds in their name for good causes.

Prime among the NGOs whose work is of the highest professional standards is Gift of the Givers, whose founder Imtiaz Sooliman has become the flag-bearer of all that is decent and praiseworthy in this country. At an event earlier this year, Sooliman recalled the death and destruction brought by the

April 2022 floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

He said: “It was a time of hope, despite all the carnage and the loss of life. But South Africans showed their resilience and stood up to the challenge, coming with a pot of food, some blankets, some clothes, helping each other, giving hope. Rescuing people from roofs, using boats, these were not disaster management people, just ordinary South Africans. It shows you that South

Africans in any calamity will stand up to help their fellow South Africans.”

Whether “any calamity” encompasses a government that has brought us to the brink of national bankruptcy is debatable, but the fact remains that we shouldn’t be too down on ourselves as 2023 draws to a close and we start bidding farewell to a year whose passing will surely not be mourned on these shores.

Alongside big magic, such as winning the Rugby World Cup for a record-breaking fourth time, there are the little bits of magic that stand out amid the general muck. The Cape Town sanitation team, en route from unblocking a sewer, whose quick thinking saved a two-year-old baby in a house fire; the replacement of Joseph Jordaan’s heart valve at the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, 60 years after pioneering heart surgery performed by Barnard himself; the Pretoria Wimpy Bar waitress who used her first aid knowledge to save the life of a choking child; Unisa professor Lukas Snyman whose work on energy solutions and clean-water technology has been recognised internationally.

It is these people who represent the true spirit of South Africa, notwithstanding the political class’s attempt to cast itself as the sole legitimate flag-bearer of South Africans’ hopes and aspirations. They keep alive the spirit of excellence and generosity that should animate all our activities, the private and the public. Let’s give a special Christmas thought to those who make our country the special place it is, despite the best efforts of our politicians to claim the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Alongside big magic, such as winning the Rugby World Cup, there are the little bits of magic