Will real parents please stand up, please stand up . . .

There is nothing more this space can add on the trend of protests and destruction of the very amenities that are said to be the cause of disquiet. I for one do not stir any emotion at the sight of adults pulling up traffic signs, blockading roads and generally making a shameful nuisance of themeselves in the name of "service delivery protests".

What does without fail leave me in a helpless fit of rage is the even greater helplessness of the children. Take the incident, the othere day, where a library was burned down. What is to happen to the children who as their homework are required to visit a library? I listened with fascination as a 6 year old told me that at her school (far, far away from the townships) every Friday is library day and she gets to take a book out to read for the whole week and she returns it the next Friday. You see where this is going right? Will the parents please take up the fight on behalf of their children! When all this is over, the parents/adults will go back to work (if they have work to go to), the out of school youth will go back to whatever it is that they do when they are not protesting. The children however, will still not have a library and they will still not a stop or other traffic signs to protect them from cars.

Then there are other children. Admittedly, much older children, who in all fairness should be held responsible for their actions. These are those children who through the means of their parents or otherwise, are at university. Who form part of a minority that is most likely to be part of this country's privileged few. That is if they finish their studies and are able to put their learned skills to some gainful endeavour. These children however go on a rampage, protesting and blockading. Of course they call this peaceful protest, demonstration and freedom of expression. But, theirs is no different an expression of that freedom to that exercised by, say the taxi drivers/owners against the BRT. Once again I ask, where are the parents of these children? Is there no one who can say: "Ok, so Polokwane promised free education and yes, Polokwane is taking some time to deliver that free education - please go do what you are here for while Polokwane gets its act together." In a manner of speaking. In any event, are the other children not as free to attend class if they want to; as those who seek to express their freedom are free to protest and demonstrate? Where are the parents of these children whose aspirations the children carry on their shoulders. "You are the first in this clan to go to university, make us proud." The funding model of tertiary education is a separate matter. "My daughter, education is your inheritance!" Where are the parents who say this?

Then there is this particular tragic case going on south of here. Children are dead, parents are mourning and two children are charged with the murder of those children. To this day, I see the pain in my mother's eyes - the pain of burrying her young son. This is tragic. Now, children who are supposed to be in school; who are supposed to be grateful that they are alive and have an opportunity to get an education; are protesting, demonstrating, expressing their freedom and threatening violence outside the court. They want to meet out their brand of justice to the accused. They, like their brothers and sisters and parents elsewhere, are destroying the neighbourhood. Signs are uprooted, dustbins emptied onto the road surfaces and mayhem with wild abandon ensues. Where are the parents of these poor souls to whip them right into the classrooms? Are there any children in any classroom in Protea? Will these children be at the court everytime those other children appear in court?

When matters are as serious if not as tragic as this, one can only hope that the real parents will stand up lest the children remain forever down.

So, when did African lose its meaning?

Probably around the same time as the decision that Robert Sobukwe is no longer relevant as a liberation figure in South Africa - you may say.

It seems to be widely accepted that reference to African is short-hand for Black people who are not Coloured or Indian. I have also heard "Black African" being used - this is more confusing than the former use. The explanation that was given to me during one of those important corporate SA meetings was that: "Black is a generic term which means Africans, Coloured and Indians". In fact, I was referred to some legislation which decrees as such. So, if it says so in an Act of Parliament, then it must be so.

African no longer means "of Afrika" as would European (of Europe), Chinese (of China), Indian (of Indian), Namibian (of Namibia) and so on and so forth. It means a Black South African. It follows that an African living in South Africa is not like one living in Nigeria. All this is confusing - moreso to an anal retentive darkie trying to make sense of his messy world. It is with tragic amusement that I ponder corporate SA statistics: 20% Coloured, 5% Indian, 3% Black. However, seeing that the law says Black means all three, it is 3% African just to make sure that the 3% has no Coloureds or Indians in it. Of the 3 so-called previously disadvantaged groups, only one is African the rest plus Whites, are not.

Other than in legislation, past and present - do the terms Black and Coloured have any meaning? Do they have any meaning other than the constructed meaning? I get a NO to that answer - what do you get? Most adult South Africans my age have a fairly good idea why those words were given their respective meaning. One would have thought therefore that such meaning would be rejected on account of nonsense - but NO, we have a transition to make sense of here. Besides, what is not measured, is not done - so they say in corporate SA. How then would we determine whether the ills of the past are being undone without the use of these neat concepts? I have no cooking clue, like that chef in that reality TV show.

So I'm thinking: isn't it so that I am no more black than I am not white and no more coloured than I am not black and not white? I can live with all this but what does that have to do with African? I am quite happy to be confused by artificial constructions such as Black, Coloured and White. Remember that movie dialogue "you people are more brown than you are black - you people are more pink than you are white"? For Timbuktu's sake why does African have to be thrown into this confusion too?

I don't know about you but me - I am an African, a South African Motswana, Mongwaketsi wa ga heyana heya, masia le kgomo a lesa temo - and about that, let there be no confusion. So I ask with humility, when you call me Black what do you mean? I know what you mean when you call me African.