There is dispute in the air in South Africa, and it is between Farmers(of settler origin) and Natives.
Everyone knows their forebears were dispossessed of their land, and their chatter is increasing.
It introduces a challenging time for all of us because 1. We know that land reform must happen. 2. We aren’t sure how it must transpire and what the outcome should be.
We should avoid violence by any means, unless we want to invite another torrent of unforeseen problems. Or, so I thought!
Violence ends up being an invited evil in times like these.
Emotions run amok of us, and people tune in on themselves and are no longer on the matter.
Make no mistake; those on the forefront of these land-first rants will be the first to serve themselves when such a right(through warfare) is ultimately afforded to them.
And that becomes the disadvantage of democracy – It’s the people we’ve put in power that end up being tyrannical.
However, that matters little today because of the theme of the whole situation – Which is that some foreigners came and took our land, and we must reclaim it.
And I do agree with that sentiment. Land should be redistributed. However, the settlers(foreigners who presently own the vast majority of the land) also deserve some portion, just not as much as they have today; although I don’t see that as likely to transpire.
In an ideal world, the land would be redistributed based on the population ratios and ways of the past, of the people involved.
It would imply that eighty per cent of the land would belong to natives since they constitute eighty per cent of the population. And the same would surmise for the rest of the demographics. THOUGH, IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY THIS CAN NEVER WORK!
And based on how we utilized land before colonization, we would have to plough it the same way, in the same setup.
This would be to avoid conflicts between all the natives who would now lay claim to it, despite most not even originating here.
Watching men fight for this freedom tells a strong tale. The land is fruitful! Land bears all that is found on and beneath it. And whoever has it has an unfair advantage over all people.
Complicating history sure had its pay points, but people are also wildly curious. And inequality means that certain people will have their way regardless of whether they oppress in doing so or not.
The world fails to understand that all these inhumane exercises are borne from this continent. Today’s oppressed people will reverse the wheel in a matter of time.
There will be violence.
Even people within peaceful societies had called or threatened violence before, particularly when they did not have their way on matters that were dear to them. And those people are alive in different bodies today.
The story of holding on to or forfeiting the land goes down to resistance. And at the centre of it all, denial and difference!
When a story has worked for you for so long, you end up believing that it was designed solely for your discretion.
And you end up in defense at the slightest site of rebuttal against your policies and the violence that got you to the top.
These days are already written on stone.
Even before the ships had arrived, it should have been known that this was only a temporary arrangement.
Yes, there was famine and drought in your homelands. And thus, you were ordered to find and take over new land(s), which you did successfully!
But, as soon as you sailed away and your homeland disappeared from sight, you should have reflected then and there on the decision you’re to embark on.
Because now you were on murky waters. You were fixed on a mind of domineering by all costs, and you grew irrational. So, the stories and justifications which you tell yourself today are nothing but tales.
No one forfeited the land peacefully.
And the blueprint of the trauma and scars is stacked on all bookshelves.
All who inflicted the trauma are known, and their descendants can be located. The question now turns to, should they be found?
And my answer to that is a confident NO!
Unfortunately, my answer does not, nor should it, account for much. Because I am trying to preach peace and harmony in an imperfect world. This world is militant.
Resources decide men’s fortunes, and chief amongst them is land. You may not be the smartest or fittest, but the land gives you strength and courage; it gives you identity.
Now imagine all that usurped history by removing people from their lands into obscurity.
And today, they are employed on the very land that they would typically roam and fight for.
History has nitty gritties that we cant easily elaborate on. And sometimes, injustice is served due to our ignorance in this regard.
But only the Gods shall imprison us for our faults.
Between humankind, the story will remain that of people that conquered or were conquered. Apart from pockets here and there, it will never be an encompassing story of justice.
The Gods allowed injustice for millennia, and today it has come to be understood as human will(human nature).
And this has imprisoned us all into seclusion.
Those who seek an ever-lasting harmonious life in this dimension can rest assured that the light at the end of the tunnel is now on.
War-cries like the ones echoed serve a purpose because when the inevitable day comes, we will walk into it with a tad of wisdom.
In the end, you can’t have Millions of people accusing you of being an unjust inheritor of land, and yet you try to have them examined for loose screws!
Despite what history is, we have to admit that in the end, regardless of how this ends, people deserve land. And no one family deserves vast acres of it alone. It is unnatural, and those that see it otherwise will live in fear until perpetuity.
Because people want freedom, and the task is to understand that!
