“We need to reimagine what kind of country we want to live in,” says Ramphele

South Africans need to acknowledge all aspects of their history so that healing can take place and the country can move forward in a new direction. This was one of the core sentiments shared by Mamphela Ramphele during a discussion about her latest book, Dreams, Betrayal and Hope, at the 2017 Open Book Festival in Cape Town.

Mamphela Ramphele discusses her latest book, Dreams, Betrayal and Hope, with Karabo Rajuili at the 2017 Open Book Festival in Cape Town. 6 September 2017. PHOTO: Aidan Jones

“We as South Africans are deeply wounded by the past,” said Ramphele. “Post-1994 you would have thought that those people who have been oppressed would be the greatest champions of human rights, you’re wrong. They have no capacity to do that until they acknowledge the extent to which they have been wounded.”

Personal responsibility and reimagining South African society was a recurring theme throughout Ramphele’s discussion. “We all need to ask ourselves, ‘what needs to change in my life so I can make a difference?’”

Ramphele emphasized that an emotional settlement can only take place by breaking what she called “the conspiracy of silence,” which she said creates toxicity in South African society.

“We need to talk about how the current comforts of white South Africans were bought, and by talking about it it becomes less toxic, it becomes a part of our history. Healing is not impossible, but we’ve got to acknowledge this, acknowledgement is the first step in the healing process,” Ramphele urged.

Referencing Hélèn Opperman Lewis’ book, Apartheid: Britain’s Bastard Child, Ramphele pointed out that transferral of trauma from one generation to the next is one of the main reasons for the continuation of conflict and oppression in South Africa today.

“Democracies are only as strong as the activism and the critical thinking of the citizens of those democracies,” said Ramphele, before reminding the audience that citizens need basic human rights like healthcare, safety and education to be better positioned to make such a contribution.

“History must not be taught from 1652, it’s madness,” exclaimed Ramphele when speaking about transformation in South Africa’s education system and society. “We also need to have basic education in the mother tongue, and the constitution should be required reading in schools.”

Commenting on the current political environment in South Africa, Ramphele said: “We’ve got transactional politics [in South Africa], ‘what are you going to give us?’ is the question people in poor communities ask. People want t-shirts and they are used to being given food parcels… party politics in South Africa has become commercialised, it is very difficult to introduce idealistic politics in such an environment.”

Ramphele also singled out the role of private sector, which she says has not done enough to redress the wrongs of the past. “Business cannot be a spectator in the reimagining of [South Africa],” said Ramphele. – Aidan Jones