Community members discuss the future at a recent community conversation
February 12, 2010 – Yesterday, on the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, the community of Walmer Bay township in Port Elizabeth convened at the Human Dignity Centre for its second community conversation.
The conversations form part of the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Social Cohesion Community Conversations, a programme launched by the Foundation last year after outbreaks of xenophobic violence in South Africa.
The conversations encourage communities to talk about the underlying causes of the anger and frustration that led to violence between South Africans and migrant workers. They also aim to increase collaboration within communities and find new ways of thinking and acting, to prevent such violence from occurring again.
Community conversations Implementing Partner Bea Abrahams says yesterday’s Walmer Bay conversation built on the issues that surfaced at the previous conversation.
“The key issues we found at this conversation were common across the country,” said Abrahams.
These included: a lack of trust in local, provincial and national leaders; the need for youth to be more involved in decision-making at a community level; and the problem of substance abuse among the youth.
The conversation also identified a lack of integration between migrant workers and South Africans in the community. Local non-governmental organisations the Red Cross and loveLife pledged to support the Walmer Bay youth in future activities, to address these issues.
According to Abrahams, the conversation was significant in furthering Mr Mandela’s dream of a united South Africa.
“Nelson Mandela epitomises reconciliation and nation building,” said Abrahams. “those were his primary imperatives and it’s appropriate, in that context, to have a community conversation to ponder reconciliation. We have to understand that nation building is a long term process and the entire community conversation programme is a step towards that.”
Community conversations facilitator Vuyo Mpushe was also positive about the outcome of the conversation and the progress that was made towards reconciliation in the community.
“The conversation today was great,” he said. “The youth of Walmer Bay came out in their numbers and they all participated. The conversation made the community realise the importance of cultivating a relationship with migrant workers.
“We also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. We painted a picture of what South Africa would be like, had it not been for the talks between [former South African President FW] de Klerk and Mr Mandela.”
Facilitator, Abdiraham Jilley, shared his sentiments.
“It was fantastic,” he commented. “We enjoyed the community conversation. The community realised what the underlying causes of anger were and we tried to build bridges between the migrants and South Africans. There was a good understanding between South Africans and migrants. The way we facilitated, people said we should come again so that they can understand each other more.”
Koleka Ndzuta, another facilitator at the conversation, thought it fitting that the event took place on such a meaningful anniversary.
“It gave us a chance to reflect and to look at the key challenges that we faced, and the feelings we had when Mr Mandela was released. There was a move towards embracing the legacy of Mr Mandela and the need to take action, to look towards making our lives more meaningful. We looked at how we can integrate migrants into the community. There was a common feeling that we need to do something.”
To take steps towards reconciliation in the community and in South Africa as a whole, Abrahams said it was important to consider the fundamental aspects of the programme – “the interests of the nation, identity and a sense of self-worth and belonging”.
“Dialogue is integral to the process of nation building,” she said. “The process of social cohesion embodies the values of reconciliation and nation building. The participation was fantastic; there were lots of young people and non-governmental organisations and women.”
Abrahams said it was especially meaningful to host the conversation on such an auspicious day: “It was one of those moments where we reflected on the achievements made over the past 20 years, but also looked at the enormity of what lies ahead and what still needs to be done in South Africa. Today served as an inspiration and hopefully, 20 years from now, we can look at this moment and understand this was the point that we started taking the initiative and doing things for ourselves.”
The community dialogue was the result of a partnership between the Peddie Development Centre, the Eastern Cape Provincial Council of Churches, the Somali Association of South Africa, the Eastern Cape Refugee Forum, the South African Red Cross Society and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.