White students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) thronged around shouting “Rhodes Must Fall!” while others had tape on their mouths over which was scrawled the same words.
Not “uRhodes kufanele awe” in Xhosa or the Tswana “Rhodes o swanetse awe.” And I wonder how many of them could say it in anything but English?
Most will have been born in Africa, and some will even be majoring in a local language, but my bet is your average Mulungu on campus can’t speak a word.
Ironically, Cecil Rhodes did. In 1870 he left England and joined his brother, Herbert, on a farm near Durban, where he won the respect of the staff by learning Zulu. He impressed the amaNdebele elders 26 years later when he met them for a peace indaba in the Matobo Hills, where he now lies buried.
He also spoke a passable Afrikaans and, on the diamond fields in Kimberley, made friends with black and white diggers from across Africa and the world.
The South African minister for higher education has been tireless in pushing for more focus on the vernacular. And while Blade Nzimande and I don’t agree on much, he knows my view that in order to obtain a South African ID or passport you should need to pass a simple test in any one of the country’s black languages. The same should apply in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique.
And before you howl me down as some multicultural leftie, I believe it’s an outrage that councils in Britain offer services in Hindi, Albanian, Urdu. Those who want to live in Britain should learn English … fast. Ditto German in Deutschland or Chinese in Hong Kong.
Immigration an issue
At next month’s UK election, immigration is an issue with a surprising amount of phlegm against the Poles, Estonians, Czechs who have all-but taken over the service sector with their hard work and willing attitude. And — as with Zimbabweans living in Britain — they often speak better English than many of the locals.
Same with guards from Congo or Cameroon who man the car parks in South Africa and talk Tswana, Sotho, English, even Afrikaans. Or the long-established Chinese community in Newcastle: it’s wonderful to stand in one of their shops while the owner sells an iPhone in Zulu.
Yes, I know the proper term is isiZulu but Zulus refer to English as isiLungu and we all say French and Russian instead of le français or (pronounced Russkie yazik)
But I digress.
I was in a South African court last year supporting a colleague who had been arrested for driving under the influence.
Standing ovation
Among the long morning of cases was a man from Zimbabwe accused of theft, but he struggled with English, and there was no interpreter. So I offered to help and listened to him in Shona, then explained what he was saying in English; a white guy translating between a black accused for the benefit of a black prosecutor and magistrate. When we were done, he was released, and the entire court (nearly all black) gave me a standing ovation.
My point? We live on a continent where the majority love it when a white person speaks a local language and this is something the minority should embrace.
It’s a generalisation, but during apartheid and in Rhodesia, I rarely met a white activist who understood much about the rest of Africa, or spoke anything but English or Afrikaans. Of course they were there; what I’m saying is they were the exception. Same with the blacker-than-thou students in Cape Town.
If Rhodes must go, I suggest replacing his statue with something that speaks to our diversity. And to celebrate, add a rider at UCT that no student can graduate without passing at least one exam in Xhosa. – Geoff Hill runs a private intelligence firm across Africa and is the author of Battle for Zimbabwe and What Happens After Mugabe? (Random House)
Post published in: Africa News