Those of you who read here know I think that Ridwana is the most beautiful girl in the world. In being and deed. Trust me on this one.
AnyHowze, we were sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Ridwana's dad to arrive for lunch when I asked her how the most beautiful girl in the world could be living in one of the ugliest towns in South Africa.
Ridwana looked at me and smiled gently and said: "I don't know Uncle Ridwan you will have to ask my dad."
I did not ask her dad of course. I know why she lives there just like I know why my moms has never left the dustbowl town by the hole.
As I drove on toward Kimberley I hoped that I did not offend Ridwana's parents by declaring Klerksdorp an ugly town. But it is so. Trust me on this too :0)
But then a lot of places in South Africa are butt ugly. The infrastructure is crumbling and just about everywhere looks like a really old and dirty pair of hand-me-down shoes that just does not fit anymore.
When you escape the towns and cities the beauty of the land becomes apparent. South Africa is, in fact, one of the most beautiful places in the world.
What is butt ugly is how we have developed a large part of it into the Frankenstein of post-colonialism with its characteristic inferiority complex.
The sad part is that so many think it is supposed to be like that. Yesterday I watched workers from the local municipality cut down indigenous cacti so they could grow lawn in its place.
The grass (lawn) is adornment of the colonial mindset. It is the official accoutrement of colonialized development and a marker of 'civilization' for the shackled.
Grass/lawn will take lots of water and need constant attention as it interferes with the ecosystem that the cacti thrive in.
This cutting down of what is natural for what is a constructed artificiality is a metaphor for our inferiority. We want to be something else. That something else must look like the West and make us feel light in our dark skins.
In the too-hot summer months to come there will be no rainfall in Kimberley but the grass/lawn will be dutifully manicured while thousands upon thousands of poor black folk have no access to clean running water.
But never mind this is the 'equality' of development. If you don't have running water you can always buy bottled water. (If they don't have bread give 'em cake or better yet, a Big Mac!)
I know Ridwana will remain beautiful forever but I am worried about the ugly that surrounds her - and that is none of her fault or her parents.
Could you be the most beautiful girl in the world
Could you be
It's plain to see you're the reason that God made a girl
Oh, yes you are
And if the stars ever fell one by one from the sky
I know Mars could not be, uh, too far behind
Cuz baby this kind of beauty has got no reason to ever be shy
Cuz honey this kind of beauty is the kind that comes from inside
Oh, yes you are
And if the stars ever fell one by one from the sky
I know Mars could not be, uh, too far behind
Cuz baby this kind of beauty has got no reason to ever be shy
Cuz honey this kind of beauty is the kind that comes from inside
Onward!
Ps. Yeah I think you are beautiful too. A veritable queen in a castle. Geez ;0)
Pss. Oh Anisa, as you start your new life by the sea may all your dreams come true. Thank you for being the kind of family I respect and luv.
If you having trouble with your expensive Vodacom 3G connection like I am (or Nashua Mobile) and you want to hear this beautiful cut without the video then go here.
If you living in a country where internet access is no hassle then send my ass a one-way ticket (I prefer Kenya by the way).
Jambo
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