Memory always serves us
2010-07-25 13:00
Like a lot of people living in South Africa’s townships, my family
and I want to be comfortable.
This means having a non-leaking roof over our heads, affordable
electricity, running water and speed humps on the roads, among other
things.
These are basic requests and we generally don’t care who delivers
on these things, just as long as they deliver.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), eager as always to get that elusive
“black vote”, beautified our pavements, revamped our parks and expanded our
roads.
They were doing so well that some of my friends and family started
warming up to Godzille & Co, even toying with the idea of voting for them –
that is until the open-toilet saga.
My father is adamant that all these changes I am seeing in my
beloved Khayelitsha and other Cape Town townships are not due to “that woman”.
According to him, it is all thanks to the ANC.
Pointing out that the Western Cape belongs to the DA, and that
these changes have become visible during their tenure, only serves to make him
even more adamant.
Gogo next door is the same. While she insists that “uZuma
unamanyala”, she is of the opinion that even a party run by a person of such
“low morals” is better than one run by a white person.
To her, voting for the DA
will be like “bringing apartheid back”.
When the open-toilet issue reared its ugly head, these senior
citizens felt vindicated.
My dad and his ilk might not make sense sometimes in their defence
of the ruling party, but the horror of apartheid is still sharp in their
minds.
This is why they will never vote for a “white” party, no matter how
bad the “black” one is. And now, those who were warming up to the DA have made a
U-turn.
As the DA stages its fourth federal congress this weekend, my
friends, family and neighbours will be watching from the sidelines.
Some will don the free T-shirts and caps, but when they get home
they will laugh at the whities’ ignorance because “come on, I’ll never vote for
a white party”.
- City Press