“A good head and a good heart are always an impressive combination. But if you add a formed tongue or pen to it, you have something very special. "~ Nelson Mandela
Ever thought: "Life is so unfair!"
Is it really?
Has life given you circumstances that keep you in a deep, dark hole of disadvantages that you can't possibly climb out of?
Has life decided that you have to live in bitter poverty and watch how everyone in your life suffers from being denied everything a person needs to be a person?
Has life put you in a position where you wouldn't dare ever dream of something better for yourself, your family, or anything?
My story is specifically about my homeland Cape Town, South Africa.
A place so breathtaking that it constantly reminds you that a higher power must really exist.
A place full of friendliest people with a strong sense of family and community.
People who smile slightly and see the positive sides of even the darkest realities.
And among all of this, we were all touched by the far-reaching hand of need.
Elders have seen extreme poverty and prejudice while raising large families as relentlessly as possible.
Families have lost their families in the struggle for a better world at the southernmost point on the African continent.
And the struggle continues.
The struggle continues in 2020.
Sixty million voices go unheard every day, and a lot of injustices are thrown at them from time to time.
Seniors have no means to support their humble lives and no one to take care of their needs.
Injustice, with a life of regret.
Body-capable, competent, adult men and women are forgotten by the system and left as easy prey to life-destroying temptations.
Unjust, with daily despair.
With an unemployment rate of 30 percent, what will they do and what will become of you and your families?
The youth stares straight into the face of a bleak future.
Injustice, with overwhelming depression.
Children lack the little they need to bloom in the future of this world.
Injustice, with blissful oblivion.
How long must you be happy in the little you all have?
Every family has a story to tell.
And unfortunately the vast majority sounds like a broken record and always plays the same melody.
The story of my family is no different.
Grown up in poverty, shared a home with ten other people, very little to eat, no gas or electricity, no vehicle, long distances in harsh conditions, just to get to school every day, no phone, no television, none Equipment, no hot water, problematic plumbing in an outbuilding, no health care, no dental care, a pair of shoes per person, worn until their soles were irreparable, clothing that the family's matriarch left out of the school left before The age of fourteen supported the family by handcrafting and stayed at home to look after eight to fourteen growing children.
And the list of unimaginable challenges continues.
Sounds like a village in the remote parts of an undiscovered jungle that time and progress have forgotten.
Nevertheless, they survived.
And tragically, the circumstances.
In the age of social media, digital business and limitless telecommunications, there are still harsh circumstances.
While some miraculously conquered incredible odds, defeated and prospered the system, others were at the mercy of history chasing its tail in a vicious cycle.
And today millions of people in South Africa still live like this without getting out of their madness.
As a child, I remember that both my mother and grandmother employed domestic workers who lived in an informal settlement (either with their families or apart from their families who lived in a distant state) in a makeshift apartment that could go up literally every moment in smoke from a neglected candle.
As an adult, I do the same thing as my mother and grandmother before me, and there are the same criteria that have been around for four decades.
Nobody came to the rescue.
When you look at the lives of these loyal domestic workers, it's not hard to imagine that the younger generations of their families are going the ways they always have.
Injustice, hopeless.
The same story applies to gardeners, bricklayers, craftsmen, caretakers, security guards, petrol guards (who?) And car guards (huh?), Caretakers and garbage collectors and…
But wait, there's more. It is devastating that there is more.
Add to the list the layer of society that has so far managed to live slightly over the border (live paycheck to paycheck) and live a relatively “comfortable” life that has now lost its employment and I know not where to start to earn a living wage so that their families are fed, clothed and cared for.
How can you win and rise above these life-changing, unexpected curve balls?
The only immediately viable solution for them all that I can see is compassion, kindness, and generosity.
Compassion from others, kindness from strangers, generosity from family and friends.
And I assure you now, if you have ever wondered that there is enough to go around this great planet.
Interest in the well-being of others – children, young people, family men and women, the elderly.
Fortunately, there are dozens of beautiful people in this place called Cape Town who are compassionate about everything they do.
Parents and siblings protect each other from the wolves at the door.
People make the best of their bad conditions and are thankful for everything they have, even if they only have their health.
Families and friends check whether their family members and friends are "OK".
And would you believe that even though you now know almost all of the stories, they will do anything to convince you that they are actually fine?
There is a term for this: "Making Do".
They get by with what they have, they get by with what was given to them, they get by with what they get, they get by with what can be saved, they come with from how they live, they do what they get paid for their hard, often physical work. You can do this.
Their dignity is intact, at least in their minds, if not in reality.
Definitely unfair to you and me.
For them it is only life.
And it is in all of our hands.
About Feryal Dollie
Feryal Dollie is a South African introvert who currently lives in Cape Town and previously lived in Vietnam and Malaysia. Traveling is a passion that she indulges in whenever she can, and writing gives her a voice. She helps women empower themselves by working from home and living a healthy lifestyle at Earnmorelivewell.com. If you'd like to show compassion, please read their latest campaign at gogetfunding.com/covid-19-relief-for-south-africa/
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