Zolani's interview 3/3

THIS PLACE IS A MIRACLE!

A SHARED FUTURE

"Despite our differences, we have a shared history, like a family. Even within the same family you don’t have the same memories. The same facts happened but were experienced differently."

“We also have a shared future as well. Ultimately I’m very optimistic. The people of South Africa have an incredible capacity for warmth and good. There are things that are in our way. The entire society has the capacity to work on it.”

“However, there is a feeling of helplessness among the youth. A feeling of not being able to change the course of events. Like it’s bigger than us. When of course we have the capacity to make a difference. » That’s the kind of message Ubumi wants to convey implicitly. But our worse enemy are these two following expressions “that’s the way it is” & “there’s nothing I can do about it.” That’s exactly what we are fighting against and we will, in each school speech, indicate all the little things people can do, at their small level, that, if more and more people do so, will make a difference.

It was already possible during apartheid, if people really wanted to, as Zolani mentions it: « All guys in the band have always been involved in multiracial bands even during apartheid, at a time when it was very difficult to have black members in a band. »

Maybe that’s what makes Zolani so optimistic about the future of her country: « The spirit of the majority of the people in the country to forgive is overwhelming. Millions of things happened where people were humiliated and made you feel so small. No wonder you get all these sicknesses within society, like crime and rape and all sorts of things. But it’s amazing when you think on the whole, the amount of good will among the people. This place is a miracle! »

Interview led by Antoine Gazeau, written by Julie Marchand & proof read by Olivia Bischoff.