Is there such thing as a unified South Africa? People will tell you there are Xhosa and Zulu, Venda, and Tsonga. There are Tswana and Sotho, Swati, Ndebele, English and Afrikaner, Cape Malay, “Coloured,” and many more. There are the ultra-wealthy and the impoverished within meters of one another. There are the smells of tikka masala rising beautifully next to the making of homemade ginger beer and amagwinya. There are conglomerations, accidental marriages of culture, and cleavages deeper than the Kimberley Mine. Centuries of racial domination, colonialism, and exploitation tore society into separate entities based on the pigmentation of one’s skin and ancestry. Humanity was determined by melanin. Although deemed the “Rainbow Nation” post-apartheid, the legacies of racial, class, cultural, linguistic, ethnic, and tribal differences penetrate almost all aspects of life today. Yet, in the midst of this division, some boldly hold onto “Ubuntu” as an unyielding anchor in these turbulent waters.
Ubuntu is a southern African philosophy deriving from Nguni culture that roughly means “I am because we are” and signifies the interconnection of all of humanity. A South African student explained to me that ubuntu means seeing humanity in all. We are all one; your fate is my fate. We are all siblings. Try to think of yourself not as an isolated individual, but as a drop in the ocean of humanity—a single entity. Ubuntu means kindness, humaneness, hospitality to all. Ubuntu means that we must lift all of us collectively. Why do we see the concerns of the marginalized and suffering and think, “at least I am not them,” or see someone of a different race, culture, or class and think that their issues do not matter to us? Why do we see ourselves as separate? According to ubuntu—are they not our siblings? Are we not them, and they not us?
Ubuntu is a paradigm shift from the United States’ dominant vision of individualism. Rather than viewing individual success as the hallmark of fulfillment, ubuntu seeks cooperation, understanding, and interpersonal flourishing. One is only human through his or her interactions with others. Can we imagine incorporating such an ethical standard into our lives? How would we change? Would our conception of “the self” change? In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “Ubuntu is not 'I think therefore I am.' It says rather: 'I am a human because I belong. I participate. I share.'"
Amidst all the divisions of South African society around me, I see ubuntu. It is present when my classmates speak up for a better society. It is tangible when strangers help a woman look for a dropped earring. It is palpable when friends say they want to pursue a career that seeks justice for those who, for too long, have seen justice denied. Ubuntu is the same mindset that, after the fall of the apartheid government, sought reconciliation, not bloodshed; unity, not further discord and violence; justice, not cold retribution. Ubuntu seeks an end goal bigger than the self: the betterment of society as a whole. Perhaps, if we all practiced ubuntu, we would understand that we must build bridges, not walls. We must protect the vulnerable, not exploit them. Life is meant to be shared and given for others, not destined to work for the hoarding of wealth.
South Africa has a troubled past and complicated present, but, if the youth of today continue to display such audacity to believe in the greater good, see each other as siblings, and value ubuntu, then there will always be a spark of hope for the future.
Trevor O'Connor (C'20) majored in government with minors in sociology and African American studies. During the fall 2018 semester, O’Connor studied outside of Cape Town, South Africa, and shared his insights about institutional memory, democracy building in post-apartheid South Africa, and issues of racial, economic, and social justice through the Junior Year Abroad Network.
