South Africa’s image on the world stage has been taking continual beatings over the years since Nelson Mandela stepped down as president.
Despite the political tensions around SA’s first democratic elections 30 years ago, we were the world’s darling that seemingly couldn’t put a foot wrong.
Our relatively peaceful transition to a democracy meant that we stood on the shoulders of moral and intellectual giants, which saw us invited to peace talks in conflict zones all over the world.
Our time had come and there was a tangible feeling of national pride associated with being a South African. But that now feels like it was a fantastical dream and little did we suspect what turbulent times lay ahead.
And how could we? The slow erosion of our value system was insidious at first, but became a never-ending and brazen cascade in recent times. From a global perspective, it must be like watching a slow-motion car crash.
🇿🇦 WATCH | SA's legal team in the genocide case against Israel at the ICJ has arrived back at OR Tambo International airport. pic.twitter.com/X8lef8CscE
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) January 14, 2024
Last week we got a taste of that collective pride back again, when the State decided to take on Israel in front of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for acts of ongoing genocide in Palestine.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to belittle what winning Rugby World Cups have done for SA’s self-esteem over the years.
In this case, it was on a stage where the only fancy footwork, or kicking prowess that mattered, was eloquent intelligence and critical thinking.
But make no mistake, that group of lawyers was wearing the green and gold on their hearts and they deserved no less support than Siya Kolisi and his team.
Is there a political motive behind our case? I suspect so, yes. This is an election year after all.
SA’s government has always been clear about its support for Palestine over the years, so I think the legal action is a natural extension of that support.
Plus it is the right thing to do from a country that once was the poster child of peaceful conflict resolution.
Sadly, only around a third of the 195 countries in the world are openly supporting our ICJ action, which makes me wonder about the value systems of the others. But that is a conversation for another day.
Right now, I hope SA’s moral stance is able to put a bit of a hold on the onslaught that our global image has endured and bring about some change in the Middle East.
The SA government may have restored some of its moral authority on the world stage, but on the domestic stage, there is still a lot of work to be done.
breinou@gmail.com