CARVED IMAGES ON THE SLOPES OF TAFELBERG Was sort of perplexed to note the report in Die Beeld of this alleged plan to carve a huge face of Madiba out on one of the slopes of Tafelberg, Cape Town. First tickle of concern was my childhood sub-conscious raised in the conservative Reformed Church tradition of the Ten Commandments "thou shalt not make any image". Then I was thinking of my friend Sophie Mahlangu who together with Poppie Skosana run the Cullinan Diamond Tour Office in Cullinan. Few weeks ago I was taking some Texans to Cullinan and preferred to sit on the verandah talking to Sophie and Poppy while they went on the trip. When I complimented Sophi on her excellent command of Afrikaans she said " You know us Ndebeles all speak good Afrikaans". I then asked her whether she knew the late Rev Nico Smit (Nico Smit was a Dutch Reformed Minister of Religion who in defiance to the doctrine of apartheid preferred to walk the road of resistance in the same tradion of Pastors Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Niemoller against the Nazi regime, and left the white controlled safety of white DRC and joined the Dutch Reformed Church of Africa, moving to Mamelodi and living there until his last of days totally ostracised by Church and State). I had good reason to ask since I knew Dominee Nico Smit quite well in th sense that he and I did a course in " REVOLUTIONS WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, AMERICAN REVOLUTION, RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION" at some Institute of Learning some years ago. Although we were working in totally opposite worlds we became friends and I remember this very humble man, fearless in his convictions but always couched in love and respect, never in hatred. Sophie replied: " Oh we all knew Rev Smit well. We were all members of his Concregation in Mamelodi. We miss him a lot" Then the tears start running down the cheecks of 55 year old Sophi- a black Ndebele lady. This is the monuments I like, the ones that are not the flavour of the month but the ones carved in the hearts of people.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 18:17:13 +0000
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