Justice Makhado

Are We Lost? Justice Makhado

South Africa was regarded as a model for building a Diverse country under the vision of a Rainbow Nation. Bishop Desmond Tutu and President Nelson Mandela worked together towards creating a country that values diversity by calling it a Rainbow Nation. We were meant to focus on our similarities more that our differences and this seemed to work for a few years until this vision died down and apathy, racism and corruption became the order of the day. Five students who were coming from different backgrounds were stuck in a lift of one of the Universities. This was common because of load shedding in order to release pressure from the power stations who were struggling to supply enough electricity to the country. This situation gave the boys an opportunity to learn more about themselves and each other, testing their perceptions about each other which they have been taught by their parents, school, churches, communities and peers. After listening to each other's perceptions and getting angry and trying to understand their validity they start finding out things that they were not ready to find out out. The characters are Africa who is a Black young male, Steve a young Coloured male, Jannie a young White male, Rashid a young Indian male and Chris who is a young black male with albinism. They hated each other's view point and were intent on defending their different races each time they are attacked or accused of racism which is what currently happens in South Africa. The discussions though difficult create an opportunity for Africa, Steve and Jannie to find out that they all have the same father with Steve and Africa also sharing the same mother which was a shock top them because they thought that the fact that they are from different races they could never be related and hence the animosity amongst them. They also discover that they have the power to resuscitate the vision of the Rainbow Nation as envisioned by the two great statesmen. It is a great book that will challenge the misconceptions and perceptions that most South African have about each other.