Nearly 60 years ago, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr delivered a speech titled I have a Dream during the march on Washington which was a call for equality and freedom. The speech went on to become one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement and one of the most iconic speeches in American and global struggle history.
In the speech, Dr King Jr said: "I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by their character."
His words were also relevant in many South African communities at a time when people were segregated based on their race. These were times when the air of many communities reeked of the smell of the dreams the disenfranchised people could not turn into reality because they were treated as sub-humans.
In that era, the children of people like King Jr in South Africa were not just suffering racial prejudice but all their claims to human status were being crushed.
To a large extent, King Jr's dream was largely realised in many parts of the world, but at a great cost.
However, before this dream was realised, it went through three phases. In the first phase of a dream, after it is expressed, it usually gets denied by someone who may be better placed in some way. Those do all they can to ensure that this particular dream never succeeds. In today's world, no community is without a person whose dream was thwarted either by witchcraft , force or even the less heavier but equally destructive trickery.
Each and every one of us knows of someone so talented that they could easily feature at the highest championship level of their sporting code but had this snuffed by someone who was jealous.
A dreamer who survives the first stage gets to a stage where their dream is recognised by more people and affirmed by those who place their best interests forward. They do not just acknowledge talent but also support and if need be, fight and sacrifice to ensure the dream is realised and the life of the dreamer is improved.
The final stage for any dream is where the dream is already realised. There you see the life of the dreamer changing for the better. They can now meet their needs as well as their wants with ease. There they have access to a higher quality of life and also help others realise their own dreams.
Unfortunately, not all dreams are realised in this country. Some meet their end in the first or second stage. It is also possible for a dream to die right at the final stage.
As we commemorate Human Rights Day in South Africa today, we remember the Sharpeville Massacre which occurred in the township of Sharpeville in 1960. On that fateful day, the police's firing at peaceful protestors using live ammunition which lasted for approximately two minutes, left 69 people dead and, according to the official inquest, close to 200 people severely wounded.
While on this day the advancement of democracy does not allow the firing of peaceful people with live ammunition, people still have their dreams fired at by poverty, inequality and unemployment in this country. This kills their dreams, morale and hope. It eats at their sense of humanity.As the country commemorates this sad part of its history, we should devise plans on how to rekindle the dreams of those who are still disenfranchised.
The country's leadership at all levels should focus on ensuring that it makes its community's economic environment conducive to growth and attracts meaningful investments.
It is unfortunate that as the country approaches the general elections that will take place in a few months' time, many people feel that the government is doing far too little right.
Most feel that leaders steal and lie to them to realise their own dreams at the expense of the public interest.If far too many dreams to have basic services like clean drinkable water and reliable energy supply are not realisable, then the (South) African Dream is threatened.
If the country’s infrastructure fails to support businesses to thrive and government institutions to render services, the gains made in King Jr's dream will be reversed.
This Human Rights Day, South Africans should know that failure to solve the many societal problems that abound, then next year's election and will be a nightmare.For the country to host a free and fair election next year, all people should have access to the human rights enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
Given Majola is a multimedia journalist for the Business Report.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.
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