Anyone who knows me will know that I’m deeply passionate about racial reconciliation in South-Africa. We have a tainted past, but I believe that by the grace of God we have a bright future. But we must once again see and work towards that beautiful vision of a new South-Africa that Nelson Mandela showed us. And as much as we need a leader like him, full of humility and grace, we need the people of our country to believe again. We need an army of unsung heroes, people who will cross the racial divide with respect and care for the other.
Maybe I’m calling us to something that sounds impossible, but I still believe. I have two very good reasons to believe. Firstly I believe because I know such a leader. I have been following him for 13 years. He gave up a position of high privilege to live with filthy, undeserving people, to love and serve them. He healed the sick, gave wise council and mended broken hearts. But people still had hardened hearts towards him. They ended up conspiring against him and killing him. His name is Jesus and thankfully He rose from the dead, proving that He is God and now He offers forgiveness and He reconciles us with our Creator. I want to make it clear that my hope for our nation is deeply rooted in Christ.
Secondly I believe because I have seen the common people of our country working towards reconciliation. One of the most surprising but significant ways that this has happened in our country has been through domestic workers. My life has been deeply impacted by Sannie, our family’s domestic worker. Here is why...
Every South-African is born into a world scarred by racism and we are handed a choice to walk towards reconciliation, or away from it on a daily basis. Many times this decision is strongly based on the representatives of other cultures in our immediate circles. For me this was our domestic worker, Sannie.
Pretoria, the city where I grew up, is still one of the least racially integrated cities in our country. In my younger years I didn’t know any black people except for Sannie.
I was born in 1986 into a world at war. I was 7 years old when South-Africa had its first democratic election and its first black president, Nelson Mandela. During my formative years the atmosphere in our country between black and white was very tense. I remember some of my parents’ friends gathering non-perishables and growing increasingly tense as the April 1994 elections approached. I remember the fear in their eyes, bordering on paranoia, as they said “you never know what will happen”, implying that if black people were to take power of our country the white minority will have to “run for cover”. Because of the heroic leadership of Nelson Mandela these fears never became a reality, he himself setting the example of reconciliation.
This was the world I was very familiar with growing up - it felt like racial tension was the undercurrent of my upbringing. So how did I end up in Mamelodi, a township with a 99,1% black population?
If the former was the world I knew, God in His wisdom placed a person in my life to show me a glimpse into the world that I didn’t know.My big counter argument to racism was never an ideology, but rather a person: our domestic worker, Sannie.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Sannie, like Jesus, is the absolute personification of these words. Sannie is hard-working, loyal, honest, friendly, kind-hearted and selfless. She is a woman of incredible character, the type of character that you could gladly imitate. Growing up, whatever accusation or racist remark someone would make would always simply be defeated by the response, “But Sannie is not like that.”
Over the years Sannie has shared in my family’ struggles and we have shared in hers, well at least to an extent. I remember when I was young, her husband would come home drunk and beat her until she gave him the money that she earned to take care of their two children, so that he could buy alcohol. My parents helped her to get a restraining order against him.
Through knowing Sannie I got to see a glimpse into the world I know much better now - a world of poverty, domestic abuse, political oppression and social injustice. I got to see a glimpse into the world of the marginalized. Despite all of this I never felt the slightest bit of resentment or entitlement from her. I just saw an honorable woman, who lived her life simply and gratefully. Having Sannie in my life was God’s grace.
Today I realize the impact that she had on my life and I want to honor her and all the domestic workers who gave up the best years of their lives to serve white families. Most of you have learnt our language while we might have gone as far as to learn how to greet you in your language. Many of you, like Sannie, have gone way beyond the call of duty to serve us. You have held our best interest at heart and prayed for us, sometimes being pseudo-mothers in our households, working for minimum wage, while being disconnected from your own families and culture.
I want to say thank you and I want to honor you. You have been and are some of the most powerful yet unnoticed agents of reconciliation between black and white in our country. To me you are an army of unsung heroes, those that history might not speak of but whose names are known in heaven.
If you have a similar story or want to honor your domestic worker, in the spirit of gratitude tell them how much you appreciate them and please post in the comments section below.
Love. Umlungu in Mamelodi.
Well said!
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