By Mamodima Monnakgotla For the first time, I took a moment to listen to Eddy Grant’s Hope Jo’anna song and receive its’ message. This gesture was stemmed by a campaign I stumbled upon that carries a cover version of this great song as the main soundtrack.
#HopeJoanna is a social campaign that was launched by Grid Worldwide on Freedom Day. It primarily encourages all South Africans to be a bit more optimistic about the country while recognising our history with all it’s bitter-sweet occurrences.
The supporting statement to this movement reads:
“#HopeJoanna is more than just a campaign. It’s a social movement. And we invite you, each and every South African, to embark on this renewed journey of hope and optimism that we are experiencing in our country.
We’ve all experienced the highs and lows of our beautiful South Africa. Even through the toughest of times, we have come out triumphant because we as a nation are resilient. And one thing always rings true, that when we have hope, we have everything.
We invite you to share your stories of hope with your fellow South Africans using #HopeJoanna. Let’s remind ourselves of all the wonderful, colourful and diverse things that we love about each other. Let’s come together in hope, because there is no better time than now.”
This is a beautiful tale, but for some reason I am not convinced about the positivity of this campaign.
It’s almost identical to the time when former President Nelson Mandela was released from prison then called for sudden peace following a long period of abuse imposed on black people. Not even an opportunity to vent and share our side of the story was afforded to us in that freedom. Never mind basic native benefits.
Though freedom and peace was the ideal stance, the people of that era knew better than to believe that the struggle was really over.
B.M (Before Mandela), ‘we’ were not an option; ‘we’ did not live and work equally; ‘we’ were not even on the same level of humanity.
24 years into ‘democracy’, the struggles continue to drown the people of this happy and imaginative land portrayed in such campaigns. So, we have the right to speak but why are we only heard when it suits the ears of power?
Who dares to encourage realism over mediocrity? I will not encourage violence and hatred but as far as my optimism and hope go for my nation, I would rather fight for the truth than continue to tolerate peaceful lies. Joanna, I have no hope for you.
I beg you, reader, to listen once more to Eddy Grant’s 1988 exposition –
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