It weighs on me that this is the first time I have seen South Africans band together in protest. South Africa's protest culture has done nothing but shove us in our socioeconomic and racial groups- very much like the injustices we fight against. The poor fight for poor issues. The rich only fight in their living rooms where their judgments are weapons in their own right.
The #Feesmustfall movement has been raging for the past two years as the expensive cost of tertiary education has risen in a tight job market- making the rich richer and the poor poorer. The protests kicked off last year when the cost of university fees were announced to rise by 8%. This aggravated the poor- struggling to pay their way through University with little option for a "decent" job without a degree.
South Africa's tight job market dictates applicants to have a degree as a minimum requirement which leaves any skilled job for only those able to pay the university fees, ie, the rich. So while the rich complained about the poor asking for what they thought as a "handout" they had no understanding of how a degree has become a basic necessity in South Africa's job market.
The main problem is that- because of South Africa's history of discrimination and racial segregation- rich has come to mean white and poor has come to mean black. This, coupled with a lack of transformation in post-Apartheid South Africa means the income gap has become a race gap as well.
Thus the rising cost of education is chiefly a problem for the poor, black youth in South Africa- leaving every other part of the population separate from the protests. Instead they sit on social media voicing their opinions but never motivated enough to fight the cause.
Flashback to present day. The demotion of South Africa's economy to junk status means that- not only the poor who cannot afford education are affected. Instead anybody standing in the line at a bank applying for a loan will be subjected to higher interest rates. The young, the poor, the black, the white and the middle class and the poor are all affected which is why thousands of South Africans took to the streets petitioning parliament in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. I saw people who were often quiet during the fees must fall movement suddenly find their voice.
What happened? We, as human beings are supposed to have empathy yet we can only fight for our own fights. We cannot stand up for anyone else. We cannot abandon our own experiences and consider that others have issues too. Someone else is bullied on the playground and the best we can do is stand and watch- silently commenting and judging. I hope that Zuma does fall. I also hope that fees must fall is one day just as popular as fees must fall. I hope that one day separation falls and we can unite in a cause even if it is not our own.
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