WEEKEND POST COLUMN (20-12-14): “A YOUTHFUL YEAR” As we approach the Holiday Season it is both natural and customary for the newspapers to be full of reflections of the year that was, often accompanied by further reminders of some of the prominent people who will be missed having passed on to a hopefully better world. Judging from the output seen so far there seems to be something of an ongoing consensus among the scribes that 2014 was an especially turbulent and unsettling year. Some have gone further. From his “Linguist Chair” Thapelo Otlogetswe who this author would generally consider to be a positive guy, as well as positive example of an engaged intellectual, has stated: “I will look back as a dark year. It was a bad, bad year in all sorts of ways.” Much of the evidence provided by the Professor for his dismal conclusion, starting with his citation of the national trauma caused by the untimely death of Gomolemo Motswaledi, will find general agreement. The past year has had its full share of doom and gloom instances and circumstance. The number of young people this author encounters almost daily who are frustrated in their efforts to get ahead is, in particular, a constant reminder that we are living in what are challenging times. And yet, this is not new. The story of Botswana has always been about overcoming challenges. Constant examples of this include, among others, our semi-arid environment, ever evolving society, uneven development and difficult neighbourhood. Looking back by most measures 1966 can truly be described as having been a dark year. Already rated as one of the ten if not five least developed jurisdictions on earth, with an annual per capita income then amounting to less than one hundred rand, the year of Botswana’s restored sovereignty further coincided with severe drought and an upsurge of cross border military incursions. RraGaone has not been exaggerating in his recollection that outsiders thought that he and his colleagues were either ‘very brave or very foolish’ in bringing Mmamosadinyana’s overrule to an abrupt end. Yet 1966 might be described as mild when compared to some of its predecessors, such as the entire mid-nineteenth century when the arrival of the ‘black and red ants’, i.e. Makololo, Matebele and Maburu, brought death and destruction to the entire region. Anyone looking for the worst of times might also settle for the ecological disaster that was 1896, when severe drought was accompanied by rinderpest, which killed some 80% of the territory’s livestock and uncounted herds of hoofed wildlife. As people then struggled to avoid starvation, influenza kicked in reducing the population of some communities by up to a third in a few months. In this context the arrival of biblical swarms of locusts in the same year was actually seen as a blessing as they became a primary source of sustenance. Few historians thus ever speak of the ‘good old days.’ Society as a whole, however, tends to best remember what was best in the past, while often wallowing in what is worst in the present. As this year closes let us rather consider our blessings as well as losses. Whatever our politics we can all celebrate the fact that this year’s election was another big victory for our democracy. On the Election Day itself the mudslinging and fear mongering of the campaign once again gave way lines of citizens peacefully and freely exercising their right and responsibility to determine both the Government of the day and its elected opposition. This included an unprecedented number of first time voters. Another highlight of 2014 was of course Gaborone’s successful hosting of the Africa Youth Games, accompanied by the good performance of our own athletes within it. It was the beginning of a year of sporting achievement at both junior and senior level. While Nijel Amos and Isaac Makwala were the biggest stars, as was once more demonstrated by Team Botswana medal haul (32) at last week’s AUSC Region 5 Games, they are in increasingly good local company. The growing success of our young athletes is part of the bigger story of a flowering of creativity and talent among many of our youth in general. In the arts and academia, among budding entrepreneurs and entertainers there were countless additional stories of achievement that did not always find their way in the headlines. Where else can one find such examples? Like so much else the dynamism of our youth is, at its best and worst, being shared online. Not without cause it has become fashionable to criticise social media as platforms for insulting and anti-social behaviour. In cyberspace one can certainly find a lot of rudeness and worse among the young and not so young alike. But the ability to share images and ideas online is also an emerging catalyst for positive networking of all sorts. In this respect dare I say another good news story of 2014 was the significant expansion of domestic online activity as more and more Batswana joined in domestic and global conversations? Achievement? Frustration? Either way 2014 was a year in which the youth set the agenda. @ weekendpost.co.bw/wp-column-details.php?col_id=46
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 06:29:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015