“Blind rights day”

The 21st of March is a day which commemorates Human rights day, which is used to pay respect to all those who lost their lives in the fight for democracy. On this day in 1960 the Sharpeville Massacre happened. Police attacked a group of peaceful protesters in a town outside Johannesburg known as the Vaal area in Sharpeville.

The protesters were protesting against the oppression by the white government which made laws that kept black South Africans bound. Laws like the carrying of the dompas which was an identity document that was very heavy but black people had to carry it around as it determined where they were allowed to go and where they were allowed to live so failure to provide a dompas meant an immediate arrest. At the Sharpeville Massacre, 69 protesters were killed and around 180 were injured. After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1966 the UN declared 21 March International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

As we celebrate 52 years since the elimination of racial discrimination, we shed light to people who are blind in South Africa’s communities with the aim of creating blind awareness on our very own TUT Soshanguve campus. Most cases of people who are suffering from this terrible condition are often ignored, are not properly taken care of and are not given equal opportunities like every other human being.

Families who are from disadvantaged communities and are living with a person who is blind, don’t always see ways in which they can give their friend, brother, sister or cousin a better life and a better future. This is due to the lack of knowledge of opportunities which are aimed at empowering people who cannot not see. Blind SA, institute for the blind South Africa and the South African national council for the blind aims to Promote and facilitate the dignity and independence of blind and visually impaired South Africans.

As it is still the month of human rights let’s not exclude blind people from the rights which every South African has. They two have the right to education, health and freedom to express themselves or their views.

Not having a relative or friend that is visually impaired doesn’t mean we should ignore the people around us who are living with this disability. In this campus as well as our communities, we have and know a few people who are blind yet they are living a normal life like everyone else. It is because they are normal people like us and deserve as much respect. We can offer to help whenever we can but let’s make sure to remember that there is a difference between being generous and being offensively impolite.

We can help them by offering a helping hand when they are carrying something heavy, by offering a guiding arm, helping the person sit down if needed, help the person when they are taking the stairs and other ways we can think of to make their lives a little easier.

On Friday students took part in an initiative regarding blind awareness in our campuses at Soshanguve North campus, they experienced what a blind person goes through on a daily bases and realized the burden that a blind person has on their shoulders. After this they saw the need to not ignore a blind person but to help them instead. Let us learn to educate ourselves by empowering those that are suffering with a disability.

Being visually impaired

"Anti-xenophobia initiatives taking SA by storm"

By Accra Maweya            ntlhari.accra@Gmail.com

                                                                       photo by ireport.cnn.com

Apartheid was an ideology which was introduced in South Africa in 1948 by the national government. Apartheid  did not only separate development of the different racial groups in South Africa but it also resulted in the loss of lives of both young, old south African man, women and children who fought for freedom. During the apartheid era heroes and heroines like the late president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Albert Lutuli, Ruth First, Albertina Sisulu and the list goes on, fought for the freedom we take for granted today.

The national party (NP) government made laws and forced different racial groups to live separately and develop separately while in the papers they made it look like they were striving for a better and equal life for all South Africans. These laws made it impossible for equality and development to happen for black people in townships and rural areas.

Laws like the population Registration Act of 1950 demanded that people should be registered according to their racial group just so the Department of Home affairs would have a record of people according to whether they were white, coloured, black, Indian or Asian. People would be treated differently because of their population group. The Group Areas Act of 1950 was the act that physically separated people by race. This act was also used to remove people of certain groups into areas set aside for their racial group.

photo by Amalia Svejgaard 

Now everyone in South Africa has freedom to speak to whoever they like, be in a relationship with anyone regardless of gender or race simply because of the rights emended in the bill. Although we have overcome apartheid and its laws, people in South Africa still find themselves victim of oppression and violation of the irrevocable rights that every human has. The issue of xenophobia is not one that is new or shocking in South Africa. Foreigners in Gauteng and other parts of the country find themselves victim of attacks by black people in townships and city centres. 

Between 2000 up until recently, many cases of these attacks have been reported and a march was started in February last year by south African citizens all because Nigerians are stereotyped for being drug lords, prostitute pimps and thugs in Pretoria CBD. They are mostly attacked by South African citizens because they claim that foreigners are taking their jobs and are over populating their city.

Over the past few years, non-governmental organizations and anti-xenophobic violence initiative were formed to help stop xenophobia in the country. aXaSA was formed by the South African Council of Churches with the aim of eradicating xenophobia in South Africa. AXaSA is a coordinating body that works on national scale by providing a shared technologically based infrastructure to help its member organisations work more effectively both individually and collectively. Its mission is to become a national initiative to increase civil society efforts to fight xenophobic violence, to bring organizations together to add value to their work. It will seek to create infrastructure and overarching systems for more effective responses; and co-ordinate proactive reactive strategies and actions to ensure a reduction in violent attacks.

As black people of South Africa we still feel the cracks of apartheid in our lives today but the fact that the same weapon which tore apart families and ended the lives of our loved once is still used to cause segregation between people in this country is heart-breaking. It has been 24 years since the abolishment of apartheid but we have forgotten too soon. Just as much as we wanted to feel equal and have a life that was not less than that which white people had, foreigners do want the same for themselves and their children. Regardless of their country of origin ,the same human rights that a south African black, coloured, Indian or white man has are the same for anyone living in this country.

The sooner we stand united as a country regardless of citizenship, race, gender or age we stand a better chance of creating the South Africa we want to live in and a South Africa which the blood of every victim of apartheid was shared for.

photo by Krugers News

“Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”

“Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”

Photos by HarperCollins publishers 

By Accra Maweya                ntlhari.accra@Gmail.com

Since this is my first book review, I decided to go for a book that has not only changed my view about relationships and intimacy but has also helped many women all around the world.

“Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” is a book which was written by well-known Comedian, radio host, television host, producer, radio personality, actor and author. The book’s first edition was published in 2009 by HaperLuxe at the Unites States of America.The book describes for women Harvey's concept of what men really think about love, relationships, intimacy and commitment. For most women we tend to forget that our view or understanding of these concepts aren’t the same as our male species.

The differences between women and men are not only documented but they are often used as jokes. This is because people just want to see the funny part of our gender differences. Although they are sometimes funny, they can have serious impacts in a person’s life regardless of their gender.

 Experts have discovered that there are actually differences in the way women’s and men’s brains are structured and in the way they react to situations.This book has made these differences easier to understand by the way he showed the reader how we women think when it comes to relationships vs how men think about it. This book has made it easier for me to understand the man in my life. I remember spending time with my girlfriends and we would spend hours discussing the male specie and their thinking capacity which was very dull by the way.

We would go on for hours trying to advice each other about our relationships and the challenges we faced. The most asked question once one of our men pissed us off that we all had no answer to was “what was he thinking and why?”

I do not believe in soul mates or perfect connections from the beginning. All bonds take time to develop. Men are usually the ones who approach a women and it is very rare to find the game played opposite (a women approaching a man). Women forget the saying “first impressions last forever” Many times women just think about what they want to say and do. Steve Harvey’s book is good for helping women improve their surveying process by revealing to them some basic motives of men. It shows us whether a man sees a women as a keeper or just someone he can toy around with.

This book is aimed directly for a woman who truly wants a solid relationship but just can’t figure out how to get one and for those who are already in a relationship but are trying to figure out how to make it better, For a woman who is trying to forget everything she’s ever been taught about men (the myths, the heresy, everything her mother told her, everything her girlfriends told her including all the advice she read in magazines and seen on television).In the book he advices woman to stop heaping their own definition of love on men and recognize that men love differently.”          

This book clearly shows women that we don’t have to go into relationships with a blind fold over our eyes simply because of the tricks men play. We can know their tactics so we are able to identify a guy who is worth our time and a guy who just wants to play with our cake just to break our hearts in return.

 Although many men believe Steve sold them out on the book, it is not only based on women knowing more about a man’s mind, instead it for men as well. This book is for any person who is either dating and he/she is tired of being played with, a person who wants to get the ring and even people who have remarried and wish to gain control and sustain the bond in their marriage/ relationship. As a man the book can help you understand your partner’s mind.

He has gone as far as even making a feature film based on the book titled “Think Like a Man”. It was released by Sony Pictures' Screen Gems subsidiary on 20 April 2012 and this was when the book got noticed. He was an executive producer on the film and made a cameo appearance as himself.

                                                               

“Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”

By Accra Maweya                   ntlhari.accra@Gmail.com

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man is a book which was written by well-known Comedian, radio host, television host, producer, radio personality, actor and author. The book’s first edition was published in 2009 by HaperLuxe at the Unites States of America.

Photo by Harper Collins publishers

The book describes for women Harvey's concept of what men really think about love, relationships,intimacy, and commitment. 

He quotes “Men can cheat because there are so many women willing to give themselves to a man who doesn’t belong to them.”

In his book he mentions that he realized the need for a book which is aimed directly for us woman who truly wants a solid relationship but just can’t figure out how to get one and for those who are already in a relationship but are trying to figure out how to make it better.

 For a woman who is trying to forget everything she’s ever been taught about men and the myths, the heresy, everything her mother told her, everything her girlfriends told her, all the advice she read in magazines and seen on television.In the book he advises woman to stop heaping their own definition of love on men and recognize that men love differently.”  

Photo by Harper Collins publishers

 He writes:

"If you’re dating and you want to find out how to take it to another level, this book is for you. If you’re in a committed relationship, and you want to get the ring, this book is for you. If you ‘remarried and you want to regain control and strengthen your bond, or if you’re tired of being played with, then I want you to use this book as a tool to take each of the principles, rules, and tips in this no-nonsense guide and use them to anticipate a man’s game plan, and to counter with an offense and defenses."

He has gone as far as even making a feature film based on the book titled “Think Like a Man”. It was released by Sony Pictures' Screen Gems subsidiary on 20 April 2012. He was an executive producer on the film and made a cameo appearance as himself.