Table Mountain wasn’t the only bit of Cape Town that proudly showcased the South African flag recently.
Armand Hough, photo-journalist also known by his Instagram name @thehumansnarrative shared a spectacular projection of SA’s flag that lit up a building in Sea Point recently.
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The flag projection was something that also happened during the tougher stages of lockdown, another time when South Africa needed to be reminded to band together. One user expressed that when she lived in the block which had a view of the illuminated projection, she would have neighbours come over just to watch the show.
As Hough responded, “I needed to give the neighbours a bit of a break, but we all needed to be reminded of who we are to each other.”
Beyond the projected flag dressing the wall in visual solidarity, it was Hough’s caption that really ignited a rainbow touched flame of not only pride, but gratitude in my heart, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt.
Here are Armand Hough’s words.
“I always thought we’ll get in trouble for doing this, but I guess extraordinary times calls for extraordinary actions. Last night, we sent out this message of hope. A reminder of who we are as a nation and what we stand for. A thank you to all those heroic brothers and sisters who volunteered their time to clean up our desecrated public spaces and infrastructure. This was to show gratitude to those civilians who stood guard in front of our places of business and neighborhood to protect each other’s lives. This was to acknowledge everyone who donated goods and funds towards assisting those in need during this time. It does not matter where in the world you are or where you grew up. Being South African is within us ALL. It’s the feeling of unity, the acts of kindness, the power of forgiving and the strength of NEVER EVER giving up. Let’s surprise the world. We will rebuild this beautiful nation, for ALL of us to fly our flag with pride. Ubuntu!”
Indeed, I’m feeling grateful and proud to be part of this nation, which may sound ludicrous to the onlooker who reads only of the unrest in a faraway land. But to the South African, at least for many of us, my thought progression might just make sense. After all, we do all speak the unofficial language not of the tongue, but of the heart-Ubuntu.
I am proud to be part of a nation where no matter the turbulence, be it the waves of lockdown or the current unrest, so many of us do seem to find the light and allow it to guide us, together. There will always be some sort of struggle, but that is not unique to our country. What is, is is how we move through the struggles together, the light prevailing. It may be light in the form of humour, the humour that carried us through lockdown as we remixed cigarette bans into songs, made jokes of our pineapple brew misadventures and vuvuzela’d our way through the first 21 days of lockdown that we are still counting down. It may be light in the form of solidarity, seeing our communities coming together to support our local businesses firmly amidst the latest lockdown phases, or in every gesture of love and support sent to our brothers and sisters in Gauteng and KZN this week. It may be colourful light in the visuals on a building wall in Sea Point, or it may just be the light in your heart as you read these stories. Nonetheless, it is a light South Africans carry within, and more importantly, share with each other, and it is one that not even Eskom can put out.
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Picture: Armand Hough/ @thehumansnarrative