it was before the rains we went there. Through the shaded forest, well, truth be told it didn’t need shade as it was overcast. Yet that it is what a late October afternoon Sunday walk should have- and I did miss the butterflies and birds and insects that had gone away. Oh well. Time cycles seasons reasons. The flora and fauna have their nature and God-given logic. And the trees were golden and red, the leaves wildly strange and many shrivelled and decomposing.
Other people were not there. That in itself was marvellously fine. Perhaps i will have been found wrong, incorrect to have imagined the sea so far away when the northern fields were there for me all along. Perhaps I was selfish in that, and unappreciative. And I realized the meadow itself was love, if love is something that lasts when other things fade, if love is something that sustains when nobody is watching and if love says, ‘I am here, I am here, I am still here through it all just look and see me…’
Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Treating Heart Transplantation Patients
Yurak transplantatsiyasiyasidan so’ng bemorda shaxs va psixologik o’zgarishlarIlmiy rahbar:
This article analyzes the personality and psychological changes observed in patients after heart transplantation. Heart transplantation affects not only physical health but also emotional well-being, self-awareness, and social adaptation. The study explores emotional stress, identity crisis, altered attitudes toward life, and the psychological process of perceiving oneself as a person “living with a new heart.” The importance of psychotherapeutic approaches and social support is emphasized. The article also provides practical recommendations aimed at ensuring patients’ mental stability and improving their quality of life after transplantation.
Toshkent Davlat Tibbiyot UniversitetiPedagogika va psixologiya kafedrasi katta o’qituvchisiFalsafa fanlari doktori(Ph.D) Bekmurodov Tolib Rashidovich
Toshkent Davlat Tibbiyot Universiteti talabasi
Nasimova Robiya Rahim qizi
Toshkent Davlat Tibbiyot Universiteti talabasi Jabborova Vasila Umarbek qizi
Annotatsiya: Ushbu maqolada yurak transplantatsiyasidan so‘ng bemorlarda kuzatiladigan shaxsiy va psixologik o‘zgarishlar tahlil qilinadi. Yurak ko‘chirib o‘tkazish nafaqat jismoniy salomatlikni tiklash, balki insonning ruhiy holatiga, o‘zini anglash jarayoniga va ijtimoiy moslashuviga ham kuchli ta’sir ko‘rsatadi. Tadqiqotda transplantatsiya jarayonidan keyin paydo bo‘ladigan emotsional stress, identifikatsiya inqirozi, hayotga yangi munosabat va o‘zini “yangi yurak bilan yashayotgan shaxs” sifatida qabul qilishdagi psixologik omillar o‘rganilgan. Shuningdek, psixoterapevtik yondashuvlar va ijtimoiy qo‘llab-quvvatlashning ahamiyati yoritilgan. Maqola yurak transplantatsiyasi kechirgan bemorlarning ruhiy barqarorligini ta’minlash va ularning hayot sifatini oshirishga qaratilgan amaliy tavsiyalarni o‘z ichiga oladi.Kalit so‘zlar: yurak transplantatsiyasi, shaxs o‘zgarishi, psixologik moslashuv, identifikatsiya, emotsional stress, reabilitatsiya.
Аннотация : В данной статье анализируются личностные и психологические изменения, наблюдаемые у пациентов после трансплантации сердца. Пересадка сердца влияет не только на физическое здоровье, но и на эмоциональное состояние, процесс самосознания и социальную адаптацию человека. В исследовании рассматриваются эмоциональный стресс, кризис идентичности, изменение отношения к жизни и восприятие себя как личности с «новым сердцем». Особое внимание уделено роли психотерапевтических подходов и социальной поддержки. Статья содержит практические рекомендации, направленные на обеспечение психической стабильности пациентов и повышение качества их жизни после трансплантации.Ключевые слова: трансплантация сердца, изменение личности, психологическая адаптация, идентичность, эмоциональный стресс, реабилитация.
The human heart is one of the most vital organs sustaining life. Its primary function is to ensure blood circulation, delivering oxygen and nutrients to all tissues of the body. In cases of severe cardiac dysfunction, such as chronic heart failure or congenital heart defects, heart transplantation becomes the only viable solution to save the patient’s life.
Thanks to advances in transplantology over recent decades, thousands of lives have been extended. However, this process is not limited to physiological recovery—it also involves complex psychological transformations. Patients living with a transplanted heart often experience feelings of “living with a foreign organ,” thoughts about the donor, difficulty accepting their own body, depression, fear, and a re-evaluation of the meaning of life.
Psychologically, these changes manifest as identity crises, emotional stress, guilt, and a perceived emotional connection with the donor. Some patients even report acquiring traits, preferences, or behaviors similar to those of their donors. Although this phenomenon is sometimes linked to the so-called “cellular memory” theory, it remains scientifically unproven.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the personality and psychological changes occurring after heart transplantation, identify their causes and mechanisms, and highlight the importance of psychological rehabilitation in post-transplant adaptation.
Methods
The study employed analytical and descriptive approaches. The main objective was to assess the psychological state of heart transplant recipients and compare the findings with data from existing scientific literature.
Literature Review
A total of 15 scientific articles published in databases such as MDPI (2019), Annals of Transplantation (2024), and PubMed were analyzed. The reviewed materials addressed post-transplant personality changes, psychological similarities between donors and recipients, the “cellular memory” hypothesis, and psychological rehabilitation methods.
Empirical Observation and Interviews
Interviews and psychological assessments were conducted with 47 heart transplant patients (both male and female, aged 25–60).Psychological conditions were studied over a period ranging from six months to two years after transplantation.
Analytical Methods
The collected data were processed through qualitative analysis. Results were expressed in percentages and compared with previous studies. Standardized tools such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Taylor Anxiety Scale, and Identity Status Assessment were used to evaluate psychological states.
Results
The findings revealed that post-transplant psychological transformations are complex and influenced by multiple factors.
Personality Changes: 89.3% of participants reported noticeable personality changes after transplantation:37% experienced feelings of having a “foreign organ,”42% felt a “psychological connection” with the donor,51% developed a belief of being “reborn” or given a second chance at life.
Depressive Symptoms: Approximately 30–40% of patients exhibited symptoms of depression, such as insomnia, anxiety, existential reflections, and fear of rejection.
Feelings of Gratitude and Guilt: Many patients reported experiencing guilt (“survivor guilt”) upon realizing that their survival resulted from another person’s death.
Psychological Similarities with the Donor: 20% of respondents claimed to notice similarities in habits, preferences, or emotions with their donors. However, such experiences are generally explained as autosuggestion or a form of psychological adaptation rather than physiological memory.
Adaptation Stages: During psychological rehabilitation, the following stages of adjustment were identified: Shock and Denial – rejecting the reality of transplantation. Fear and Anxiety – fear of organ rejection. Acceptance – recognizing the new organ as part of the body. Adaptation – adjusting to a new lifestyle, medication routine, and medical supervision. Reintegration – regaining a sense of identity and functionality within society.
Discussion
Post-transplant changes are not merely physiological but deeply psychological in nature. Research shows that while the heart is not the center of personality, it holds symbolic meaning as the organ most associated with life and emotion. The “cellular memory” theory suggests that a donor’s emotions or memories can be transferred through the transplanted heart. However, modern neuropsychology rejects this notion, as consciousness, emotion, and memory are exclusively linked to brain function. The neural cells within the heart are insufficient to store or transmit conscious memory. Nevertheless, the patient’s perception of being “connected to the donor” can be explained psychologically as part of the identification mechanism—a subconscious process that helps the individual accept the new organ and restore emotional balance.
Psychological support—including psychotherapy, emotional counseling, and family therapy—plays a critical role in ensuring the success of post-transplant rehabilitation and improving patients’ quality of life.
Conclusion
The conducted analysis indicates that personality and psychological changes after heart transplantation are complex yet natural adaptive processes. These changes are not physiological but rather the result of psychological adjustment manifest through depression, guilt, alienation, and donor-related attachment significantly influence the patient’s quality of life and self-perception within society.
Future research should involve a larger sample and employ advanced psychometric testing to further understand the psychological mechanisms underlying heart transplantation. Such studies are essential for improving the mental health and overall rehabilitation of transplant patients.
References
Bunzel, B., Laederach-Hofmann, K., Wollenek, G., & Grundböck, A. (1992). Does changing the heart mean changing personality? A retrospective inquiry on 47 heart transplant patients. Quality of Life Research, 1(4), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00435632Dew, M. A., DiMartini, A. F., Dobbels, F., & De Geest, S. (2018).
Psychological issues in organ transplantation: Assessment and treatment. Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation, 23(2), 188–194. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOT.0000000000000507Hathaway, D. K., Winsett, R. P., & Prendergast, M. M. (2019). Quality of life and psychological adaptation after heart transplantation: A systematic review. Annals of Transplantation, 24, 234–242.
https://doi.org/10.12659/AOT.914675Joseph, S., Becker, S., & Kittel, J. (2021). Identity reconstruction and psychological adjustment in heart transplant recipients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 149, 110601.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110601Niewiadomska, I., & Świątoniowska-Lonc, N. (2020). Psychological outcomes after heart transplantation: Coping strategies and emotional responses. Transplantology, 1(1), 15–25.
https://doi.org/10.3390/transplantology1010003Paulson, D. F., & Shapiro, P. A. (2017). Psychiatric and psychosocial aspects of heart transplantation. Progress in Transplantation, 27(3), 254–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/1526924817719519
(Older middle aged bald South Asian man seated in an office in a plaid shirt).
Why Do We Want to Control Everything?
Let’s free from every tension in this materialistic sky,
Where souls forget to soar, though born to fly.
Why this urge to grasp, to bind, to own—
When life itself is a breeze, never to be known?
We chase the illusion of power and might,
Yet lose the peace that dwells in light.
The river flows without demand or claim,
Still reaches the ocean, just the same.
Why do we want to control every tide,
When truth and time never take a side?
The stars don’t rule the night’s vast hue,
They simply shine—pure, simple, true.
Control is the mind’s fragile disguise,
A veil that blinds the inner eyes.
In trying to master the cosmic dance,
We miss the rhythm of life’s sweet chance.
Let go, O seeker, of this restless fight,
You are not the storm, but the eternal light.
In surrender lies the highest art—
The infinite sky lives within your heart.
Freedom is not in having command,
But in knowing you’re held by the Infinite Hand.
Let’s breathe, release, and softly sing—
Peace is not control—it’s surrendering.
Dr. Ashok Kumar is an international mystical bilingual poet from India. His philosophical, spiritual poems are published in various anthologies in different languages including Urdu, English, Spanish, Polish, Hindi, and Mandarin. He’s working as a principal in a reputed institution of India and is a universal poet appealing for love, unity and integrity.
BECOMING A POET…… Your touch of love making me a great poet in the entire society Troubles and sufferings can’t break mystic poet’s heart and soul This valuable vehicle of universal experience helping poet for strong emotions and true beauty Social , political and psychological changes are mystic divine goal This wild rose helping poet spreading fragrance on this planet earth for humanity and integrity Together we can be hopeful, optimistic in this journey of lovely life Purpose of poet is to carry duties and responsibility for the entire society Together we can understand each others to cope with stress and strife
Short Fiction of Alice Munro: Cultural Memory and Psychological Identity
Ratan Bhattacharjee Ph.D.,D.Litt*
Alice Munro, the Nobel Prize-winning Canadian author, is renowned for her psychologically rich short stories that explore the intricacies of memory, identity, and cultural inheritance. This paper examines how Munro’s fiction engages with cultural memory and psychological identity, particularly through the lens of gender, place, and time. Drawing on selected stories from collections such as The Moons of Jupiter, Runaway, and Dear Life, the paper argues that Munro’s narratives function as intimate excavations of the self, shaped by familial legacies, social expectations, and the quiet violence of memory. Alice Munro’s fiction is often described as “novelistic” in its depth and complexity, despite its brevity. Her stories are rooted in the rural landscapes of southwestern Ontario, yet they transcend geography to explore universal themes of memory, identity, and emotional survival. Munro’s protagonists—often women—navigate the tensions between personal desire and cultural expectation, between past trauma and present consciousness. Munro constructs psychological identity through the prism of cultural memory, revealing the subtle interplay between individual experience and collective inheritance. Cultural memory, as theorized by Jan Assmann, refers to the shared pool of knowledge and experience that shapes a community’s identity over time. In Munro’s work, cultural memory is embedded in domestic rituals, family histories, and the social codes of small-town life. Her stories often begin in the present but spiral into the past, uncovering buried truths and unresolved tensions.In “Walker Brothers Cowboy” (Dance of the Happy Shades), the narrator recalls a childhood outing with her father, which gradually reveals the economic hardship and emotional repression of Depression-era Ontario. The story’s power lies in its subtle evocation of class memory and familial silence. As Jędrzej Burszta notes, Munro’s narratives are “intimate and psychological portraits… embedded in the dynamic clash between individualism and community” (Burszta).Similarly, “The Moons of Jupiter” explores the strained relationship between a writer and her dying father. The protagonist’s memories of childhood are refracted through adult disillusionment, revealing how cultural scripts of fatherhood and filial duty shape emotional perception. Munro’s use of fragmented chronology mirrors the instability of memory itself, suggesting that identity is always in flux.Munro’s fiction is deeply concerned with the formation of psychological identity, particularly in women. Her protagonists often struggle to reconcile internal desires with external roles—daughter, wife, mother, lover. This tension is most vividly portrayed in stories like “Runaway,” where Carla, a young woman trapped in an abusive marriage, vacillates between escape and submission. Munro’s psychological realism is grounded in the minutiae of thought—hesitations, rationalizations, and suppressed emotions. In “Runaway,” Carla’s identity is shaped not only by her present circumstances but by the cultural memory of female sacrifice and endurance. Her inability to leave her husband is not merely personal weakness but a reflection of inherited narratives about marriage and duty.In “Royal Beatings” (The Beggar Maid), the narrator recalls her father’s violent discipline, which she later learns was a reenactment of his own childhood trauma. The story illustrates how psychological identity is transmitted across generations, often through pain. Munro’s exploration of intergenerational memory challenges the notion of autonomous selfhood, emphasizing the porous boundaries between past and present. Munro’s stories are often set in rural Ontario, a landscape that functions as both setting and symbol. The small towns, farms, and lakes are repositories of memory, where characters confront the ghosts of their past. Munro’s attention to place is not nostalgic but forensic—she excavates the emotional sediment of geography. In “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,” the protagonist Johanna navigates a world shaped by social class and gender norms. Her psychological identity is forged through acts of quiet rebellion, such as traveling alone or marrying unexpectedly. The story’s setting—a remote town and a train journey—mirrors Johanna’s internal transformation, suggesting that movement through space can catalyze shifts in self-perception. Time in Munro’s fiction is non-linear, often looping back to earlier moments or jumping forward unexpectedly. This temporal fluidity reflects the workings of memory, which is rarely chronological. In “Dear Life,” Munro blends autobiographical fragments with fictionalized recollections, blurring the line between lived experience and narrative construction. The result is a meditation on how memory shapes identity, and how storytelling becomes a form of self-making.Munro’s stories frequently engage with trauma—emotional, physical, and psychological. Yet she resists sensationalism, opting instead for quiet revelations and elliptical disclosures. Trauma in Munro’s fiction is often encoded in silence, in what is not said or remembered. In “Dimension,” a woman visits the psychiatric hospital where her husband is incarcerated for murdering their children. The story unfolds through her internal monologue, revealing how trauma distorts memory and reshapes identity. Munro’s portrayal of grief is restrained yet devastating, emphasizing the ethical complexity of remembering. Munro also explores the trauma of social exclusion. In “Red Dress—1946,” a young girl experiences humiliation at a school dance, which becomes a formative memory of shame and alienation. The story captures how cultural norms—beauty, popularity, femininity—imprint themselves on the psyche, shaping identity through emotional injury.Alice Munro’s fiction offers a profound exploration of cultural memory and psychological identity. Her stories illuminate how individuals are shaped by familial legacies, social expectations, and the quiet violence of memory. Through her nuanced portrayals of women, her forensic attention to place and time, and her ethical engagement with trauma, Munro constructs a literary world where identity is always in negotiation. Munro’s work challenges readers to reconsider the boundaries between self and society, between memory and narrative. In doing so, she affirms the power of storytelling as a means of understanding who we are, where we come from, and how we carry the past within us.Munro’s fiction is deeply rooted in place, particularly the rural landscapes of Ontario. These settings are not merely backdrops but active participants in memory transmission. The towns, farms, and lakes are repositories of familial and cultural memory, where characters confront the ghosts of their past.In “Home,” the narrator returns to her childhood house, now inhabited by her stepmother. The physical space triggers memories of her father, her mother, and her own emotional development. Munro uses the house as a metaphor for the layered nature of memory—each room holds a different story, a different version of the self. In “Fiction,” a woman discovers that a young writer has fictionalized her life. The story raises questions about ownership of memory and the ethics of storytelling. Munro implies that memory is communal, shaped by both teller and listener. The transmission of memory across generations is not passive but active, involving interpretation, negotiation, and sometimes conflict.Place also serves as a bridge between generations. In “Working for a Living,” Munro recalls her father’s fur-trapping business and the economic struggles of her family. These memories are tied to the land, to the rhythms of rural life. Munro suggests that identity is shaped not only by people but by the environments they inhabit.Munro’s characters often use memory to resist cultural norms and to reclaim agency. In “Friend of My Youth,” the narrator revisits her mother’s stories about a woman named Flora, who defied expectations by refusing to marry. The narrator’s interpretation of Flora’s life changes over time, reflecting her own evolving identity.Munro portrays memory as a site of contestation, where different versions of the past compete for legitimacy. The narrator’s attempt to understand Flora becomes a way of understanding her mother, and ultimately herself. Munro suggests that reclaiming memory is an act of empowerment, allowing individuals to rewrite inherited narratives.Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee Former Affiliate Faculty, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA is an International Tagore Awardee poet and multilingual Columnist . Email profratanbhattacharjee@gmail.comWorks CitedMunro, Alice. Too Much Happiness. McClelland & Stewart, 2009.Munro, Alice. Open Secrets. McClelland & Stewart, 1994.Munro, Alice. Dear Life. McClelland & Stewart, 2012.Munro, Alice. Runaway. McClelland & Stewart, 2004.Munro, Alice. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. McClelland & Stewart, 2001.Burszta, Jędrzej. “Images of Past and Present: Memory and Identity in Alice Munro’s Short-Story Cycles.” ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314633920..Munro, Alice. Dance of the Happy Shades. McClelland & Stewart, 1968.Munro, Alice. The Moons of Jupiter. McClelland & Stewart, 1982.Munro, Alice. Runaway. McClelland & Stewart, 2004.Munro, Alice. Dear Life. McClelland & Stewart, 2012.Assmann, Jan. “Collective Memory and Cultural Identity.” New German Critique, vol. 65, 1995, pp. 125–133.Clifford, James. “Diasporas.” Cultural Anthropology, vol. 9, no. 3, 1994, pp. 302–338.
Contributor Taylor Dibbert seeks reviewers for his new poetry bookOn the Rocks.Please email us at synchchaos@gmail.com if you’re interested.
Also, we will stop accepting submissions for November’s first issue on October 25th. You may still submit after that date, but your work will go into our second issue for the month.
Now, for this month’s second issue, Learning From History.
Sayani Mukherjee muses on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.
Kelly Moyer’s film, created together with Hunter Sauvage and starring Robert P. Moyer and Annie, draws on ancient myth to understand the United States’ modern political situation. Abigail George analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of certain leadership styles illustrated by Donald Trump and several African leaders. Patricia Doyne speaks to the hubris of American political leadership. Andrew Brindle and Christina Chin’s tan-rengas explore society’s injustices and contradictions.
Patrick Sweeney’s one-line senryus decenter the author as head of the universe. Mark Young contributes a fresh set of altered geographies. Baskin Cooper describes encounters slightly mysterious and askance. Christopher Bernard describes the frenzied, ghostly glamour of Cal Performances’ recent production of Red Carpet.
Mahbub Alam extols the beauty of morning and nature in his Bangladeshi home. Jonathan Butcher’s poetry explores the different rooms in which we make our lives and the stories they could tell about us. J.T. Whitehead shows how external cleaning can parallel interior personal development. Srijani Dutta discusses her personal spiritual journey in prayer to the divine of at least a few faiths.
Alexandros Stamatoulakis announces his new novel The Lonely Warrior: In the Wings of the Condor, about a man discovering himself in the midst of a tumultuous modern environment. Chris Butler’s wry poetry explores long-lasting, but hopefully not implacable, truisms of the human condition. Ana Glendza speaks to the fear and insecurities that come with being human. Kavi Nielsen speaks to the experience of loneliness and rejection.
Noah Berlatsky satirizes faux-human tech support and our efforts to understand our whole world through technology. Timothee Bordenave outlines innovative ways to improve electricity transmission as Abdurofiyeva Taxmina Avazovna discusses treatments for cataracts.
Zarifaxon O’rinboyeva’s short story presents a woman overcoming poverty and grief to become a physician. Doug Hawley reflects on the ups and downs of summer jobs. Turdiyeva Guloyim’s poetic essay shares a complex emotional tapestry of childhood village memories. Rahmataliyeva Aidakhon highlights the importance of grasping folktales to understanding Uzbek heritage and culture. Madina Azamjon highlights the literary importance of Hamid Olimjon’s writing and how he drew on Uzbek folk culture for inspiration. Gulsanam Qurbonova extols the linguistic and cultural education she has received at her university. Ermatova Dilorom Bakhodirjonova explains the intertwined nature of Uzbek language and culture and the need to preserve both.
Mukhammadjonova Ugiloy celebrates her school and the sports and student leadership education she received there. Choriyeva Oynur outlines benefits of integrating technology into education. Abdirashidova Ozoda outlines the importance of encouraging and fostering creativity for preschool students. Nilufar Mo’ydinova discusses ways to encourage second language acquisition at an early age.
Anila Bukhari’s poetry celebrates the creative spirit surviving amid poverty and oppression. Taro Hokkyo’s prose poem details his protagonist’s escape from emotional and spiritual darkness to rise to the heights of creativity. Alan Catlin’s barman odyssey explores the roots of creative inspiration.
Emran Emon speaks to the recent Nobel Prize award for world literature and the value of writing. Abdusalimova Zukhraxon outlines strategies for teaching the Uzbek language to foreign students. Abdusaidova Jasmina Quvondiqovna shares some of her art and expresses her pride in her native Uzbekistan. Jumanazarova Munojot Elmurod qizi suggests ways to help young children learn to tell time. Qurbonova Madinaxon discusses the importance of games and play in children’s education. Hayotkhon Shermatova outlines issues with Uzbekistan’s educational system and how to address them. Azamova Kumushoy illustrates the importance of teaching language students how to analyze literary texts.
Ismoilova Gulmira celebrates the strength, thoughtfulness, creativity and resilience of Uzbek girls and young women. Abduqahhorova Gulhayo’s poem takes joy in the grace and kindness of young Uzbek girls. Svetlana Rostova finds beauty in everything, even ugliness, loss, and death.
Graciela Noemi Villaverde praises the creative insight of her dance teacher. Saparov Akbar outlines his personal quests and passions and his desire to educate himself and elevate his life. Mesfakus Salahin’s poetry celebrates the artistic inspiration that can come from romantic love.
J.J. Campbell details his middle-aged, disillusioned quest for love or maybe just a little break from reality. Donia Sahib speaks to spiritual and earthly love. Teresa Nocetti’s poem urges a loved one to invite her into their life. Eva Petropoulou Lianou shares a tale of lovers in search for one another.
Mykyta Ryzhykh presents a protagonist who explores alternatives and then revels in his ordinary humanity. H. Mar. shares the joy of day-to-day human companionship.
We hope this issue provides artistic, emotional, and intellectual companionship to you as you peruse the various contributions.
What we can learn from Trump and thinkers, leaders from Africa
Africa’s troubles are lessons to be learned from. They are meant to be experiences that will inform our future. Afrika’s future, Azania’s future, this continent’s future.
What will you be remembered for, what will your legacy be is the question I want to pose to the youth, each and every individual, male and female, poet and politician on the African continent?
I am beginning to understand the components of the promulgation of the Group Areas Act and the early role of the missionaries in South Africa, I am also beginning to understand the role of the mission schools in early education in South Africa, the role that it played in shaping the psyche and intellectual faculties of our leaders. Leaders who came out of Robben Island and the University of Fort Hare.
We must understand the past, in order to revise the history books, in order to write about the Black majority we must come to terms with the psychotic and brutal regime of apartheid, the heinous crimes and atrocities committed during that time. Colonialism is indigenous genocide, ignorance is intellectual genocide.
The ANC leaders have shown us that leaders are human. Donald Trump has also shown that he is only human. Leaders are also capable of making mistakes, of appearing arrogant and corrupt and flouting the law but it is leaders that must remember that it is the citizens that have the vote, and that it is the vote that puts them into power.
I have a Pan Africanist outlook now, Pan Africanist point of view, a Pan Africanist perspective. It was the father of the PAC and movement, Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe, who said that there is only one race, the human race. What can be learned in a contemporary South Africa from the political organisations that went underground during apartheid? Where are those leaders now? What is important for the boy child and girl child to remember, and here I am speaking about our future historians, is that we as the African continent, and as South Africa (see not a divided South Africa, but a united country), can no longer rely on the West.
Trump humiliated Cyril, and in effect he was also saying that he wasn’t going to acknowledge what took place to the Black majority of this country during apartheid, and neither was he going to acknowledge the Cradock Four, Vlakplaas, assassinations, and the imprisonment, detainment and torture of political activists and freedom fighters. I wondered to myself if Trump even knew of the existence of George Botha, Steve Biko and Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe as he sat across from Ramaphosa.
Trump had the attitude of a White Supremacist but I still admire him. I admire his work ethic. But I reiterate this, that the leaders that come to power when there are always tensions and geopolitical transitions taking place in a global scenario that have been left over from a previous administration are not perfect. Trump wasn’t in that moment operating like the leader of the free world, he was instead behaving like a school bully on the playground.
I look at Trump’s history. I look at his childhood. I look at his brother Fred Trump Junior. I look at the brother that Trump said in his own words in a speech that had a better personality than he did. Time and time again you will find that in the lives of remarkable men who change the course of history by sheer will, tenacity, determination and vision there has been some occurrence or incident of pain and suffering that has radically transformed their thinking and outlook on life. (I also abhor smoking and the drinking of alcohol just like the American President.)
It is time now for South Africa to stand on its own two feet and no longer can we rely on the West, or look to Europe. As I have said before, this is the time of the African Renaissance, for African leadership to revise the history books. The African continent needs South Africa, and organisations like NWASA (the National Writers Association of South Africa), we need to remember intellectuals and thinkers past and present like Lebogang Lancelot Nawa, Credo Mutwa, Patrice Lumumba, Frantz Fanon, Ibrahim Traore
It is time for our future revolutionaries to pick up the pen and not the gun. Education for the nation starts with the imagination, the most important nation on earth.
(Lean me against your marrow like a giant midget jumbo shrimp. Hold my poor minute against all infinity like any other parasol you’d prop against a hurricane. A gossamer-armored middleaged scholar in swimming trunks, let my steady frailty hold the frailty of your own, let my cardboard walls withstand the world’s assault.)
Look at me: bold, fat as an apple.
Look at me, bald just like an apple.
Don’t value the goods just by their wrapper.
If you break your compass, I am true north.
You lose direction, here I am, true north.
And when you end your wanders I’m fire in your hearth.
If I’m silent, don’t have much to say.
I’m kind of silent, not a lot to say.
Just like my violence, words left yesterday.
Horny old bastard, last grape on the vine.
Horny old bastard, the end of the line.
Wrinkled and blasted grape a-makes the sweetest wine.
