Lucky Way Home

Given the string of bad luck that been accompanying me since my arrival, it just seemed that last night was going like clockwork when the my designated media bus decided not to show up. I did not want to walk out of the stadium and take a random taxi, so i did the next sensible thing--I took another media bus to another destination and hoped to take a hotel taxi to my guest house.

After arriving at the hotel, I asked the receptionist to find me a taxi. I did not want to pay out the wazoo so I made the receptionist negotiate a flat rate and ultimately, the taxi service conceded and agreed to take me. As I was waiting, a black male came in and said he was the taxi driver. After seeing his appearance, it looked like he was some street corner thug, which had be a bit nervous. So, I went against my judgement and took the taxi.

The entire ride seemed a bit strange. The driver was speeding through all the red lights, which had me uneasy so after a couple minutes I asked the driver to slow it down and make the stops. I told him that I'd rather be late than be dead. The driver laughed and said that he was not stopping for my safety because carjackers do their work during red lights. If you can imagine the scene in the Last of the Mohicans where Cora confronted Nathaniel about not giving the settlers a proper burial, I kind of felt like that. Nathaniel did not want to bury the settlers to protect Cora and her sister from any guide looking for a possible trail. Although I appreciated the gesture, I still did not trust the guy because I did not recognize the route he was taking me on. It was after we stopped at a gas station that I realized he did not know the address, which had me very uneasy to say the least.

The only thing I could think of was contact my brother stateside and ask to guide me via google maps. After we were able to find a reference point, we were well on our way home, but it was the ride home that got me thinking a great deal about Africa. I must have had one of the most strangest conversations with the taxi driver. After minutes of silence, the driver asked me if there was a lot of work in the US. I told him that like in any country, there are sectors that are thriving and others are in decline. It was here when the driver said something I will never forget. He said that in a bizarre way, he misses apartheid. I couldn't believe my ears that a black man from South Africa would dare say such thing. He said that under the previous system, everyone had a job and that crime was near inexistent as it is today. He knew that the discrimination was wrong but that in a very twisted way, everyone was taken care of. If a servant had her younglings sick, all she had to do was ask the madam to arrange care. He mentioned the word "madam" a lot as if one of her duties was to see after them.

I went silent because I felt anything I said would have come out the wrong way. If I said he did not mean that, I would have patronized him, if I agreed with him, I would have appeared racist and accept that the common South African can not govern themselves. But he made a point that the whitey was leaving South Africa and taking their resources to other places like Europe, Australia, USA, which would ultimately leave the country with nothing.

After a while, I felt I had to say something which I hoped consoled him, even if it was for a moment when I said, "Africa is big enough for everyone." Around this time I was approaching my destination and gave him a hand shake and asked for his name. When he told me that his name was "Lucky" I couldn't do anything but smile, because I felt that after all the misfortunes that I was having, I met a very humble and genuine person that wanted nothing more than to live an honest life and help those around him. After telling me about employment being scarce, he did not want to accept the taxi fare because we took too long. I told him that it was a pleasure and insisted he accept the money for the time.

His honesty and sincerity really made me appreciate the goodwill of some of the people that I have met in South Africa. They have a burning desire to want to succeed, that even a statement like the one Lucky said to me, which I think was said out of desperation for a better South Africa, really encapsulates the general consensus of wanting Africa a place at the table.

I for one hope they do, because they deserve it.

I have heard similar circumstances where the oppress wish for the return of the tyrant. There was a time when many Indians wished for the return of the English to restore order. Mozambique, Guinea Equatorial,