The post-1994 South African democratic State, which had emerged as a hope of a new dawn, has turned out to be a disappointment to many African civil society institutions and peoples of the continent.

This country of ours has gone through the worst of times in the past, we have gone through both physical and psychological trauma -- but this is not the time to give in. Let us save our country as a united nation regardless of the colour of our skin and our political differences. It may look like life is coming to an end for many of us, but what keeps some of us going is putting our sights beyond the horizon.

Notwithstanding the history of repression of black people by the white population, the spirit of forgiveness engendered by former President Nelson Mandela has to be invoked and must guide us during this difficult time.

It is about time we created a common history that we can all proudly claim. A history of being South Africans first before our racial or ethnic affiliations, on this continent, like Americans from different nationalities, different races and cultures.

I know that we the black African people were the common enemy of both the English and the Afrikaners, but we now share common cultural symbols, our flag and our national anthem bound together by our sovereign State as defined in our 1996 Constitution.

This...