Mandela's Children

Mandela's Children

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/01/2012123133938467674.html?utm_content=automateplus&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=SocialFlow&utm_medium=MasterAccount&utm_term=tweets

Born free but crying

In a land freshly reclaimed from Brits and Afrikaneers

Living in tenements,

Worn clothes hanging in scorching sun,

Like fading flags

We began in droves,

Bleached white shirts and scrubbed  faces

But father needed money, mama lost her job, baby needed milk, grandmother was bedridden…

Only a quarter of us remain to graduate

Half of us will fail exams

Still, we rejoice

One evening of

Taffeta and silk,

Sunglasses and limousines

Papa’s loans are starving  us

But for one night, we shine like newly minted coins