MICHAEL MORRIS | Liberalism looks forward, not back - Business Day
This commentary explores the complexities of South African identity through the lens of an essay by Lovelyn Nwadeyi. It discusses the tension between national belonging and the experience of being perceived as 'foreign' despite deep local roots.
Why it matters
It reflects ongoing debates about nationalism, identity, and social inclusion in post-apartheid South Africa.
Towards the end of June, writer Sisonke Msimang penned a note drawing attention to an online essay, “I Call Her Home. She Calls Me Foreign”, which said simply: “If you read one thing as a South African who loves our flailing, wonderful, broken, rising country and the continent to which we belong, let it be this.”
The essay was written by Lovelyn Nwadeyi, a not unfamiliar or uncontroversial figure in South African activism, who describes herself as “a South African, who is also a Nigerian”.
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