am a Proudly Indian South African

As a proudly Indian South African, I traveled the land of our forefathers; I loved every minute of it and would go back whenever I can,

As I experienced extreme diversity from slums to marbled temples,
I imagined the lives of my forefathers and what it would be like for me if they did not take risk of boarding the vessels in 1860.

I love India but I commend our ancestors for leaving home for the benefit of generations to come. I am eternally grateful to be an Indian South African with all of the opportunities that our motherland, South Africa offers us. The change that our ancestors had to undergo cannot be compared to the change that we are embracing as a country of diversity. Let us remind ourselves 150 years later of the hardships and sacrifices and change of the 1860 setters and learn to appreciate, before complaining, everything that we have as Indian South Africans.

I AM
Suren Roopnarian

My name is Imtiaz Hassan and i was born in the year 1971 in the month of May.I am the last born of three boys and currently in the fourth generation.I schooled in Overport and spent the most part of my years there.At a very young age when i schooled in town and we (my mum and i) had to catch the bus,i always wondered why there was a green bus and a blue bus.My mum told me later on that the blue one was for the whites and green for the blacks.

All through my schooling career i loved playing sport and my favourites were volleyball and cricket.I remember though that i was chosen to represent the zonal area to play for my provincial colours,”i knew i played well that day” but unforunatley because of my skin colour the white kid next to me was chosen (and he only made 3 runs before being clean bowled).

It seems that all through my growing years i’ve had to face hardships and battle for the right to have a better life.Even during current times apartheid is still rife in the business world.When i take my kids to school these days i see one colour and it’s hard to witness that they all get along (sometimes).

I wonder……what would have happened if we were given equal opportunities in life,could this beautiful country of ours been different ? Could we stand together as a nation,as a first world country ? Well, like Mr.Mandela quoted on my birthday, “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another…”

I AM
Imtiaz Hassan