Masekela’s ‘Stimela’ Derails into Xenophobic Abyss

The great South African steam train, once engineered by giants, is rolling backwards down a steep slope, its drivers asleep at the wheel and its tracks rusted through.

How spectacular to witness a nation with such a profound history of solidarity suffer from collective amnesia.

The descendants of those who fought side by side against oppression have found a new existential threat: the informal vegetable vendor from Harare and the tuckshop owner from Lilongwe.

As marchers trudge through the streets of Johannesburg and Durban, brandishing sticks and rehearsing their xenophobic choreography, one cannot help but hear the haunting echo of Hugh Masekela’s trumpet.