A question of identity
Friday, October 21, 2022 | 500 Views |
Kim Karabo Makin, 'the doors of culture shall be opened', 2022, Installation view at Linnaeus, Gaborone
I became acutely aware of the complexities when I was in Cape Town, with its racialised environment.
I was often asked, “what are you?” At first I’d say, “I’m coloured”, but the inquisitor would often deprecate with a “no, you are mixed”. In South Africa, this is a racial question.
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...