Far too many people in my circle are at rock bottom.
At first, one might think it is a coincidence. But thinking about it more broadly, we are in a systemic problem, which began with Covid. You might recall all of us celebrating the first 21 days off work. Then the days grew tentacles and became months. Companies started retrenching, friends and family died, and our relationship with other nations was based on death tolls and news headlines.
Then they announced vaccines. One would have thought the world would unite behind science and scores of people would become immunised against Covid. But not quite. Some countries hoarded the vaccine, while others, refused to take them, preaching our natural capacity as humans to resist viruses and attain herd immunity. Then scandals broke out about the virus having been manufactured in a lab…
Covid “ended.” Slowly, like animals coming out of hibernation, we entered a new dawn. This new beginning came a beacon of hope, echoing a symphony of sorrows we collectively endured, while revealing a rainbow of hope in the near future. But alas. Unbeknownst to most of us at the time, we were at the beginning of the aftermath.
Trouble Comes In Waves
I recently watched the movie Oppenheimer by none other than the great Christopher Nolan. The movie is sophisticated and layered. In one sense cerebral and in another, emotional. It depicts the making of the atomic bomb, the first of which was dropped in Japan in 1945, instantly killing over 100,000 people. Three days later, the second bomb was dropped in another town in Japan, Nagasaki. The second one was far more powerful than the first and similarly wiped out hundreds of thousands of people, not to mention infrastructure.
Here’s an account from the survivors. There are three videos if you can bear to watch all.
There are actually six videos, all 4 minutes or so long. Assuming you have watched all three, we can break down the narrative as follows. First there was the bomb. Similar to Covid, this is what most people spoke about. Then came the aftermath. For the people in Japan, this was a harrowing experience. One lady recalled seeing someone somnambulating towards her as if carrying a rag, but it was their skin hanging from their arm. While the aftermath was horrific, few in Western media spoke about it. They only mentioned the destruction to property and infrastructure, proving that Japan’s will to fight was broken.
There was a final stage, however, what I call the unexpected aftermath. This stage seldom makes the news but affects most people in the most horrific way. In Japan, this began with radiation. For many, radiation killed their white blood cells, essentially wiping out their immune system. Without an immune system, hair fell off, skin evaporated and people started rotting whilst alive.
Radiation was followed by economic and other practical destruction. Over 90% of hospital facilities were destroyed. The land, where the bombs exploded turned to glass and became barren. For years to come, people exposed to radiation had their genes altered. If not giving birth to abnormal children, they suffered from cancers and other strange diseases. None of this made it to mainstream media. It all went quietly, as the victors of war celebrated and consolidated their power.
When to Give Up
Many know the famous speech by the British Bulldog, Winston Churchill, where he urged his citizens never to give up. “Never, never, never give up.” He said.
But I recently quit my directorships and other executive roles and, to be honest, although I mourned the loss of important relationships I had built over many years, it was the best decision. However, this goes against the mantra of never giving up. How then can one justify quitting?
Interesting, this is what my son asked me this week. I responded, having thought about this for months, that the only time one must give up is when one’s values are compromised. Although I had become fond of the school, the staff and learners, the people with whom I was in partnership lacked something essential in the way of ethics and morality. My grip slowly loosened on account of slippery ethics.
I think this is when one must quit or give up on an endeavour – when one’s ethics are in question.
Speaking of ethics – a special announcement.
I am happy to announce that I was recently accepted as a Masters Student to study Applied Ethics at Wits University. Note that I had never been to any tertiary education. My highest academic qualification is grade 12, achieved in 2003. My acceptance came after a rigorous Record of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment. Among others, I had to collect my matric results from 20 years ago, find and request letters from people who taught me some basic skills more than 25 years ago, and write an essay demonstrating my grasp of ethics at a Masters level, and so on.
It was a gruelling application process. I am grateful and delighted, however, that I will study at one of Africa’s finest universities. I am particularly pleased with their recognition of the work I had done over my 20 year career.
This is testament that one is never waisting time. While it may seem daunting; while one’s goals may seem like moving targets, impossible to nail down. As Steve Jobs once said, and I paraphrase, the dots will someday connect. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to persist in what seems like folly because who knows what the future holds.
The Aftermath
Like the aftermath from the atomic bombs in Japan, we seldom talk about the aftermath of Covid. I was reading the news about a large company, SA Taxi, which finances most of the minibus taxis in South Africa. Before Covid, the company was the darling of the JSE, raking in significant value for its shareholders and driving the South African economy by advancing loans to taxi owners.
But the company is in trouble with billions in losses.
Remember, taxis were not operating during the hard lockdowns. However, loans and debit orders kept running taxi owners, prompting a mass repossession. During the 18 months of lockdowns, even though the economy slowly arose from its slumber, there remained restrictions. This meant taxis could not operate at full pre-covid capacity, further straining taxi owners and their capacity to repay their debts. In addition, companies had retrenched scores of employees – passengers to the taxi industry, also adding to the buffet of problems.
Consequently, SA Taxi is in trouble. Taxi owners are in the trouble. Those remaining in the taxi industry are struggling with high costs of operating their taxis as fuel prices and interest rates have gone up. This is one of many strands in the unexpected aftermath of COVID. Combined with problems from other sectors, it feels like we have a noose around our necks and it is slowly tightening.
Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of hope
By the 1960s, barely 15 years after the bombing of 1945, Japan became the second largest economy in the world, churning out global brands like Toyota, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Nikon, Fuji, Subaru, Nintendo, and many others. What was their secret?
While this is not the place to dig into economics, this is what they did. They united under a vision to become the best in the world – to show the world that despite the devastation of the two bombs, there was something special and resilient in the Japanese spirit.
The Japanese people studied like hell. They sent young people all over the world to study new technology and bring it home. They worked like crazy. To this day, Japanese people are known for their insane work ethic. They restructured their economies, opting to support high growth companies. More importantly, they leaned into their culture, teaching the world principles like Kaizen (continuous improvement), which was used to perfect Toyota’s production system, and is now used as a central business philosophy by many.
In closing
To anybody reading this and going through the most, as we say these days, we are in the unexpected aftermath of Covid. Although unspoken, this is as hard as it will get. If we hang in there; if we help each other carry the load; if we unite under a powerful vision to become great; if we work our butts off, planting for the next season; if we lean into the ancient stores of resilience in our culture and spirituality; then things will gradually get better. One day, as Aretha Franklin said in Donny Hathaway’s cover, “Someday we will all be free.”
Keep fighting.
Until Next Week
Vusi.
P.S. here’s Madam Aretha, followed by Mr Hathaway.
“Hang on to the world as it spins around
Just don’t let the spin get you down
Things are moving fast
Hold on tight and you will last
Keep your self-respect, your manly pride
Get yourself in gear, keep your stride
Never mind your fears
Brighter days will soon be here…”
