Athenkosi is one of the gold ikamvanites (learners who achieve above 90% attendance at all tutoring sessions). Gold ikamvanites get many benefits, including attending film festivals. This month, they went to the Labour Film Festival in Salt River. This is Athenkosi's essay about the film they saw.

Sitting on chairs, listening to the people’s views and watching the movie “Baraka,” on Wednesday the 13 at Salt River community centre, it frightens and scares me to see my own brothers and sisters being stoned, burned, criticized and beaten up by other people. I ask myself why this happened? Just because we don’t look the same, Just because we don’t speak the same language.

What was Mandela fighting for? Why is S.A now a democratic country? Isn’t it to make sure everyone is happy? Well I sure can tell you we are far from happiness.”Baraka”, the movie just proved that to me. People being stoned, beaten and burnt to death. Why? “We should and could do something about these criminals, if only the police would let us, because the police are surely not helping by releasing criminals just 2 days after they have been arrested,” said a man from the audience.

Why are S.A citizens beating and chasing away these people that need our help? Just for the fun of it or just to get food for the week? I think its really pathetic because after the food is finished we run back to these people kneeling on the ground and begging for them to come back. One way to peace and happiness is if we stand up and fight back and stop chasing away our brothers and sisters because it will not solve the problem in any way. Chasing away others will not stop the criminals from taking our phones and money in the dark when coming home or going to school or work.

“I’m a Nigerian and the reason why we came to South Africa is to work and have a better future, not to be beaten up or take others jobs, but if S.A people are lazy its obvious that we will try by all means to do these things which they do not want to do because we want to make a living. For instance a Nigerian will never open a shop or own a shop in Nigeria.” Said a Nigerian women from the audience.

I agree 100% with this fellow mother of mine because S.A citizens are very lazy people and so I say its very wrong of South Africans to chase our own friends away when they only trying to survive and feed their families and in addition we also ran to other countries seeking for help and not once did we get traumatized in any way. So let us give them the love we want and treat them the same way we want to be treated.