Ubuntu

Why should we believe that there is anything worth striving for at all? Why should we take care that the world changes, that we live in a different world? In many African countries, the world view is something referred to as Ubuntu. Ubuntu that is basically the core of being, the core of personality. We say: you must strive to be everything you can be, so that I can be everything I can be. My humanity is linked to your humanity. The individual detached human being is, in essence, a contradiction in terms. We say: A person becomes a person through other persons, through their fellow human beings. I have gifts that you do not have, and you have gifts that I do not have. And then God says: “Voilà, that’s exactly what it’s all about. This is how you realise that you need each other.” We are created to live in a very fragile network of mutual dependence. Those who are completely independent and self-sufficient are not really human beings, actually are not real human beings.
  Ubuntu also means compassion, generosity and hospitality. When we welcome someone with open arms, when someone is generous, the greatest praise we can give them in our part of the world is: “Lu ubuntu, una levutu.” This means: this person has ubuntu, they are human. They strive for social harmony. Revenge, anger, hatred – these are all things that undermine social harmony. Ubuntu encourages everyone to forgive and reconcile. It means that forgiving one another is good for your health because it lowers your blood pressure. It is the best way to represent your own interests. It does not prescribe retributive justice, but restorative justice. The purpose is to build bridges rather than fuel any desire for revenge. And so, it is not surprising that Nelson Mandela, when he came out of prison after 27 years and was supposed to be actually full of bitterness and anger, astonished the world with the enormous generosity of spirit he displayed. He came out of prison and called on his people not to seek revenge, but to forgive and reconcile. Nelson Mandela from Africa has become an icon of reconciliation and forgiveness in the world.
  Ubuntu tells us that we are so intertwined with one another that if you do not treat another person humanely, you yourself are no longer human. We saw this in our reconciliation and truth commission. Someone testified: “We shot someone in the head and burned his body – it takes eight or nine hours for a human body to burn – and while the body was burning, we made a barbecue fire next to it and drank beer.” It makes you wonder: what might have happened to the humanity of someone who is capable of doing such a thing? Killing, burning a corpse and barbecuing meat next to it?
  Ubuntu was not something that only existed in South Africa. After Mau Mau in Kenya, people thought that when Uhuru (freedom) came to us, Jomo Kenyatta would lead his people in an orgy of revenge.  But that did not happen. When freedom came to Zimbabwe, there was no revenge, no retaliation. Ian Smith remained in Parliament even after “liberation”. That was before Mr Mugabe had changed so much. And we saw the same thing in Namibia. No, to take revenge means acting against your own interests.
  Ubuntu is about the value of individuals and their dignity. Ubuntu is about the fact that we all belong to one family. We are all part of the human family, the family of God. I am also getting older, and every day I notice that things are becoming a little more difficult for me, and I think I have discovered something that I believe is the most radical thing that Jesus ever said. And I am sure it will surprise you. You may remember: on the first morning of the resurrection, our Lord meets Mary Magdalene, and he says something very strange to her: Mary Magdalene, a woman. You may remember that Paul said: To be considered an apostle, one must have seen the risen Lord. According to this, the first apostle was apparently a woman. So, let’s put that in brackets for now.
  And our Lord said something very strange to her. He said: Go and tell my brothers. This is the first time he has spoken of “brothers”. Before, he always referred to them as friends. And now he says: “my brothers”. To those of whom one betrayed him, one even denied him three times, and all of them abandoned him. He calls these people “my brothers”. “Tell my brothers that I am going to my Father and their Father.” That was a very significant moment. And Jesus wanted to say something with these words. He meant that you, I, that we are all brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters in this family, in which there are no outsiders, only insiders. You may remember that Jesus said: When I ascend to heaven, then he did not say: I will take a few of you with me, he said: I will take you all with me. Everyone, everyone, everyone. The rich, the poor, the white, the black, the yellow, the red, Palestinians, Israelis. Everyone, everyone, everyone. Homosexuals, heterosexuals, everyone – can you imagine? George Bush, Osama bin Laden.  Everyone, everyone, absolutely everyone! That’s fantastic! How can you have dignity if you are poor? How can you have dignity if you are sick? How can you have dignity if you are ignorant? Or made to be ignorant. How can you? It’s about everyone, everyone, absolutely everyone. In the ethos of the family, you don’t ask: Hey, how much do you contribute to the family income? You only get back proportionally as much as you contribute. You don’t say to a baby: “So, what do you contribute to the family?” The baby doesn’t contribute anything to the income, as far as we can tell. But the baby is showered with love. No, in a good family we say: Everyone should do what they are capable of doing. And then everyone will get what they need.
  One thing I can tell you for sure: We will never win a war against terror as long as there are people who have to live in conditions that cause them to despair. We are one family! How can we spend so much money in so many countries on death and destruction? We produce bombs that will kill people, even though we know that only a small portion of this money could ensure that children around the world have clean drinking water, enough to eat, a roof over their heads, and a good education. How can we allow this to happen? How? And God says: Can you help me to ensure that this world shows more compassion, that we live in a world where every human being means more than material things? Can you help me to ensure that this world becomes a world where every human being can enjoy their inalienable rights? And God says: Please, please help me! Please help me! Help me to transform this world into a world of compassion, a world of generosity, a world in which everyone cares for one another, a world full of laughter and joy, a world in which poverty is a thing of the past, a world in which there is no more war.
  Help me. Help me. Help me. •

Source: 8^th Global Ethic Speech by Desmond Tutu, former bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner, on the topic of “Global Ethics and Human Dignity: An African Perspective” on 15 June 2009 at the University of Tübingen (excerpt); https://www.weltethos.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Weltethos-Rede-8-Tutu-2009.pdf

(Translation Current Concerns)

* Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931 in Klerksdorp; died 26 December 2021 in Cape Town) was a South African Anglican clergyman. He was Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Church of the Province of South Africa from 1986 to 1996. For his commitment to human rights, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. From 1995, he was chairman of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.