'It is difficult to love the poor'

Prof Takatso Mofokeng stood up in one of the academic seminars and boldly stated, “It is difficult to love the poor.”

I agree that this it is a very sensitive and dangerous statement to make because it might be manipulated, misinterpreted, and abused by different people for their purposes, including a nonsensical justification and end; though Mofokeng’s statement meant something that was never intended to offend, ridicule, undermine, and disrespect the poor.

Mofokeng instead was highlighting an important fact that to love the poor is not something easy but a difficult commitment, as it comes with certain expectations and sacrifices.

In the process of loving the poor there is an expectation to share one’s resources and at times neglecting oneself and his/her family and at times taking an oath of poverty for their sake, loving the poor includes a possibility of being jailed fighting for and with the poor, loving the poor might mean facing death on behalf of the poor or with the poor, etc.

Mofokeng provided an example that he opted to stay in a Township of Atteridgeville against a trend of his peers who would opt to buy property in the suburbs, but he had to later deal with the reality of house breakings, vulnerability to car hijacking, etc.

But his choice to stay with his people also affected him, as electricity is not stable, water cuts are regular, service delivery seems to be a factor, etc.

In short, Mofokeng was arguing that to love the poor, this is a price that he and others of his class had to pay. This choice is not an easy one, but difficult. I have recently written an article about the death of Dr Gomolemo Mokae, who decided to reside in Garankuwa and was later killed by his people.

His ideological orientation of Black Consciousness dictated to him to remain with his people, who are ordinarily poor, but the consequences of that led to his death. I am aware that we cannot limit the movement and choices of blacks to townships and villages, as this country and continent belong to us in their totality and therefore are entitled to reside anywhere.

Of course, I am stating this because many of our leaders shall indicate to me, as a defence and justification, that the “earth is of the Lord and everything on it” and that “Izwe Lethu” from Cape to Cairo, Madagascar to Morocco.

However, one cannot deny the reality that the poor are found only in the villages and townships, except that if they are found in the cities, they are homeless and still vulnerable. But even within the cities, there are certain identified or limited areas where they might be tolerated. I should concede that the example I have given of Mofokeng and Mokaeare is personal and individualistic.

However, I should also indicate that our government, political parties, business, and traditional leaders (how can I exonerate the church?) have taken a posture saying, “it is difficult to love the poor”.

Unlike Mofokeng and Mokae, who opted for hymnal or confessional commitment, said “ke ne ke sena ho hana le ha di mpolaya” (I couldn't refuse even if they killed me) or saying “ho isa lefung ke ntsoe la boitlamo” (To death is a word of commitment).

The 1994 RDP White Paper Preamble, which was in line with a view of Gustavo Gutierrez that “the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order”, was meant to be a commitment to love the poor as it read:

“At the heart of the Government of National Unity is a commitment to effectively address the problems of poverty and the gross inequality evident in almost all aspects of South African society”.

This commitment was abandoned because clearly, our government and political leaders have loudly and silently proved that it is difficult to love the poor. Allan Boesak declared in his 2023 article titled “No shortcuts, no subtitles, no substitutes: Reflections on the UDF after 40 years” that even in 2023, ''South Africa is the most unequal society on earth. The rich/poor gap is now wider than in the days of apartheid”.

Loving the poor is challenging for multiple reasons that are psychological, societal, theological, economic, and political. Our government (inclusive of all political parties represented) in these 31 years of democracy has failed to see the urgency of addressing the needs of the poor because of a psychological disconnect by our leaders. The lack of love for the poor is also captured in some sentiments that the poor are lazy or responsible for their situation, therefore preventing any compassion.

We must also agree that our government, at times, seems helpless due to the large problem of poverty, as they do not have a plan on how to address it.

This has then led to a societal norm that everyone for him/herself neglect collecting (Batho Pele) responsibility, and this led politicians, business, and traditional church leaders to look after themselves and their families, thereby neglecting the rest. It is a normal economic factor that when individuals are struggling, they may find it difficult to focus on the needs of others.

It is out of this context that a declaration must be made in reference to our government that indeed “it is difficult to love the poor” except during elections but Gustavo Gutierrez clarifies that: “If there is no friendship with them [the poor]and no sharing of the life of the poor, then there is no authentic commitment to liberation, because love exists only among equals”.

* Prof BB Senokoane, Associate Professor in the College of Human Sciences at UNISA