in995-The-national-flower-of-time-Hearing-the-heartbeat-of-South-Africa

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In April in South Africa, the bells of Freedom Day (April 27) are still ringing. On this land, the national flag of black, yellow, green, white, red and blue is unfurling in the wind, like a rainbow-wrapped king protea, growing stubbornly in the soil of history. At this moment, a music box inlaid with king protea is telling the never-ending spiritual code of South Africans with its rotating rhythm. The golden gears of this music box are just like the “Y” intersection in the center of the national flag – symbolizing the integration of different ethnic groups in the struggle. When the spring turns, clear notes flow out, just like the belief that Mandela polished in prison: even the most broken time can be patiently reorganized into a movement. The rhythm of the king protea petals blooming layer by layer corresponds to the trajectory of South Africa’s 30-year democratic transformation: from the sharp division of apartheid to the resonance of truth and reconciliation. The eternal cycle of the music box is a metaphor for the resilience of a nation. Just as the king protea can bloom in the barren cracks of rocks, South Africans use tolerance to cast scars into totems. Every moment a note falls is an annotation of the “Ubuntu” spirit – “I exist because of you”. When the music fades, the spring is tightened again, just like the country’s vow to never give up: as long as the heart is still beating, hope can continue to speak. At this moment, let the music box spin under the South African sky. Listen, the ding-dong sound contains both the surging waves of Cape Town and the purity of Soweto nursery rhymes – this is the pulse of the whole of Africa, and it is moving towards a more magnificent ensemble in the gears of time.

In April in Suid-Afrika lui die klokke van Vryheidsdag (27 April) steeds. Op hierdie land wapper die nasionale vlag verweef met swart, geel, groen, wit, rooi en blou in die wind, soos ‘n protea toegedraai in ‘n reënboog, wat hardnekkig in die grond van die geskiedenis groei. Op hierdie oomblik vertel ‘n musiekdosie, ingelê met die koningprotea, die nimmereindigende spirituele kode van die Suid-Afrikaners met sy roterende ritme. Die goue ratte van hierdie musiekdosie lyk soos die “Y”-vorm in die middel van die nasionale vlag, wat die integrasie van verskillende etniese groepe deur stryd simboliseer. Soos die lente aanbreek, vloei helder note uit, net soos die oortuiging wat Mandela in die tronk gesmee het: selfs die mees gefragmenteerde tyd kan geduldig weer in ‘n musiekstuk saamgestel word. Die ritme van die blom van die monargblare stem ooreen met die trajek van Suid-Afrika se dertigjarige demokratiese oorgang: van die skerp verdeeldheid van apartheid tot die resonante resonansie van waarheid en versoening. Die ewige siklus van die musiekdosie is ‘n metafoor vir die veerkragtigheid van ‘n nasie. Net soos die koningprotea in dorre rotssplete kan blom, gebruik Suid-Afrikaners verdraagsaamheid om littekens in totems te verander. Elke oomblik wanneer ‘n noot val, is ‘n aantekening van die gees van “Ubuntu” – “Ek bestaan as gevolg van jou”. Soos die musiek vervaag, word die lente weer opgewonde, soos hierdie land se onwrikbare belofte: solank die hart aanhou klop, sal hoop aanhou spreek. Laat die musiekdosie op hierdie oomblik onder die Suid-Afrikaanse hemelruim draai. Luister, die klingelende geluid bevat beide die deinende golwe van Kaapstad en die suiwerheid van die kinderliedjies van Soweto – dit is die pols van die hele Afrika, wat beweeg na ‘n meer manjifieke ensemble in die ratte van tyd.