Monday, October 6, 2008
Profile on Nqabakazi Mountain
My room has never been the tidiest of places. And it is also not the kind of room frequented by the fairer sex. But today, untidy though it is, there is a visitor. Dressed in a grey blouse and a denim mini-skirt with brown slippers on her feet, she is sitting on a chair facing me. A brown cap is placed jauntily on her tinted locks. The image in my mind is of a rebel without a cause. I am in for a pleasant surprise.
Nqabakazi Mountain was born here in Grahamstown in April 1990. She is a first year student studying towards a BComm degree. I am really curious as to what kind of person she is. “I’m a person that is rebellious in nature but I don’t go against good things”. She winces slightly as she tentatively touches her recently pierced nose, which is slightly sore. She also has double piercings on both her ears. She also plans to pierce her tongue. “I pierce my body just because I can”. Nqabakazi believes in freedom of expression and she does this through art. ‘I love all types of art”. She expresses herself through poetry and song.
Her first year at Rhodes has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. She sighs as she reminisces about her lowest moments. “I had quite a bit”. She tenderly touches her sore nose again. The academic pressure led her to question the reason she was at Rhodes. But the worst thing was the loneliness. Folding her arms, “I was lonely with people around me”. Being different made her feel isolated and alone. Her background played a part in her feeling different. She tells me about her family, which has seven children. She pauses momentarily to observe a picture on my wall. “My dad is a preacher and an educator so he doesn’t have much money”. Her mother? “She owns a little business”. To her, the Rhodes culture seemed to be about how much you had.”I thought hm, I can’t afford some things so I won’t be accepted”. She felt she had to change and conform to the people around her. Did she conform? She gestures expressively, ‘No! I decided that I choose me”.
She also discovered that she has pneumonia. Her treatment is going well and it is nearly over. Amazingly, she smokes despite having pneumonia.”I can’t sacrifice cigarretes, I’m sorry”, she says with a dismissive gesture. She is of the opinion that everyone is going to die anyway. Smoking must really hurt because of her condition. “It does, but then, I don’t give a s**t”. She has no qualms about swearing. To her it’s just a way of speaking.
What about her highest moment? “Actually, I haven’t heard any”. She crosses her legs and frowns thoughtfully then reneges on her previous statement.” My highest moment was at a concert at the Old Gaol because the audience appreciated me”. She gets animated when talking about music. She loves music with an African feel. She is now leaning forward in the chair, using her hands quite expressively to put her point across. She has even stopped regularly feeling her sore nose. I ask her to sing for me after the interview. She has no problem with that.
“I believe I can change the world”. Nqabakazi believes she is on earth for a purpose. “Nqabakazi means a fortress, it means I’m here to protect my people”. She tells me a story.”I was coming out of Equilibrium when I saw a white guy harassing a streetkid. I intervened and ended up fighting with the white guy”. She seems to have a sense of social justice. “People need to reach out, humans have so much to give”. I couldn’t agree more. She is now standing up. I don’t need to be told that my time is up. It has been an insightful interview. Nqabakazi has overcome her insecurities and emerged as her own person. I remember asking a friend about her beforehand. "Nqabakazi is different, but you have to accept her the way she is”, were the words from Aza, a residence mate. She succeeded in being herself despite the challenges she has faced. She pauses at the door, "By the way you wanted to hear me sing?”. She tells me she will sing another day as she has work to do. I watch her slowly walkout of the main door. Nqabakazi Mountain, the rebel with a cause.
BY Gift “the crackdemic”
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