A JOY! reader’s heartfelt letter to Donald Trump

Written by: Heather Djunga
Article source: Supplied

Dear President Trump,

I read how you were allowing Afrikaans refugees into the United States. I have some Afrikaans in my family lineage, along with French and British, so perhaps I qualify. Still, I have elected to stay here and I want to explain why.

Because though I have a mixed cultural heritage, I take my first identity as being a citizen of the Rainbow Nation. It is not a title I take lightly, as I believe the Lord is the reason South Africa has been bestowed with such a special title. You as a people of the United States have a story which you believe has been orchestrated by the Lord Almighty, which you are proud of – as do we. We are His Rainbow Nation. 

I believe if you visited South Africa and met the people, instead of assessing us on the hateful views of the minority from a distance, you might see the miracle the Lord has done here and perhaps take a leaf from our nation’s people: a resilient people who continue to fight for the Rainbow Nation we call home. We are aware of the corruption, President Trump, but in every nation blessed by the Lord, evil will rise up, but it will not prevail.

I believe the evidence of our nation’s miracle can be found in our people. I must explain to you that in South Africa we have something called ‘braais’. The name has Afrikaans origins. It is when we gather to ‘barbecue’, in American terms, and use meat called ‘boerewors’, which is possibly the best form of sausage in the world. I know that my black, white, coloured, Indian, in fact all South Africans, would agree that a braai is one of the best things we have as a country to offer to each other and to the world. This is because we come together to braai. There is a word Black, White, Afrikaans, English, Indian, Coloured use for our togetherness. It is ‘Ubuntu’. This translates to ‘I am, because you are’. We are marked by ‘Ubuntu’. We will not easily relinquish this.

Braais are one of the many platforms where we unite. The beauty of the braai is that on a single plate, you will find a piece of boerewors, alongside pap, and other different traditional African foods. There might even be an English cucumber salad on the plate or a delicious Indian masala. Even our food is like a Rainbow. This is the ground reality here.

My prayer is that when you investigate and visit our nation, you will be blown away by the grit, authenticity, goodness and determination of our people: a resilient, beautiful people whose voice has in many ways been lost in the mainstream media. The voice of the majority here has not been correctly depicted by media statements.

Perhaps a visit to a South African braai would flip the script on what you believe about us. You would be handed a boerie roll and drink as you stood chatting with the guys around the braaivleis.  They would play some ‘Rainbow’ music in the background and people would dance and celebrate to a mix of Steve Hofmeyr (Afrikaans); Miriam Makeba (Afropop and jazz); some golden oldies from the eighties, like Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean; and random songs, like the Macarena.You would not know the difference between black and white, or coloured or Indian, or English and Afrikaans, because in many ways, we have stopped seeing the difference.

On many occasions, countless South Africans came together to pray for peace in the Middle East and to ask for forgiveness for the ruling party’s decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice. This voice of the majority was not represented as it should have been in the media. The truth is, our voices have not been heard as they should have been heard.

President Trump, when there are sports matches on, we watch together and cheer the Bokke on, and sometimes blow on something called vuvuzelas, which are special trumpets for sporting events. So many South Africans blow on trumpets during big sporting events that from a distance, the sound of many vuvuzelas in unison sounds like a swarm of bees. Black people blow vuvuzelas. Indian people blow vuvuzelas. White people blow vuvuzelas. Coloured people blow vuvuzelas. Afrikaans people blow on vuvuzelas. It is our special trumpet.

We are a unique people. Even our humour has been shaped by different cultural influences. 

As a people, we have made an incredible journey together. It has been frightfully hard at times, but we always seem to pull through, and we will pull through these next few challenges as well. We have journeyed from Apartheid to freedom and we are determined to continue to implement the forgiveness which brought us together under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and those who stood alongside him, such as Advocate George Bizos (Greek) and Ruth First (Jewish) – there are many others – to walk in the destiny given to us by the Lord. Our identity as a Rainbow was forged in the fire, and we believe against all odds, that the Lord will not leave us halfway, but will continue the good work He has started in our nation, to completion. 

Let me give an example. A few years ago, there was looting in our nation, which caused great devastation, including to shops in Alexandra, in Johannesburg. Windows were smashed, businesses destroyed. Instead of buckling to fear and intimidation, South Africans of all races stood together and came to clean up the mess left by the looters. We came from different areas, with our clean-up equipment and what should have divided us, ended up uniting us. That’s just the kind of people we are.

We showed, through coming together, that we have Rainbow hearts and this is just one way we have stood united against societal evils and injustices, of which we are aware, and which grieve us as a collective people. Still, our Rainbow stands secure, even in the face of poverty, corruption, and the hateful, unjust views of the minority.

By all means, call out injustice, this is commendable; but remember the Lord’s words in the book of Isaiah from the faith you uphold. Isaiah 42:3: ‘A bruised reed He will not break and a smouldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.’

These words of scripture stand unshakable and true. They form the foundation of the Christian faith which you advocate. He will faithfully bring forth justice, but He will not break a bruised reed, it is written. It is also written, He will not extinguish a smouldering wick.

For though you might look at South Africa and see a smouldering wick, if you looked closer you would see the fire that burns in our hearts. This is the Lord at work in the hearts of our nation’s people, and I believe this fire will only grow bigger; because the Lord promises not to extinguish a smoldering wick. .

This letter might get lost among the millions of letters sent to you, President Trump, or maybe by the Will of God it will reach your desk and you will see for a moment His rainbow always prevails after the storm. We are evidence that His hope and promise of mercy prevails. May His Voice of Truth reach you today. Men from every tribe, language, people and nation were purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, says Revelation 5. We stand by our nation and are not prepared to give up our Rainbow President Trump. We are trusting the Lord for even greater things!

My prayer is that we as South Africa will again be reminded of what we as a people have fought so hard for and the miracles we have already witnessed on South African soil, under the Lord Almighty’s Sovereign hand.

This Jesus, who paid so highly for every group of people, loves the people here; including those living with HIV and Aids, and in need of assistance. May the Will of Almighty God be done through your presidency, in your nation, and in our nation and in the world at large. We need look no further than scripture to find His good and perfect Will: ‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah 6:8).

May the Lord bless you President Trump.

Sincerely,
Heather Djunga

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Date published: 21/02/2025
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork adapted from www.freepik.com

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