For a period of time, I have tried to establish whether the English language has a set of idioms that relate to the concept of ubuntu I am because we are.
I recall when we were preparing for Census 96, the question that confronted us was the slogan for counting. In this respect we were split in the middle by race white versus black. The discussions went to and fro on what to use as a catchy slogan Count Me In or Count Us In. The resolution of the divide was the deployment of ubuntu I am because we are. So, Count Us In won the day.
The challenge, however, is where there is no accountability the collective concept about responsible leadership is abused. Culture is a central piece of economics. Strip economics of culture and you are left with a dry bone of financialisation, with no bearing on people and the planet, but is solely anchored in profit.
In the ubuntu concept are idioms that account for, act on, and encourage unity against odds. For instance, existing in all Bantu languages are idioms that actualise the I am because we are.
These are Sejo senyane hase fete molomo, which translates into a modicum of food is shared among many mouths as well as Bana ba monna ba arolelana hlohoea tsie, which means the tribe shares the head of a locust. The Chinese greeting like the Bantu greeting is a question about whether you have eaten. For if you have not, then there is something terrible and it requires resolution. In similar ways the Bantu ask how did you sleep? That greeting bringing empathy to the fore attracts a discourse towards a resolution of a problem. I have been hard pressed to find an English idiom equivalents to these universal Bantu approaches to life.
