Hating the striking, not the strikers

I experienced the effects of strike for the first time today. As students sometimes we get to see things from a rather safe distance, but not this time. I am a senior at one of our esteemed academic institutions, and a few days ago I heard about a possible strike by those who cook wonderful but predictable meals for us at our wonderful campus.

Curious, I even asked one gentleman if the rumour could be linked to truth. "I don't know man, mina I'm just a pantsula," he said in his Xonglish, a mixture of IsiXhosa and that of the queen's tongue. So this morning (Monday) I woke up thinking wow, at least the town's going to be clean and therefore one's not that in danger of opportunistic diseases caused by an unclean environment.

Okay, that was fine as the municipal workers were now cleaning up the wonderful little city that I live in. Meals time, off I went to the dining hall (a place to chill with the peers, and talk about almost everything but education). And it's also a hunting ground for those of us in the world of freelance dating (evil smile).

"Wow," I thought as I looked at a very long queue. That was not what I'm used to since I resumed my meals here since the beginning of the year, but today was different as the wonderful people we hardly give notice to when our stomachs are full had gone on strike, in short, they are strikers (I can see Joel Santana going "wow, why does everyone seem to hate strikers when I so desperately need them?).

Well, as I sit before this computer I am not hungry, but I just miss what those wonderful people cooked for me, for us. We were like their children as they cooked for us on a daily basis without fail, and there we were today, looking all frail and pathetic. I don't know how many times I heard different people say "argh, this food is gross."

I realised today that as people we all need to be paid what we deserve, or at least be well recognised by those we work for. Now I'm left wondering who'll come next to join our "clinical finishers" (strikers). The government and the private sector should realise that recession hits not only at the top, but the ground too. Now I'm hungry, but I'll strike with those who need justice anytime, and by that I also mean those whose wonderful cookings I so missed today.

This opinion was first published by the Cape Times