You know, everything happens for a reason.

I knew I was going to a protest, but I had a presentation before, and I forgot my flag at home.

My friend said he’d brought me a South African x Israeli flag, and I wasn’t so comfortable with it, but it would be better than standing like a loser with no flag.

So we got there and he pulled a full South African flag out of his pocket. And I put it on. There’s no such thing as coincidences because the posters that they had printed said ‘there is no apartheid in Israel’.

No one knows what apartheid means better than South Africans, and Israel is not an apartheid state. It actually diminishes the tragedies, horrors, and discrimination that took place in South Africa from 1948-1994.

I knew that if I had been at that protest and seen a South African in a South African flag holding a sign that said ‘there is no apartheid in Israel’ it would have made me feel that much more comfortable, and it would have been a powerful image.

So I wore the flag proudly, because the flag acts as a symbol of the end of apartheid. It acts as a symbol of the rainbow nation. It represents unity, and the coming together of a country that has been broken apart.

Despite my country’s views on Israel, I think this is the future. I think we should be aiming towards a future of peace and unity. You felt the hostility from the other side from across the street, as they stood there cross-armed, faces covered, and blaring sirens because there weren’t enough of them to yell loud enough.

While our side was filled with dancing, singing, embracing, flags of all different countries, and a true sense of unity. I think this is the future.

And I look forward to it.