Good god you are an amazing writer! I just adored this story so much.
I’ve spent a fair bit of time in south Africa and although it was many years after apartheid it was very clear that the POCs have not all moved on and forgotten what times were like before.
I remember one incident where my husband and I were having dinner with some friends who were from Zimbabwe and they were speaking so rudely and disrespectfully to our wonderful server.
Perhaps it was wrong of me but once they all went outside to leave I found the server and apologised for our friends rudeness and gave them a tip.
The gratitude I saw in the eyes of our server was so strong that I’ve never forgotten it.