Not many things can unite as well as divide - culture is one of them, Thivhilaeli Makatu believes.
In his home country, language - one of the common elements that constitute different cultures - was once used to decide where people lived, says the Hong Kong-based South African consul-general who speaks all 11 languages commonly used in his home country.
People once lived in different 'zones' depending on what language they spoke, he says.
Some people used to keep livestock and only moved when they had to find greener pastures, while others hunted and moved from place to place all the time to track down animals, Mr Makatu explains.
Because of their different ways of living, they developed different languages.
'But they still managed to live together on the same land when they needed to, and were attached to their lands,' he says.
'It's not right to take them away from their lands, to force them to live away from their homes.'