Tutu Becomes Barbecue Day Patron

Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu serves up barbequed sausages in Cape Town, South Africa, Wednesday, Sept 5, 2007. Tutu became patron of national barbecue day, declaring that the shared love of sizzling sausages over an open flame was a strong unifying force between black and white South Africans in a still divided country. (AP Photo/Esa Alexander) (Esa Alexander - AP)

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu became patron of national barbecue day Wednesday, declaring that the shared love of open air cooking was a unifying force between blacks and whites in a still divided country.

The title "Patron of National Braai Day" was one more honor for the man regarded as South Africa's moral conscience. Braai, Afrikaans for barbecue, is the word all South Africans use for grilling.

"There are so many things that are pulling us apart," Archbishop Tutu said, as he distributed sizzling sausages to the small crowd on the terrace outside his modest office. "This has a wonderful potential to bring us all together."

During South Africa's long summers, the smoky smell of barbecued meat and fish wafts through parks, lakes and gardens across the country.

Tutu admitted he had lost count of the organizations that have honored him _ from HIV centers to a soccer team _ but he clearly relished his latest role as he donned a "National Braai Day" apron and tucked into his favorite South African sausage, boerewors _ a thick spiral of coarsely minced beef and spices.

"We have 11 different official languages but only one word for the wonderful institution of braai: in Xhosa, English, Afrikaans, whatever," said Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984 for his anti-apartheid struggle.

Thirteen years into its multiracial democracy, South Africa remains deeply divided and the gap between rich and poor is growing. The majority of black South Africans are still struggling to escape the poverty of the apartheid era, while many white South Africans say that they are now the victims of racial discrimination and crime.