THIRTY YEARS AGO TODAY....in SOUTH AFRICA

[Jamila]

Today, 16 June 2006, marks a VERY IMPORTANT DATE in the history of South Africa and a equally important date in my personal life.


This event which happened thirty years ago in South Africa changed my life for the rest of my life.


And in honor of all those who gave their lives for the Freedom of South Africa and of the TREMENDOUSLY POSITIVE INFLUENCE THAT THEY HAD ON MY LIFE, I give you this article:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5085450.stm



S Africa marking Soweto uprising


South Africa is marking 30 years since the Soweto uprising, a student protest pivotal to the apartheid struggle.


President Thabo Mbeki led a march along the route taken on 16 June 1976 by black students fighting a law forcing them to learn in Afrikaans.


Relatives of the children killed when police opened fire cried as wreaths were laid in their memory.


Some 20,000 people have gathered at the FNB stadium where a 21-gun salute welcomed Mr Mbeki ahead of his speech.


"On 16 June that day in 1976, I was on this same road. There was teargas. People screaming, running, and police chasing everybody," said Martin Mhanlanga who brought his niece on the march, AP news agency reports.


In the unrest that followed, hundreds of people died in clashes as an outpouring of black anger spread.


The Soweto uprising and the riots that spread to other township are seen as a milestone in the growth of the movement against white minority rule, which was finally ended in 1994.

'Puff of smoke'

The commemorations have centred on the Hector Peterson memorial, named after the first and youngest student to die.


He was caught on camera as he died in the arms of a fellow student, in a photograph that became iconic in the struggle against white minority rule in South Africa.


His mother Dorothy Molefi and President Mbeki were among those to lay wreaths at the memorial, watched by hundreds of people who observed a minute's silence.

Some relatives welled up with emotion as the crowd sang a Zulu struggle song "Senzeni na", meaning "We are Crying", AP reports.



"I remember it like it was yesterday. That day was a sad, sad day and today for me is a day of joy," 56-year-old Maria Dikeledi told AFP news agency.


But Archbishop Desmond Tutu told the BBC's World Today programme that South Africa had a mixed record since the end of apartheid.

He said the country's impressive stability was threatened by "dehumanising poverty".


"Unless we do something about that quickly, we may find all our achievements are a puff of smoke," he said.


Milestone

In Soweto, red paving stones symbolising spilled blood have been laid along the route the protesters took.

The coloured slabs start at Morris Isaacson High School, where many of the protesting students began their march, and end at Orlando West School where the fateful confrontation with police took place.




The government said that 95 black people had been killed, but unofficial estimates put the number of dead closer to 500.

At the time, Winnie Mandela, the wife of then-imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela, described the protests as "just the beginning".



Domestic and international pressure eventually lead to the release of Mr Mandela in 1990 and the country's first non-racial elections four years later.

Mr Mandela was overwhelmingly elected to become South Africa's first black president.

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I hope that you will all take some time today to learn more about the heroic student uprising that started in Soweto thirty years ago today in South Africa and rededicate yourselves to making a POSITIVE CHANGE in our world.


VIVA Hector Peterson and all those who suffered or died in the struggle for freedom in South Africa!


http://www.46664.com

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Thank you for posting this article........I am glad to see the positive side...the past few days I have been getting much negative feedback from people I've encountered in my daily life and have been depressed just thinking about it.

But it is good to reflect back sometimes and see that change can occur......

 

[Jamila]

Re: reply

Thank you for posting this article........I am glad to see the positive side...the past few days I have been getting much negative feedback from people I've encountered in my daily life and have been depressed just thinking about it.

But it is good to reflect back sometimes and see that change can occur......

Very well said, wizard2c.

It was watching the students of Soweto, some of them less than ten years of age, stand up heroically for the right to go to school and learn in their own languages rather than in the apartheid Afrikaans language that stirred something VERY DEEP in my spirit back in 1976.


As a 16 year person, I was inspired by these students half a world away and made a commitment in my Heart and Soul then to do whatever I could to make a positive difference in the world.


I have never given up that vision or that aspiration.


And I have the students of Soweto who began their heroic stand against apartheid thirty years ago today to thank for my own deep sense of activism - especially for Africa.


A Luta Continua (The Struggle Continues)

 

[Jamila]

Here is a very inspirational article about the mothers of some of the children who led the Soweto uprising of 1976:



Soweto mothers march to remember
By Justin Pearce
BBC News, Soweto



"Hector would be 42 now - he died for the nation, and today he is part of history."

Dorothy Molefi lost her son 30 years ago. He was Hector Peterson, shot by a police bullet on 16 June 1976, becoming the first victim of the student uprising against apartheid.


On Friday morning, Mrs Molefi joined President Thabo Mbeki and other officials in laying wreaths at the monument in Orlando West, Soweto, to her son and others who died in the uprising.

"I'm so glad about what's happening today, 30 years later," she told the BBC News website.

She reflected on the changes that have come about since the start of democracy in South Africa: "Single mothers are given houses - our children are mixed with whites in the schools."


'Celebrate'

For the younger people who gathered around the monument, part of the excitement of the moment was having a public holiday - Youth Day, as 16 June now is - all of their own.

Nonkululeku Mnikati, 23, said she was there "to celebrate freedom - to celebrate being recognised as the youth of South Africa."


(I never got to the end of the march the first time around - This time I want to finish. - Soweto marcher)


On the generation of 1976 she said: "We look up to them, what they did was great. But sometimes it's like looking at a movie, it's hard to believe what happened was real.
"So it's good to see Hector Peterson's mother here, because that helps us to know it was real."


The day's events had begun in a frosty dawn several kilometres away, outside the Morris Isaacson High School, from where the first group of teenage demonstrators had set out 30 years ago, led by a student called Tsietsi Mashinini.

After the march, Tsietsi went into hiding and later died in mysterious circumstances in Guinea.

His mother, Nomkitha, was there in a wheelchair to help unveil a monument in the middle of a newly created memorial park opposite the school.

"We thought it would just be a few months of struggle - unfortunately it didn't work out like that," she reflected.



Peanuts

At the monument, another veteran of '76 who had joined the ANC's liberation army explained its significance to a group of younger people.

"I wanted to be a doctor, but I ended up carrying an AK-47 and now I work for the police. The struggle changed me."


Gilo Maguma, 40, was also involved in the protests, and is now unemployed.
"We are not liberated yet - we are still confined to 13% of the country," he said in reference to the fact that white people still own most of South Africa's land.

"Black people earn peanuts.


"16 June was important because it opened many doors - we do feel liberated spiritually but physically we are not liberated yet."



Led by President Mbeki, a few hundred marchers set off on the five-kilometre route to the Hector Peterson memorial: the same route taken by the students 30 year ago.

"I never got to the end of the march the first time around," one marcher said.

"This time I want to finish."



Inspiration

Amid the scheduled events there were moments of spontaneity too.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, a young guy with dreadlocks and an ANC golf shirt picked up a child in his arms walked at the head of the march, re-enacting the famous photograph of Hector Peterson that has become an icon of South African history.


As he got tired he passed the boy from one marcher to another as they toyi-toyied - the dance that accompanies every South African protest march - and sang militant songs dating back to the fight against apartheid.


Leaving Hector Peterson Square scattered with the blue plastic water bottles, the last of the marchers got onto buses bound for the FNB Stadium.

There, those people who hadn't been so keen on a pre-dawn start on this public holiday were already arriving: at least 20,000 of them.

The mood was in tune with a place that's more used to football matches than to rallies of this kind.

As President Thabo Mbeki stepped out of a large black Mercedes and onto the green of the pitch, people started cheering and blowing vuvuzelas (plastic trumpets).

They cheered and whistled as a Rooivalk helicopter - the South African Air Force's meanest machine - treated the crowd to a display of aerial gymnastics.


President Mbeki urged the crowd to "remember all the brave young people who started the uprising in Soweto on 16 June 1976 and who are not with us today".

He touched on the problems that still face South African youth: hunger, run-down school buildings, the abuse of women and children, unemployment.



"May the courage and vision displayed by our youth 30 years ago serve to inspire and motivate us all as we strive to bring happiness to our youth and our people."


Many of the youngsters appeared to lose interest as Mr Mbeki's speech continued, and started drifting towards the gates.

But others, like Sibusiso Mthembu, 15, were no less earnest than the president: "Youth should support this and appreciate what people have done for them - and stop sleeping around and doing drugs."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5087694.stm

 

[Jamila]

I never could forget these students because it was their bravery in the face of complete brutality and oppression which motivated me to start down my own road of social activism.


It was watching the students of Soweto, some of them less than ten years of age, stand up heroically for the right to go to school and learn in their own languages rather than in the apartheid Afrikaans language that stirred something VERY DEEP in my spirit back in 1976.


As a 16 year person, I was inspired by these students half a world away and made a commitment in my Heart and Soul then to do whatever I could to make a positive difference in the world.


I have never given up that vision or that aspiration.


And I have the students of Soweto who began their heroic stand against apartheid thirty years ago today to thank for my own deep sense of activism - especially for Africa.


We should definitely NEVER FORGET the heroic student uprising of Soweto.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is an EXCELLENT article regarding the reasons why the student uprising of Soweto happened and how that affected the future course of South African history:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5038312.stm




Why the Soweto protests erupted
By Martin Plaut
BBC News


The 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprising in South Africa is on 16 June: the day school pupils took to the streets of a township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, to protest against the standards of their education.

The government had brought in a new regulation insisting that they be taught in Afrikaans - a language few of their teachers spoke.
It was also the language of government, a government that had instituted the hated system of racial segregation known as apartheid.

The issue ignited the protests that soon went way beyond their education, and triggered resistance that finally led to the end of white rule.




What led to apartheid?

In looking for the origins of apartheid we have to peer back more than 100 years, to the Boer War of 1899.


Britain, determined to take control of the rich gold and diamond mines which lay around Kimberley and Johannesburg, sent nearly half a million troops in to crush the Boers, as the white Afrikaans-speaking settlers were then known.
After three years of bloody conflict, the Boers were left broken and destitute.

But in the peace talks that followed they were able to extract certain guarantees from their British rulers.

First, the idea of a vote for South Africa's black majority was rejected, despite strenuous protests from the newly formed African National Congress.

Then, after independence was achieved in 1910, a series of laws were passed ensuring that most of the land, as well as the best jobs, remained in white hands.

Despite this, most Afrikaners (as the Boers became known) remained poor, with the real wealth held by English speaking white South Africans, who dominated mining and industry. The Afrikaners pressed for further racial legislation.




Introducing apartheid

In 1948, an Afrikaner-led South African government was elected, promising a new beginning for the country. This was the policy of apartheid.

Immediately, a series of laws was passed forbidding marriage and sex between the races.

Further legislation introduced racial segregation on buses, in the schools and hospitals, on the beaches people played on.

At the heart of the system was the pass laws.

Without the correct documents, Africans were forbidden to live or work in towns - leaving them to exist in impoverished rural areas until the mines or factories needed them.

The black population was furious, but repeated protests were ignored.

In 1960 protests erupted into violence, as the police opened fire on a crowd at Sharpeville, 50km south of Johannesburg, who had come to burn their pass books.



The African National Congress and other organisations were banned.

During the 1960s and early 1970s whites ruled almost unchallenged.

In June 1976, black anger finally boiled over. It was the pass laws, and the whole system of apartheid, that formed the backdrop to the protests that became known as the Soweto uprising.




The Soweto uprising

Dawn broke over the township of Soweto like any other winter's day. But 16 June 1976, was to be a day like no other.


School children had been awake for hours, planning a demonstration against enforced teaching in Afrikaans.

Over a dozen assembly points had been planned, where students gathered at 0700.

Singing freedom songs, they carried placards bearing slogans: "Down with Afrikaans" and "Blacks are not dustbins - Afrikaans stinks".

About 50 police arrived, and confronted the demonstrations. At first they used tear gas, but soon shots were fired.

Running clashes with the police erupted, with the children replying to the live rounds with stones.

"All of a sudden about six policemen armed with sten guns and rifles turned onto the crowd and most of them fired shots into the air," Nat Serache, a reporter with the Rand Daily Mail, recalled.

"But unfortunately one of them fired into the crowd and two kids were hit: One a five-year-old girl who was hit in the head and died on the spot, and a nine-year-old boy who was shot through the chest and also died on the spot."



Police and the military were brought into Soweto.

Army helicopters were seen over the township. The rioting spread. Buses were burnt and shops looted. Adults joined in the protests.

Prime Minister John Vorster warned on television that "the police have been instructed, regardless of who is involved, to protect lives and property with every means at their disposal".

"This government will not be intimidated and instructions have been given to maintain law and order at all costs," he said.

For three days the protests spread from one township to another before the authorities regained control.



The government claimed 95 black people had been killed, but unofficial estimates put the number of dead closer to 500.

In the words of Winnie Mandela, the wife of the imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela: "The people are unarmed. They are faced with a heavily-armed government who will succeed in suppressing it now as is always the case. But it is just the beginning."

It was indeed only the beginning. It was to take nearly 20 years, but the flame that was lit in Soweto in June 1976 finally consumed the apartheid government and ended white rule in 1994.

 

[Harry Vest]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here but isn't this Mbeki guy responsible for South Africa's horribly disgraceful stand on AIDS???

 

[Jamila]

Here is an article about 13 year old Hector Peterson whose sacrifice launched the modern push to end apartheid in South Africa.


Those interested in understanding and learning more about Africa should take a lesson from the extreme dedication and unity of these students to achieve their ultimate goal.


When one is focused on the suffering of others, there is no room for negativity and divisiveness.


------------------------------------------------

Africa: Soweto Uprising Remembered
By Charlayne Hunter-Gault
CNN Johannesburg Bureau Chief



SOWETO, South Africa (CNN) -- It was a picture that got the world's attention: A frozen moment in time that showed 13-year-old Hector Peterson dying after being struck down by a policeman's bullet.

At his side was his 17-year-old sister.



"I saw that he was bad, but I thought that he was just wounded, you know,ä remembers Hectorâs sister Antoinette Sithole, ã· because I couldn't figure out where.

In recent years, June 16th has been called Youth Day, but for many years it was known simply as the day of the Soweto Uprisings - a chain of events that signaled the beginning of the end of apartheid.

Hector Peterson was among some 30,000 students who took to the streets of Soweto protesting a government edict that all classes were to be taught in Afrikaans - the language of the white minority.



A struggle without documentation is no struggle
"I came to this spot here," recalled Peter Magubane, a young photographer who lived in Soweto at the time. "I saw huge numbers of schoolchildren coming towards me. I got out of the car and started taking pictures. And I could see hands that (were gesturing) no pictures.

"I went over and said to them, 'Why do you say I can't take pictures?' They said, 'Because the police might be able to identify some of us.' And I said to them, 'a struggle without documentation is no struggle," Magubane said.



"Soweto was on fire," he said. "The children were angry. Ten-year-olds were in the streets picking up stones and throwing. Where there was anything burning, you would find these 10-year-olds, 9-year-olds, saying ÎPower, Power!â You realized that the political mood had changed."

By day's end, officially, there were 23 dead. Locals say it was more like 200. Hundreds were injured as the protest spread throughout the country, eventually ending the attempt to impose Afrikaans on black school children and opening a wider door to ending apartheid.


The shot made me angry," Sithole said. "But you know, one day, when I was sitting, I said, No. Sometimes to achieve some goals, some of the people will die or get hurt. It's like soldiers when they go to war. They wonât all come back."

But they leave a legacy -- not least, Hector Peterson.



A Hector Peterson memorial


Today, Soweto student Mamsie Tsosane says, "I think he was a hero. As young as he was, he was also in a struggle, fighting for his rights · and all those students, as well, for the whole of South Africa and black people as well.ä

But Sithole says there are far too many of the younger generation who don't know about the day her brother died or what he died for.

The Hector Peterson Memorial is being built to change all that. It will stand on the site where the apartheid police amassed to attack the students, within a stoneâs throw of where they shot and killed Hector Peterson. It will house the history.

Those who will work here, like Antoinette Sithole, hope that people will come not only from Soweto and South Africa, but that it will beckon people from all over the world to learn about what Hector Peterson and countless others sacrificed.

--------------------------------------------------------

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/africa/06/15/inside.africa/

 

[GibsonGirl]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here but isn't this Mbeki guy responsible for South Africa's horribly disgraceful stand on AIDS???

Thabo Mbeki is an absolute fool.

Nelson Mandela was - and still is - a brilliant man, and I have the utmost respect for him. My sister was born on the day he was released from prison and it's something that still makes my family and I proud. Just to have someone in our family associated with that day. Unfortunately, Madiba's successor doesn't even come close to his brilliance. Under Mbeki's rule, South Africa is starting to slide. If the "New South Africa" was all it is supposedly cracked up to be, I wouldn't be sitting on the other side of the world right now. A black person gets a job in South Africa these days, just because he is black. A black person gets into university these days, just because he is black. White South Africans are less-likely to get good jobs and a good education, just because they are white. It's reverse-apartheid, but you don't hear about it because white South Africans would be labelled as hypocrites if they kicked up a stink.

South Africa's going to turn into Zimbabwe and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. Fifty years along the line, I'll bet you we'll have some buffoon like Robert Mugabe in charge, ordering blacks to rape and kill white farmers. Just because. Considering that Thabo Mbeki doesn't even have the guts to call Mugabe out for the lunatic that he is, this shouldn't surprise anyone. "Quiet diplomacy," my poephol, Mbeki.

BTW, Jamila, it is extremely offensive to refer to it as "Apartheid Afrikaans" in any context. Extremely offensive. Not everyone who speaks Afrikaans is a black-hating-pitchfork-waving Boer. My surname and 50% of my family is as Afrikaaner as Pieter Willem Botha himself, and we think that apartheid was disgusting.

 

[Zoomerang96]

yeah, umm... this thread is...

yeaaah...

 

[Jamila]

This thread is to remember the heroic sacrifices that the children of the Soweto uprising made to the freedom struggle of their country.

Sorry if that offends people.


The children of Soweto died in an attempt to retain the right to be taught in school in their languages, not the official language of the apartheid regime in South Africa (Afrikaans).


THAT IS HISTORICAL FACT.


Their deaths at the hands of the apartheid authorities due solely to this fact (that they refused to be taught in Afrikaans) GREATLY OFFENDED ME AND THE MILLIONS OF OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD WHO WERE PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL APARTHEID MOVEMENT IN THE 1980's.





Sad that in your attempts to attack me that you would misrepresent history and defame the sacrifice of these children.

 

[Jamila]

I was a student organizer and active member of the anti-apartheid student movement on my campus and in my community from 1985-1991.



It would be great if comments in FYM could stick to intelligent discussion of the issues and articles posted.

 

[Diemen]

Sad that in your attempts to attack me that you would misrepresent history and defame the sacrifice of these children.

Could you tell me exactly where in this thread anybody did either of these things you're accusing them of?

 

[Axver]

It would be great if comments in FYM could stick to intelligent discussion of the issues and articles posted.

Comparison of posts on this thread:

Jamila's contributions: (1) cut-and-paste jobs that don't foster much in the way of discussion, as evidenced by the low amount of replies, or (2) side-stepping responses, levelling baseless allegations, and self-promoting statements about involvement in a movement (despite the fact that mere involvement does not equate to actual knowledge), complete with pointless bonodrum smiley.
GibsonGirl's contribution: an intelligent, articulate post by an actual South African who knows what she's talking about.

I know who I'd rather listen to.

 

[Liesje]

This thread is to remember the heroic sacrifices that the children of the Soweto uprising made to the freedom struggle of their country.

Sorry if that offends people.

Might I suggest that if you're going to just post articles and flame any attempt at some valid discussion, just post these things in your journal.

If you want to believe some brief newswire release over the experience of someone who is actually from South Africa, that's your business, but in FYM you can't claim ownership of threads just because you originally copied and pasted an article.

 

[digsy]

um, i hate to be picky but if we're going to insist on respecting the memory of those who died maybe we could start be spelling it right, it's PIETERSON

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Pieterson

 

[digsy]

Thabo Mbeki is an absolute fool.

even scarier than Mbeki is the woman tipped to follow him - she's apparently a staunch supoprter of Mugabe and thinks what he's done with regards to land reclamation is wonderful and a plan she intends on following

 

[digsy]

BTW, Jamila, it is extremely offensive to refer to it as "Apartheid Afrikaans" in any context. Extremely offensive. Not everyone who speaks Afrikaans is a black-hating-pitchfork-waving Boer. My surname and 50% of my family is as Afrikaaner as Pieter Willem Botha himself, and we think that apartheid was disgusting.

i'm not having a go at you here, i just want to try understand... but the way i see it is that Afrikaans was the language of the "oppressor" and therefore the language of apartheid, hence the governments insistance that the children learn in it.
whether its fair or not to afrikaaners now, its automatically recognised - and understandably so - as the apartheid language.

it may be offensive now to you as an non-racist afrikaaner, but only in the same way that i get offended when people presume beacuse i'm a white south african who grew up in apartheid that i'm racist and attempt bad accents and racist humour on me

it sucks but it is

as i say, i'm not picking on you obviously, i'm just curious to see your point of view... i'm english south african so i maybe don't have the same stigma attached to me that afrikaaners do

 

[GibsonGirl]

No, I understand, digsy! No worries. Afrikaans certainly was the language of the oppressor, but the stigma that comes along with it to this day is terribly frustrating. Afrikaans was around before apartheid and it is still going strong today, but the only thing some foreigners can think of when they hear "Afrikaans" is apartheid. This is only the fault of the idiots who instated apartheid in the first place. Even still, in my experience, some foreigners grossly misjudge Afrikaaners moreso than English-speaking white South Africans, even if they didn't support apartheid. I was raised in English, like you, but because my father's an Afrikaaner and I have an Afrikaans surname, I'm immediately targeted as a racist by people who have very warped perceptions of South Africans. We're even targeted by our own people! I lived in the UAE for a little while when I was younger, and there was a black South African boy in my class. He called me a "disgusting little Boer" behind the teacher's back. I couldn't do a thing about it. So I suppose that's why it's so frustrating to me to always see people associating apartheid with Afrikaans and judging Afrikaaners based on that.


Jamila, when on earth did I attempt to "defame the sacrifice" of Soweto schoolchildren? I was responding to Harry Vest's post about Mbeki, not your articles. And yes, Jamila, Mbeki may have done some good things when he was younger, but so did Winnie Mandela. And we all know what became of Winnie Mandela.

 

[digsy]

No, I understand, digsy! No worries. Afrikaans certainly was the language of the oppressor, but the stigma that comes along with it to this day is terribly frustrating. Afrikaans was around before apartheid and it is still going strong today, but the only thing some foreigners can think of when they hear "Afrikaans" is apartheid. This is only the fault of the idiots who instated apartheid in the first place. Even still, in my experience, some foreigners grossly misjudge Afrikaaners moreso than English-speaking white South Africans, even if they didn't support apartheid. I was raised in English, like you, but because my father's an Afrikaaner and I have an Afrikaans surname, I'm immediately targeted as a racist by people who have very warped perceptions of South Africans. We're even targeted by our own people! I lived in the UAE for a little while when I was younger, and there was a black South African boy in my class. He called me a "disgusting little Boer" behind the teacher's back. I couldn't do a thing about it. So I suppose that's why it's so frustrating to me to always see people associating apartheid with Afrikaans and judging Afrikaaners based on that.

i got ya and i understand all of that, thanks for explaining
unfortunately the stigma and the perceptions remain because many south africans, afrikaans or otherwise, insist on proving it on a daily basis

i almost got up and walked out of my best friends birthday breakfast a few months ago after her housemates spent the morning mocking the the black south african accent and the final straw came when, looking at the dirty dishes he commented "ja man, its times like this i miss my black"
luckily they left shortly after and i didn't have to try explain to my mate that i was leaving her birthday because her friends are racist bigots.
but i hear this sort of stuff all the time and not from old people who maybe just don't know better any more, but from young guys my age who grew up in the same transitional times i did and who really have no excuse.

and yes, this comes from both afrikaans and english because it was both who "benfited" under apartheid but i think because of the government at the time being afrikaans and because the extreme white power fundementalists like the AWB are afrikaans and guys like Eugene Terblanche exist, that people almost expect it from the afrikaaners... i know its a generalisation i've fallen prey to occasionally which i really try not to, but its hard when some people make such a habit of living up to it

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

It would be great if comments in FYM could stick to intelligent discussion of the issues and articles posted.

Frankly, I'd like to thank digsy and gibson girl for making this thread interesting. What they have provided is intelligent discussion and can't be found on Yahoo's front page. As it turns out, there's more to the story than what you have declared "HISTORICAL FACT. " Personal experiences often contribute more to the discussion than a bland article.

 

[digsy]

thanks wildhoney

if anyone wants an interesting read on the times of change in the early 90's in South Africa then i suggest a book called "the Bang Bang Club"

its written by 2 photographers who at the time were part of a group of 4 nicknamed The Bang Bang Club (or Paparazzi) who used to cover the violence and ongoings in the townships in the years leading up to the first free and fair elections in 94.

its not a dull history book and by no means is meant as an text book on life in South Africa and its history, but it is a personal and first hand account of the struggles that took place up to that point (and beyond) which ultimately resulted in the death of 2 of these 4 photographers as they covered the events that killed hundreds and hundreds more.
it gives a very unusual and uncomfortable view point of what was going on at the time - things i certanily don't remember reading about in the papers at the time!

anyway, its an interesting read regardless - i have a very worn copy i've read about 4 times which i love because i learn so much from it each time (i'm an embarrassment when it comes to knowledge on my own country ) and the photographs really are something to behold - sickening, angering and desperately tragic at the same time

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...f=pd_bbs_1/102-6753542-9715328?_encoding=UTF8

i can't recommend it highly enough, whether your south african or not

 

[Liesje]

Thanks digsy, I think I'll give that a try.

 

[Jamila]

Frankly, I'd like to thank digsy and gibson girl for making this thread interesting. What they have provided is intelligent discussion and can't be found on Yahoo's front page. As it turns out, there's more to the story than what you have declared "HISTORICAL FACT. " Personal experiences often contribute more to the discussion than a bland article.

I agree - personal experience are often more interesting than "bland" articles.

But I have found that to have too many opinions in this forum without a "bland" article to back you up (I don't think the articles about the children who died in the Soweto uprisings were bland if you read them) can get you into more arguments than when you have an objective source to reference to.



But if you want personal experiences - here are mine.


I have had personal friendships with people from South Africa from all racial backgrounds since the 1980's when I was organizing for the anti-apartheid student movement on my campus.

In this capacity, I went to MANY international organizing conferences where I met many ex-patriots from South Africa (including Prof. Dennis Brutus). Many of these folks I have lost contact with during the intervening years, but at least a dozen people and I still maintain correspondence.

Some ex-pats have returned to South Africa since the end of apartheid; others have stayed out of the country.


During the last seven years since I have become increasingly active in organizations dealing with extreme poverty and AIDS in Africa, I have come to meet and make friends with several new people from South Africa who have become some of my closest friends.


One person who I have brought up in several previous discussions here in FYM is a lovely woman from South Africa who I met at a Global AIDS conference in DC in 2003.


Her family has been devastated by HIV/AIDS - she has lost a brother and four of her seven children to AIDS.


She is now trying to send enough money back home to take care of her seventeen grandchildren who have lost at least one of their parents to AIDS - all on her nurse's salary!


I saw her earlier this year when I went to DC to see Bono speak and her pain is so palpable. All I could do was to listen to the sadness of her inner life and offer her my continued friendship.


This is part of my personal relationship with South Africa.

It is as honorable as anyone else's.


I have met the Rev. Desmond Tutu several times and one of my best friends from South Africa has family that used to live down the street from him. (It is through them that I got the chance to meet this blessed man.)


I also presently work with a white South African ex-pat and I was laughing inside today when I was talking to him and thinking about the criticism that I have received in this thread.



I HOPE THAT THIS IS ENOUGH "PERSONAL EXPERIENCES" WITH SOUTH AFRICA FOR ALL THE DETRACTORS IN THIS THREAD.


After this post, I will say no more in this thread. I always encourage input from people from African countries to speak their own stories and I am glad that digsy joined into the discussion.





I started this thread because people are always questioning my background in African issues and/or positioning the idea that my enthusiasm for Africa has to be linked to my Love and Respect for U2 (especially Bono) and their music.


Actually, nothing could be further from the truth because my devotion to Africa and her people began years before I ever heard of U2 and a full decade before Bono ever set foot himself on African soil.



The student uprising of Soweto is THE MOTIVATING FACTOR IN MY LIFE FOR AFRICA - it is the event which transformed me from a watcher into a doer regarding Africa's future.



I always felt that if these students could give their lives for something they believed in so strongly, then I should be willing to sacrifice some of my own time and comfort in the pursuit of justice and democracy for Africa.


And I have been doing all that I can for Africa ever since.



For anyone who read this thread to learn about an event that they may not have known about before - thank you.


For anyone who learned something more about the student uprising of Soweto and its pivotal role in the end of apartheid - thank you.

And for anyone who contributed a positive comment and/or information in this thread - thank you.



I hope if any further discussion takes place in this thread, it will be to spread Love and Peace and not further dissension.



Nkosi Sikelel' Afrika

 

[Jamila]

History
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher at a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg. It was one of many songs he composed, and he was apparently a keen singer who composed the songs for his pupils.

The words of the first stanza were originally written in Xhosa as a hymn. In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas were later added by Samuel Mqhayi, a poet.

Most of Sontonga's songs were sad, witnessing the suffering of African people in Johannesburg, but they were popular and after his death in 1905 choirs used to borrow them from his wife.

Solomon Plaatje, one of South Africa's greatest writers and a founding member of the ANC, was the first to have the song recorded. This was in London in 1923. A Sesotho version was published in 1942 by Moses Mphahlele.

The Rev J L Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir popularised Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika at concerts in Johannesburg, and it became a popular church hymn that was also adopted as the anthem at political meetings.

For decades Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was regarded as the national anthem of South Afrika by the oppressed and it was always sung as an act of defiance against the apartheid regime. A proclamation issued by the State President on 20 April 1994 stipulated that both Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and Die Stem (the Call of South Africa) would be the national anthems of South Africa. In 1996 a shortened, combined version of the two anthems was released as the new National Anthem.

There are no standard versions or translations of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika so the words vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion. Generally the first stanza is sung in Xhosa or Zulu, followed by the Sesotho version.

Below are the various versions and translations of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Classic Xhosa Version

The first verse and chorus of this version are the original words composed by Sontonga in 1897. The remaining verses were added in 1927 by Samuel E Mqhayi.

Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika;
Malupakam'upondo lwayo;
Yiva imitandazo yetu
Usisikelele.

Chorus
Yihla Moya, Yihla Moya,
Yihla Moya Oyingcwele

Sikelela iNkosi zetu;
Zimkumbule umDali wazo;
Zimoyike zezimhlonele,
Azisikelele.

Sikelel' amadod' esizwe,
Sikelela kwa nomlisela
Ulitwal'ilizwe ngomonde,
Uwusikelele.

Sikelel'amakosikazi;
Nawo onk'amanenekazi;
Pakamisa wonk'umtinjana
Uwusikelele.

Sikelela abafundisi
Bemvaba zonke zelilizwe;
Ubatwese ngoMoya Wako
Ubasikelele.

Sikelel'ulimo nemfuyo;
Gxota zonk'indlala nezifo;
Zalisa ilizwe ngempilo
Ulisikelele

Sikelel'amalinge etu
Awomanyano nokuzaka,
Awemfundo nemvisiswano
Uwasikelele.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika;
Cima bonk' ubugwenxa bayo
Nezigqito, nezono zayo
Uyisikelele.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God Bless Africa
Original Lovedale English Translation

Lord, bless Africa;
May her horn rise high up;
Hear Thou our prayers And bless us.

Chorus
Descend, O Spirit,
Descend, O Holy Spirit.


Bless our chiefs
May they remember their Creator.
Fear Him and revere Him,
That He may bless them.

Bless the public men,
Bless also the youth
That they may carry the land with patience
and that Thou mayst bless them.

Bless the wives
And also all young women;
Lift up all the young girls
And bless them.

Bless the ministers
of all the churches of this land;
Endue them with Thy Spirit
And bless them.

Bless agriculture and stock raising
Banish all famine and diseases;
Fill the land with good health
And bless it.

Bless our efforts
of union and self-uplift,
Of education and mutual understanding
And bless them.

Lord, bless Africa
Blot out all its wickedness
And its transgressions and sins,
And bless it.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Current Xhosa Version

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo
Yiva imathandazo yethu
Nkosi Sikelela Nkosi Sikelela

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo
Yiva imathandazo yethu
Nkosi Sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.

Chorus
Yihla moya, yihla moya
Yihla moya oyingcwele
Nkosi Sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.
(Repeat)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morena Boloka Sechaba sa Heso
Sesotho Version

Morena boloka sechaba sa heso
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,
Morena boloka sechaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho.

O se boloke, o se boloke,
O se boloke, o se boloke.
Sechaba sa heso, Sechaba sa heso.
O se boloke morena se boloke,
O se boloke sechaba, se boloke.
Sechaba sa heso, sechaba sa heso.

Ma kube njalo! Ma kube njalo!
Kude kube ngunaphakade.
Kude kube ngunaphakade!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Zulu Version

Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika,
Malupnakanyisw' udumo lwayo;
Yizwa imithandazo yethu
Nkosi sikelela,
Nkosi sikelela,

Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika,
Malupnakanyisw' udumo lwayo;
Yizwa imithandazo yethu
Nkosi sikelela,
Nkosi sikelela,

Woza Moya (woza, woza),
Woza Moya (woza, woza),
Woza Moya, Oyingcwele.
Usisikelele,
Thina lusapho lwayo.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord Bless Africa
Current English Version

Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us.

Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us Your family.

Chorus
Descend, O Spirit
Descend, O Holy Spirit
Lord bless us
Your family.
(Repeat)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seen ons Here God, Seen Afrika
Afrikaans Version

Seen ons Here God, seen Afrika,
Laat sy mag tot in die hemel reik,
Hoor ons as ons in gebede vra,
Seen ons in Afrika,
Kinders van Afrika.

Daal neer o Gees, Heilige Gees,
Daal neer o Gees, Heilige Gees,
Kom woon in ons,
Lei ons, O Heilige Gees.

Hou U hand o Heer oor Afrika,
Lei ons tot by eenheid en begrip,
Hoor ons as ons U om vrede vra,
Seen ons in Afrika,
Kinders van Afrika.

Seen ons Here God, seen Afrika,
Neem dan nou die boosheid van ons weg,
Maak ons van ons sonde ewig vry,
Seen ons in Afrika,
Kinders van Afrika.

 

[ntalwar]

Actually, nothing could be further from the truth because my devotion to Africa and her people began years before I ever heard of U2 and a full decade before Bono ever set foot himself on African soil.

Just to clarify, Bono himself was involved in African issues long before he set foot on African soil, and before 1985 (the year you mentioned earlier for your campus involvement).

 

[~BrightestStar~]

Frankly, I'd like to thank digsy and gibson girl for making this thread interesting. What they have provided is intelligent discussion and can't be found on Yahoo's front page. As it turns out, there's more to the story than what you have declared "HISTORICAL FACT. " Personal experiences often contribute more to the discussion than a bland article.

I'd just like to second this sentiment.



Also, Jamila, this is merely a suggestion but perhaps your message would be more effective if you mostly wrote posts describing your personal experiences/feelings/thoughts/questions, and then simply include links to articles (perhaps with a quick summery?) rather than copying and pasting them...
Thus, people can persue articles that interest them, and things are generally less cluttered.

 

[digsy]

jamila, have you ever actually been to South Africa?

with all due respect, having friends whose family lived down the road from Bishop Desmond Tuto, working with a South African and being able to copy and paste "Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika" is not a "personal experience"

while your work with anti-apartheid movements previously and now with HIV/AIDs relief organisations is commendable, i really think posts like the above just show you're maybe trying a bit too hard to prove yourself.


That said, I am interested in hearing a bit more about this friend of yours who is South African and whose family has been devestated by AIDS....
South Africa - mostly thanks to Mbeki and his governement - has an appalling track record with HIV and AIDS and I'd be interested to hear your view point on it especially with regards to being so close to someone who is so heavily affected by this.

 

[AliEnvy]

Originally posted by Jamila I started this thread because people are always questioning my background in African issues and/or positioning the idea that my enthusiasm for Africa has to be linked to my Love and Respect for U2 (especially Bono) and their music.

Oh? Earlier you said you started this thread to celebrate and remember the student uprising in Soweto.

Originally posted by Jamila
Actually, nothing could be further from the truth because my devotion to Africa and her people began years before I ever heard of U2 and a full decade before Bono ever set foot himself on African soil.

FWIW Jamila, if people question your credibility on African issues, it's not because anyone really cares about where you get your inspiration - U2 or otherwise. It seems to be more about how you deliver your messages and how you handle yourself in discussions.

 

[verte76]

Wow, Jamila, I didn't know you'd met Desmond Tutu. Awesome!