By Yanda Tamsanqeleka Bango
It’s been 30 years since South Africa officially became a democratic country. I am pleased by the fact that we have historically relevant dates to remind us of where we come from as a nation, such as youth day which specifically serves as a reminder of the courageous young men and women who on 16 June 1976 protested against apartheid’s oppression which came in the form of Bantu education amongst other atrocious laws.
Because of this dark yet inspiring history while at the same time considering the present socio-economic and political reality of SA today, I often wonder if this is the kind of freedom that we will settle for as the youth. In as much as we are celebrating 30 years of liberation and commemorating the fallen comrades on special days such as June 16 – for their commitment to the struggle for black emancipation and dignity – I know for a fact that what we have today is not the complete mission of the South Africa that even they envisioned.
Democracy is not true until every single one who is regarded to feature in it can truly enjoy it. From where I am standing, we are simply not there yet and for this reason youth day should remind us that the hundreds of protestors on that day of June 16, 1976 did not die in vain, we should honour their memories by realizing their vision (which is also our vision) of true liberation in this life and time.
There is a lot that still needs to be done in order for South Africa to be a truly equal and democratic country enjoyed by all its citizens. I am challenging fellow young people, especially those still at school, to take responsibility and ownership of not only their destinies but also spaces that they occupy; do not let your community deteriorate.
It lies upon us as the South African youth to ensure that we succeed in holding ourselves and the government accountable, this is after all our democratic right so I say let us develop the will to be game changers and agents of social transformation. We owe it to the youth of 1976 to fight against all odds and thrive to make something better out of our lives and communities. We also need to be agents of change in the spaces that we occupy, where we see and feel something needs to be done, we must take the initiative to do so. The June 16th youth paved the way for us and they certainly made it clear that no circumstance is undefeatable.
I most certainly respect and observe Youth Day. However, on this day we must be very clear of what we are honouring if we will celebrate.
Because many of South Africa’s youth are still uneducated, impoverished, unemployed, frustrated, hopeless and essentially un-free, I think it would be a dishonour to the youth of June 1976 for us to comfortably ignore and allow these social ills and injustices to persevere without contestation in the midst of our commemorations. I think the youth of 1976 would want us to honour their memory by taking matters into our own hands, by liberating ourselves through action which moves towards actively eradicating our social-ills. Thus, in honour of exactly this day, we must be inspired to continue with the fight and light that the very critically conscious and active youth of 1976 started. We can only stop when what the ideals of true socio-economic emancipation have been achieved. Then we can truly enjoy 30 years of democracy in South Africa.
As we celebrate 30 years of Democracy, I am also reminded that many South Africans at large, particularly the youth, are still up to this day not free because of our struggle which is embedded in poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, amongst other issues. I think everyone would like to truly enjoy the promise of democracy and dignity in our lifetime where every child has access to proper and quality education, where poverty and insecurity seize to exist and where opportunities are granted to each and every South African child because she or he is worthy, by virtue of being a human being, to lead a decent, secure and humane life.
Valuing human life comes with creating a sense of unity and trust amongst ourselves in all the spaces that we occupy and actively engaging in liberating action. On the government’s part it comes with providing a more encouraging and possible environment for young South Africans to become fully human, whereby no child is constrained by any social and economic obstacles in the pursuit of fulfilling his or her goals and vision in life; that for me is true emancipation.
The way I see it, education is one way we can do this. By education I do not mean merely receiving an academic qualification and reproducing knowledge in the labour market, this will not fully solve our problems. We must strive to be critical agents who receive education and inspiration from all walks of life, from spaces beyond the classroom. The education that we receive from school must inspire us to be agents of change. Let us be creative and inspired enough to create our own platforms and avenues of developing ourselves, families and communities through sustainable and progressive activity.
I believe that we have a lot of potential as young people; we just need to uncap it and support each other. We can start with this process by creating a positive, unified and inspiring environment for ourselves, we must also understand that everyone has something valuable to offer and we are in this together.
On this note, let us consciously develop our own communities and give back with our time and energy. I think we must move forward with the mentality of progressively creating solutions, as a youth unit, to our social problems. Lastly, let us also not be afraid to knock on doors for assistance and guidance where needed because no man is an island and so it is inevitable to ask for help, this is what makes the effort worthwhile. When we as the youth actively and progressively work towards improving our conditions I am confident that we will find fulfilment and this on its own will create a culture of active participation among our youth. Let’s do this!
As I am passionate about education and youth development, I want to urge fellow young people to go towards the direction of their dreams, choose a career and activity that will enrich you as an individual and when you are enriched remember to share it with the rest, be that needed agent of change. We are our country’s future therefore it is our responsibility to engage in activities that mould and unite SA. What you need to ask yourself is when and in what initiative you will use your skills, abilities and passion to effect change where you are.
