Why I refuse to turn up on the 16th of June.
Is it necessary for the youth to celebrate June 16?
While many were getting 'turnt' or 'blazed' on
the 16th of June, I was indoors. I sound boring right? Ha-ha well it works for me but really. What
drove me to not call anyone and ask them where they were for the 16th
June 2016?
For those of you may not know why the 16th
June is a public holiday in South Africa, let me enlighten you.
The 16th of June is known as
Youth Day. The history lies behind a student uprising in Soweto, a township in the Southwest of Johannesburg, which happened in the year of 1976. Students of colour were protesting against
Afrikaans language being implemented as a medium of instruction within schools
all over South Africa in non language subjects such as Mathematics and Science.The
issue, however was not just primarily about the language of learning and teaching
but also the inequalities of the then education system, namely the Bantu
Education System which characterized separate schools and universities, poor
facilities,overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers.
Yes, that is what it is all about.
Now, why I chose to stay indoors.
In my own opinion, such momentous days should not be celebrated but rather commemorated. The Oxford advanced
learner’s dictionary of international students (2010:225) defines celebrate as “to show that a day is special by doing
something special on it”. The Oxford
advanced learner’s dictionary of international students (2010:286) defines commemorate
as “to remind people of an important person or event from the past with special
action or object”. Celebrating only means that we are enjoying the day whereas
half the people don’t understand it. Commemorating is deeper than that; it
means although we are enjoying it, we alert people of what it’s about.
We need to enlighten that other half that doesn’t know or understand.
It goes beyond hundreds of students
protesting for the future of South African students of the next generation. Hundreds of students sustained injuries while
others lost their lives: Hastings Ndlovu and Hector Pieterson. How many of our
current students are willing to die for the next generation, coming after us?
Would the students back then still have protested if they had known years later the youth would be more involved in drugs and reckless celebrations? Well, I believe that they would have, but would they have done it wholeheartedly if they had known how we would turn out? Think about it...long, hard and critically before you answer.
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| Photo: Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo. His sister, Antoinette Sithole |
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiwpOP8pLvNAhUqBcAKHbZCBsIQjB0IBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymaverick.co.za%2Farticle%2F2016-06-16-editorial-four-decades.-forty-years.-14610-days.%2F&psig=AFQjCNFLP9JBOYj9NFC0mIzGO2C-dnTBQQ&ust=1466673037161577
The students of 1976 were not only
considering themselves and how much they disliked the unjust system. They had
our best interest at heart when they peacefully marched towards the Orlando
Stadium that morning.
The 16th of June today, in my
own view, is the best day to march and raise educational issues such as high
tuition fees, textbooks delivered late and unjust bursary systems that we hear
about within the perimeters of our South
African education. Instead we use the day to get drunk, blackout, and have no
idea where we will wake up the next morning. Is that what Hector died for? We
protest all year round but on the day we are actually supposed to, we run to
the streets (ironically) and to the pubs.
Why are we filling clubs up instead of
education programmes?
In fact, I firmly believe this is the one
time schools should be opened, not for a normal school day but to inform
learners and focus entirely on the history of South African education. I don’t
think it’s only the Education students who should understand the curriculum
changes within South African education. I don’t think only the History students
should understand racial segregation in South Africa. If we are all citizens,
it should be shared to every one of us.
I remained indoors because it would break my
heart to know that I fall under the category “youth” of South Africa yet I’m
wasting the day away with alcohol. I can drink on any other weekend, my
calendar has 365 days. Out of those 365 I exclude religious and South African holidays,
how many other weekends do I have to get turned? Yet I choose this one day that
could have been used to enlighten me...
Resources
- Government of South Africa, 2016. Youth Day 2015. http://www.gov.za/youth-day-2015. Date of access: 18 Jun 2016.
- Heffernan A, 2014. Lessons SA students can learn from the leaders of 1976. http://theconversation.com/strategic-lessons-south-africas-students-can-learn-from-the-leaders-of-1976-60976 . Date of access : 18 Jun 2016.
- Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of international students. 2010. New 8th ed. Oxford University Press.
Prudy Blue
xx
