30 years on ...

Yesterday I sat as a judge at the Gauteng contest of the annual Anglo American Sowetan Young Communicators Award. Hosted at the Apartheid Museum, 30 years since the Soweto uprising on June 16th 1976, young talented speakers have come from English 2nd Language schools to battle it out for a spot at the National Final in June. As a 26-year old white male, it is my first visit to the museum and the first time I have heard participants of the 1976 riots speak publically. Murphy Morobe, one of the convicted organisers of the uprising spoke of his experiences in Soweto some 30 years ago.

The riots started as what was meant to be a peaceful protest against the institution of Afrikaans as the medium of education in black schools. Interestingly, the police were handling the protest fine until a 2nd group of protestors arrived late, thus sandwiching the police. What happens when you corner an animal? Well, the ensuing shooting resulted in one of the most famous deaths in South African history. Hector Peterson was one of the youths killed in a spray of gunfire as the police desperately attempted to escape. What followed was one of the bloodiest and chaotic times in South Africa's history as riots sprung throughout the country. Thousands of people were killed throughout the country before the year was out. Today though, the organisers, particpants and those kille din the riots are revered as people who significantly challenged the unfair regime of Apartheid.

In aiming to conquer the land and people a regime uses some non-violent means to achieve this: 1 - it takes away a peoples language, 2- it then limits the ability to mass mobilise. The June 16th riots erupted in protest to the medium of education becoming Afrikaans - an language largely inaccessible to the learners of the day. These riots were mobilised in the schools - 20year old matriculants amassed thousands of students for the protests. But then, subsequent to the initial riots, the government shut down the schools. The people could not gather collectively to make the enxt move. As a late Xer I was not even born when these riots erupted. So much has changed, but I do not even really know it. The world I live in and the changes that happen are assimilated into my lived experience without even a reference point of what the world used to be.

However, the 12 contestants today resonated in a collective memory of the 1976 riots. Some lost parents and some lost grandparents. But none experienced it first hand. It begs the question: how does one convey the meaning and memory of such events as the generations move on? Some events have inthemselves the power to do so e.g. the Holocaust. I'm sure Apartheid will do the same.

As a judge it was a privelege to be included in this retelling of our history. It was also a great privelege to award the top spot to a Grade 11 Learner from Filadelfia Special who despite severe physical disability and speach empediments, inspired the audience to a standing ovation with his wit, eloquence and depth of thought ... oh, he's a damn good speaker as well. Just goes to show, physical limitations do not necessarily have to hinder a good public speaker. His words were slurred and it took him a minute to get onto the stage. But for a prepared speach and impromptu speach he had the audience "sitting at his feet".

In the coming months South Africans will comemorate and celebrate the events of 30 years ago. Today, we heard leaders of tomorrow. 30 years ago, a few youths changed the landscape of South Africa's history. Who of today's young voices will change the future?