June 16 Dialogues get two generations talking youth issues

24 May 2016

 

There was an electrifying atmosphere at the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani on Sunday May 22 when the youth of 1976 met and rubbed shoulders with the youth of 2016.

 

Organised by the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Social Development as part of the build-up to the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the June 16 1976 Soweto student uprising in a few weeks’ time, the inter-generational dialogue drew large crowds of both the young and the old to share memories of an event that shook the apartheid government to its foundations and that, many say, accelerated the struggle for liberation.

The dialogue session linked the past, the present and the future.

The auditorium was packed to capacity. Emotions were palpable as youth leaders of the time recalled the events that unfolded that day as if they happened yesterday – when learners took to the streets to peacefully protest against being taught in Afrikaans, the language of the oppressor, only to be met with lethal force.

“Discipline was at the centre of our protest,” said Kgosi Barney Mokgatle, a student leader at Morris Isaacson High School in White City Jabavu at the time.

He said it was important to know the reasons behind the protest and why learners burned down government-owned property such as beerhalls and bottlestores.

“We were not affiliated to any political structure. It was just us as students protesting against Afrikaans. But the [brutal and violent] response of the government changed everything,” he said.

He said, in fact, Hector Pieterson was not the first person to be killed by armed apartheid police on that fateful day 40 years ago.

“When guns were trained on us I was standing right next to Hastings Ndlovu. He was 15 years old. He was shot right in the forehead and he just collapsed. Hector died later in the day, when there was absolute mayhem,” Mokgatle said.

He explained that their struggle had a bigger purpose and that while they feared for their lives, they had to lead.

“We had to do it and at the end it was a bigger purpose than fighting against Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. It was now about our freedom to choose how were governed,” he said.

The session became even more vibrant when learners were asked to tell June 16 1976 stories from their parents’ perspectives. Faith Sibaya, who was 13 at the time, said her taxi driver father was harassed because he transported injured learners to hospital. She recalled how police would come and ask questions about her father and his whereabouts.

“They would ask all these questions. We were confused because we did not understand the gravity of the event.”

Police were also curious about the tiles in our kitchen. The tiles were black, yellow and green. They wanted to know who fitted them. It was only years later that I became aware that those were the colours of the ANC.”

Enos Ngutshane, another student leader of the time, told how the protesters targeted government property – police cars, beerhalls, bottlestores, etc – but not schools. His message hit a nerve in the wake of the current wave of violence that has seen schools being razed to the ground.

“We might differ politically but we should all defend the existence of a state. We paid dearly for this freedom and we should protect it at all costs,” he added.

Mpho Yaye said his mother told him about a black policeman called Hlubi, notorious for killing students during the uprising. It is said that when he himself was shot and wounded, nurses at Baragwanath Hospital refused to attend to him. He is said to have bled to death. Jabulani Nkosi, one of the youngsters at the dialogue session, said he had learned and benefited a lot from the experience.

“This is the history that’s missing in our books. We need more sessions like this. I’m happy I took time to attend,” he said.His comments found resonance with many of who attended. This, they said, was the “real history”.