Derrick Masangu
Please allow me to share this 4th grade Social Studies topic, which I think is one of the pivotal events that shaped and laid a foundation for both the South African and Namibian political struggle, post-1976.
To many Namibians, the 16th of June has no significance as it doesn’t echo any bells, nor does it evoke any emotions, but to some Africans, it’s a nightmare.
Equally, a few who know about it also limit it to South African history, as the events that led up to it, being formally recognised by the AU in 1991, took place in that country.
Firstly, in order to understand its significance and relevance to our nation and Africa as a whole, we need to first know and understand what happened on that fateful day.
16 June 1976 was a dark day in the history of South Africa and indeed Africa as a whole. This is what became known as the Soweto uprising. On this day, a group of fearless youth, particularly students from different schools in Soweto, organised themselves and formed a strong coalition to fight back at the biased educational system that was imposed on them by the apartheid regime.
This was because the regime had tried to impose the Afrikaans language as a mandatory medium of instruction for all schools in the country, regardless of their homelands where the Bantu educational system was used, segregating people based on their languages and geographical
area.
Racial tensions had just reached boiling point. The students marched in peaceful demonstrations in Soweto, but unfortunately, it ended up in a cold bloodbath, after the heartless apartheid police force opened fire on them.
The Soweto uprising’s relevance to our Namibian struggle is that most of these policies were not just limited to South Africa, but also imposed in then-South West Africa, which later became independent Namibia. Whatever was decided on at the national level in South Africa, had a spiral effect on us.
In addition, the Soweto uprising became a pivotal event and one of the foundations of radical youth organisations and activism that incepted the struggle both in South Africa and Namibia, not just on education but also in politics, and labour protests that followed at the time. This is what gave birth to the International Day of the African Child as we have come to know it today.
Though, we are free today, and don’t have to toyi-toyi, burn tyres or run from the canine units of the apartheid police, let us not be naive and oblivious to the realities of our time. Indeed, times have changed, and so has the world too. The struggles of 1976, are not the same as those of today, but narratives remain the same, as well as freedom, justice and equality in all the spheres of our lives.
In hindsight, the youth of 1976 have done their part to ensure that equality exists in our societies today. They taught us courage, fortitude and resilience. They also taught us that the fight for the right cause will always be victorious despite all the hardships and barricades along the way.
It is therefore time for us to grab the baton and carry on the economic struggle of our people. Tsietsi Mashinini, Hector Peterson and many more others did not just die in vain, but they died for a bigger cause, which was freedom, justice and equality.
It is really important for us to teach our children about this important event in African history. Therefore, as parents, teachers, religious leaders and all community leaders, we have a responsibility to devote the same amount of time that we normally give to other national events such as Heroes’ Day and so forth to this Day of the African Child.
In closing, we need to find ways to make sure the message and importance of this day reaches each and every African child.
Happy International Day of the African Child, Namibia.
* Derrick Masangu is an independent blogger and teacher.