Today we commemorate the Soweto youth uprising of 16 June 1976, known as Youth Day in South Africa.
On this day young black South Africans rose up in protest against the apartheid decree that Afrikaans will be the medium of instruction in secondary education across the country for every black child. This was indeed an uprising against a regime that marginalised them and relegated their education to that of third class citizens.
Today, we recognise their sacrifice – young lives and dreams squashed in an instant. Dreams of a better tomorrow and better future for everyone. Their resistance made their voices heard and made the world take note. We salute them for this and for their sacrifice towards a freedom that they themselves would not get to experience. That precious freedom we do get to experience today. The battle of the youth of 1976 is a battle that many youth still face today.
Have we, as the youth of the new millennium, been free to dream and enact our dreams? Have we been able to pursue that which sets our passions alight, or have we been fooled?
Youth unemployment is at an all-time high of over 63% (youth aged 15-24) as reported by Stats SA.
Limited spaces in tertiary institutions really do make us question whether we have the ability to act on those dreams. Yes, there are those of us that do manage to break the chains of poverty and inequality that seem to cling so close to us.
Yet, we find ourselves faced with a different reality when we realise that the light at the end of the tunnel is not as bright as we thought. The graduate unemployment rate currently stands at 40,3% (youth aged 15-24) and speaks of a bleak outlook for some, even after schooling.
The time has come for the youth to lead itself and not be privy to the dictates of those that have grown up in a different era. Solomon Mahlangu said “My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom…” and indeed many youth today eat of these fruits but are found to be drunk in the realisation that this tree must be watered in order to bear fruit.
We, the youth of today, must liberate ourselves and take up space in places of influence – where we rightfully belong and continue to water this tree. Our voices must be heard in a parliament of pensioners where we stake our claim and say “Yes! Our democracy counts! We will make it work for ourselves!
Just as those young South Africans of 1976 found the resolve to stand up to a system that sought to marginalise them, we too will stand up and raise our own voices, create our own realities and shape our own future!
William Villet is a third year Bachelor of accounting student at Stellenbosch University.
