Speech by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms. Sylvia Lucas at the commemoration of Human Rights Day, Rietvale Primary School, Ritchie, 21 March 2016
Programme Director
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature
Honourable Mayor and Councillors
Government officials present
Community of Ritchie
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”- These are the memorable words of our revered former President and International Treasure and icon, the one and only Nelson Mandela.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please reflect on these words, own these words and look deep within yourselves and ask- can I identify with this? Am I part of a bigger solution, or am I a contributor to hate and thereby fanning the fire of racism?
All of us present here, are familiar with the phrase or term “Human Rights”. The question though is whether you have truly given thought to it. What exactly it encompasses and what it is to honour another human being’s rights.
Dames en here, die reg op waardigheid, regverdige en gelyke behandeling word nie net gewaarborg deur ons unieke Grondwet nie, maar dit word ook aan ons beveel deur God, die Almagtige, dat ons mekaar moet behandel met waardigheid, wedersydse respek en deernis. Dit, my medemens, moet ons vertrekpunt wees wanneer ons praat van Menseregte
Hierdie regte en gepaardgaande vryhede wat ons vandag as vanselfsprekend aanvaar het glad nie maklik gekom nie. Dit is bereik deur ‘n lang stryd van teenstand teen ‘n onregverdige en onmenslike stelsel genoemd Apartheid. Aan die voorfront van hierdie stryd was die magtige African National Congress wat volslae geglo het dat hierdie land, Suid Afrika, aan almal behoort wat daarin woon, werk en bestaan. Dit was ‘n stryd wat ten duurste verwesenlik is. En ons voorouers, wit, swart, bruin en Indier het skouer aan skouer baklei, en met hul lewe betaal vir die regte van ieder en elk in hierdie land wat soveel belofte inhou.
Ladies and gentlemen, like our beloved and revered late Nelson Mandela put it, “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw”. This is not only applicable to the people of South Africa but stretches across our borders to our brothers and sisters on the continent and beyond ho in an evolving world are still subjected to sub human treatment.
Before 1994 Human Rights day was known as Sharpville day. This was attributed to the Sharpeville massacre that took place on March 21 1960 in the township of Sharpville. On this fateful day in 1960, events were planned in many parts of the country for people to protest against the pass laws of that time.
Baie van ons teenwoordig hier kan met hartseer onthou hoe vernederend dit was om ‘n dompas te dra wat jy oral moes wys. Ons Vryheid tot beweging en assosiasie is ten sterkste ingeperk. Ons hele geskiedenis was vervat in hierdie dompas. Om soos derde klas burgerlikes behandel te word het mense genoodsaak om in teenstand van hierdie dompas stelsel te staan. Die gevolg was dat hierdie mense, wat elk ‘n held en vryheidsvegter in eie reg is, opgeruk het na die polisie kantoor in Sharpville om hul teenstand teen die dra van en die bestaan van die dompas te wys.
Wat hierna gevolg het sal altyd ‘n klad op ons geskiedenis wees. Dit is ‘n gebeurtenis waaroor die vorige regering vir altyd hul koppe in skaamte sal sak. Op daardie dag het ses en neentig mense, vaders, moeders en kinders wat vreedsaam protesteer het, hul lewens in ‘n oogwink verloor. Nooit, maar nooit sal dus ons vergeet nie.
Ladies and gentlemen, these innocent protesters were merely demanding their human rights in the country of their birth. The Sharpville massacre mobilized the international community to take action against the apartheid government. The massacre laid bare not only the cruel and barbaric aspect of apartheid but the clear systematic violation of human rights of the majority African people in South Africa. Soon after this day the United Nations declared Apartheid an act against Humanity.
This democratic government declared 21 March as Human Rights Day in South Africa. The entire month of March is commemorated as Human Rights Month in order to remind us about the sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for liberation and also to celebrate the achievement of democracy in South Africa.
The renaming of Sharpeville day was in line with the imperatives of a new and democratic government as espoused by our Constitution and in particular the Bill of Rights. The value addition of this day to all South Africans is to emphasize the ANC Government’s commitment in ensuring that every person who resides in South Africa enjoys equal rights. This is the tragic history of why we are here today. It is a day of celebration, but similarly it should be a day of mourning and once again we declare that never, but never again will one race be dominant over the other. Not in this South Africa that we, the African National Congress, and our partners have sacrificed for.
Significant gains have been made in the promotion, development and protection of human rights since the advent of our democracy, we however still have to do more to ensure that human dignity, equality and freedom is permanently entrenched in the lives of our people.
This year as we mark Human Rights Day, twenty one years after our country’s first truly democratic elections, we should indeed celebrate what we have achieved since then. This year’s commemoration is thus being used to raise awareness of racism and eexplore ways in which we can eradicate it and takes place under the theme,”SA united against racism.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to join in the fight against racism; as South Africans we owe it to ourselves to oppose racism for it bodes ill for our society particularly in its quest for integration and nationhood. There is no magic stick to this problem. Racial biases perpetually find expression in our speeches and practices in subtle ways. Many a time people deny any intentional biases. This subtle form of racism remains complex thus dangerous because it is real.
We cannot afford to gloss over our differences as a multi-cultural society and the legacy of our history of segregation which is still in existence in our society. Our homes, schools, churches and workplaces continue to bear testimony to this. The question of racism must invariably remain in the public limelight so that South Africans can engage with it in public forums.
On this historic day, we the people of the Northern Cape must commit ourselves to a society free from hatred and discrimination. Today we declare that there is no place for racism in our lives. We declare as one nation to honour, respect and value our fellow men and women and to uphold the rights and dignity of all. We are one nation, and as one nation we will work shoulder to shoulder to move this country and nation forward, together.
Let this not just be another public holiday but instead let us pause and reflect on the late Tata Nelson Mandela’s words in 1994, when he said, “South Africa’s freedom did not come to us as a perfect gift, complete and eternal. It was worked at over years, even decades. Now, translating into reality elegant words and noble intentions, a reality that touches and enriches the lives of all South Africans, is going to require an effort from all of us.”
I thank you