Sixty years ago on this day 21 March, Sharpeville soil had to drink the blood of its own citizens. Heroes lost their lives in the Sharpville Massacre which has now been sugarcoated and called Human Rights day.
Sixty-nine heroes of democracy and Human Rights lost their lives and 180 were left injured when the brutal apartheid police officers fired live ammunition indiscriminately towards unarmed peaceful protesters who were only pleading for human rights.
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Sharpeville protest was against Pass laws, which were a form of internal passport system designed to segregate the population, manage urbanization and easily allocate migrant labour.
Pass Law severely restricted the movement of black South Africans as the law required them to carry passbooks when outside their homelands or designated areas, and that influenced the Sharpeville protest.
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It might have been sixty years ago but the wounds are still fresh, why have they not healed. The wounds have not healed because I, as a young black woman, I am still discriminated against, I still smell the apartheid from my parent’s oppressors though they aren’t doing it freely but I can see it in their eyes, I perceive it at my place of work.
The young black nation is still waiting for freedom, as of me I will know that freedom has come as soon as the 21 March is renamed to Sharpville Massacre. Let we not forget the heroes who laid down their lives for us.
Before Nelson Mandela, there is a man amongst men. Never forget this man Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, the man behind Steve Biko,this legend was isolated in Robben Island alone,banned from talking with anyone fighting for change in South Africa #HumanRightsDay pic.twitter.com/W8jhVNiYLq
— BI Phakathi (@biphakathi) March 21, 2020
#HumanRightsDay #HumanRightsDay2020 #SharpevilleMassacre Letlapa Mphahlele once spoke nothing but the truth and no one listened. We are here today 26 years nothing changed. pic.twitter.com/cuvjjjJcZK
— Battalion 54 (@54Battalion) March 21, 2020
Article Submitted by a young Political Media Studies student Zama Langa. Zama also works as a legal secretary in a prominent law firm.
