ARTICLE: HERITAGE DAY 2016
What is wonderful about Heritage Day (as one of the “new” holidays in the not so new South Africa) is that we can look back and celebrate what we have achieved over the past 22 years. For many it will go back further than 22 years – to our cultural and traditional past – that is also part of our heritage, individually and collectively. “Heritage” means different things to different people.
Some will say that in 2016 there is nothing to celebrate – among them are angry students, persistent grumblers and disillusioned poor people. They will point out our problems at the political level, government level and Zuma level; the student riots and arson; the Springboks, Bafana Bafana and the Proteas’ poor or mediocre performances; the weak economy; unemployment, poverty and inequality; and the drought and high food prices.
The renaming of streets and places must be handled with the greatest sensitivity. All South Africans should feel that they and their cultures are fully represented in street and place names. The Constitution declares that South Africa belongs to us all, united in our diversity.
There should be no doubt about origins, intentions and consequences of the Expropriation Bill that President Zuma is about to sign into law.
World Press Freedom Day (3 May) gives us the opportunity to assess the freedom of our press in South Africa.
Vladimir Lenin said that “when the time comes for us to hang the capitalists they will compete with one another to sell us the rope”. In the same manner, Afrikaners are playing a leading role in assisting the ANC to eclipse Afrikaans as a language of tuition at university level.
South Africans are shocked by scenes playing out of late, particularly on historically Afrikaans campuses. These incidents are part of a process that began at the end of 2015 with #Rhodesmustfall. Shortly afterwards it was #Feesmustfall, with similar origins. Then Open Stellenbosch followed, where racial and anti-Afrikaans sentiments were more visible, and then ReformPuk. At the start of 2016, all of this deteriorated into undisguised racism and xenophobia, with slogans of “F … whites” and even “Kill all the whites” appearing on walls and T-shirts. When art was burned at UCT, students shouted: “It is whiteness burning!”. And last week it culminated at UP with #Afrikaansmustfall and violence and physical attacks and counter-attacks.
International Mother Language Day is held worldwide on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Observed since 2008, the date of 21 February corresponds to the day in 1952 when students in what is today Bangladesh who were demonstrating for the recognition of Bangla as one of the two national languages of East Pakistan, were shot dead by police.
President Zuma is understandably unhappy with the treatment he receives from the media – and particularly from the print media. He is regularly depicted with a shower emerging from his head. Artists paint him with his genitals exposed. He is castigated for corruption and the media continue to hound him over the expenditure of R246 million on his retirement home.