Today South Africa 'celebrates' youth day, and although the majority todays youth in the country forget why this day has been declared a momorial day and simply endulge in another national holiday - this day remais en extremely controversial day to remember in South African history.
You see, this wasnt always celebrated as youth day in our country. The origins of this day being remembered stem much furterback than the June 16 Sowetan uprising of 1976.
Overlooking History
In South African history June the 16th was made a public holiday, to remember the day that the Enelish imposed a rule of Genoide on the Afrikaans people of South Africa. Between 1899 and 1902 the English invaded South Africa and set out with the aim of eliminating the Afrikaner people along with their culture and their language.
On June 16 1900 a proclomation was signed by Lord Robberts stating that houses and farmlands of the Afrikaaner people were to be burnt to the ground and all principal residents to be taken prisoners of war.
During this time 40000 children. 2000 woman and 1000 elderly men where taken as prisoners of war and placed into concentration camps where they were left to die a slow horrid death.
Despite this, the Afrikaaner Volk faught for their freedom, and once regained, thei built up their lives from scratch, with no equipment and no resourses - we slowly rebuilt our churches and schools, we certainly didn't have the economic backing of the goverment, nor did we have previously disadvantaged legality clauses. Yet we managed to rebuild our lives as a people.
Many years later
In 1975 while South Africa at that stage was under Afrikaans Government the Soweto uprising protests started, because in African schools which was built by the South African government at that time, insisted that Afrikaans become one of the languages in these schools - On 16 June 1976 20 000 pupils from Soweto began a protest march. This was also preceded by numerous other violent and destructive protests that had the police force on edge already. Sadly during clashes with the police during this protest, there were casualties and as such this day is now remembered as Youth day.
I feel that this is hardly a day for celebration, this is a day where we should remember all of the lives lost throughout the diverse struggles of South African History despite race.
(All pictures used in this post was taken from www.pixabay.com)