Come this time next week and all eyes will be on Nelson Mandela Bay — particularly Kariega — where Deputy President Paul Mashatile will mark 40 years since the Langa massacre as part of Human Rights Day commemorations.
And many of us from this region will be hoping it goes off smoothly, without any embarrassment.
Human Rights Day commemorates the March 21 1960 Sharpeville massacre in which 69 people were killed and 180 wounded.
The Langa massacre occurred on March 21 1985, when 35 people died as police fired on mourners marching to a funeral.
They were commemorating 25 years since the Sharpeville massacre when they were gunned down in the KwaLanga township.
The Langa Memorial has suffered years of neglect and been marred by vandalism.
At the 2024 Human Rights Day celebrations hosted by the Eastern Cape government in Kariega, then-mayor Gary Van Niekerk described the state of the memorial as embarrassing and said the site would be fixed by 2025.
Now, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is rushing to spend R5m to spruce up the memorial, where the event is to be held.
And while any effort to spruce neglected memorials is welcome, it should never have got to a point where — a week before a major event — there is a rush to fix it.
Apartheid was one of the most oppressive and tragic periods in SA’s history, marked by institutionalised racial discrimination, violence and injustice, with many losing their lives.
The memorials to those who died serve not only as powerful reminders of this dark chapter, ensuring that people’s sacrifices are not forgotten, but also play a crucial role in preserving history, fostering national unity, educating future generations and promoting healing and reconciliation.
But how does that happen when these memorial are not respected and protected?
If we are to truly honour those who died, we must start by respecting these memorials erected in their memory.
And it can be done.
It will take concerted effort from communities who are the true custodians of these memorials to first respect the memorials. Then report all vandals.
It will also take commitment from those officials responsible for all our memorials to safeguard these sites and ensure regular maintenance.
In doing so and preserving these sites, we have visible reminders of our past.
A past we hope never to repeat.
The Herald
Our memorials must not be left to crumble
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Image: EUGENE COETZEE
Come this time next week and all eyes will be on Nelson Mandela Bay — particularly Kariega — where Deputy President Paul Mashatile will mark 40 years since the Langa massacre as part of Human Rights Day commemorations.
And many of us from this region will be hoping it goes off smoothly, without any embarrassment.
Human Rights Day commemorates the March 21 1960 Sharpeville massacre in which 69 people were killed and 180 wounded.
The Langa massacre occurred on March 21 1985, when 35 people died as police fired on mourners marching to a funeral.
They were commemorating 25 years since the Sharpeville massacre when they were gunned down in the KwaLanga township.
The Langa Memorial has suffered years of neglect and been marred by vandalism.
At the 2024 Human Rights Day celebrations hosted by the Eastern Cape government in Kariega, then-mayor Gary Van Niekerk described the state of the memorial as embarrassing and said the site would be fixed by 2025.
Now, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is rushing to spend R5m to spruce up the memorial, where the event is to be held.
And while any effort to spruce neglected memorials is welcome, it should never have got to a point where — a week before a major event — there is a rush to fix it.
Apartheid was one of the most oppressive and tragic periods in SA’s history, marked by institutionalised racial discrimination, violence and injustice, with many losing their lives.
The memorials to those who died serve not only as powerful reminders of this dark chapter, ensuring that people’s sacrifices are not forgotten, but also play a crucial role in preserving history, fostering national unity, educating future generations and promoting healing and reconciliation.
But how does that happen when these memorial are not respected and protected?
If we are to truly honour those who died, we must start by respecting these memorials erected in their memory.
And it can be done.
It will take concerted effort from communities who are the true custodians of these memorials to first respect the memorials. Then report all vandals.
It will also take commitment from those officials responsible for all our memorials to safeguard these sites and ensure regular maintenance.
In doing so and preserving these sites, we have visible reminders of our past.
A past we hope never to repeat.
The Herald
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