Living in a country riddled with public holidays, it is easy to became wrapped up in the joys of not having
to wake up early for work or school, and spend less time thinking and pondering the importance of the day.
Living in a country riddled with public holidays, it is easy to became wrapped up in the joys of not having
to wake up early for work or school, and spend less time thinking and pondering the importance of the day.
Which is why the Rhodes University approach to acknowledging important issues by focusing on them with events and talks is a good way to give value to public holidays.
On 21 March 2010, 50 years after the massacre that turned the struggle against apartheid into an armed struggle, we do not think about the 69 who perished.
Going back even further: think about every person who ever did anything to abolish apartheid. Yes, apartheid is over and we do not need it being brought up at every turn.
But we can use these demarcated days of the year to think about it. Kind of like the way we would for a loved one on the anniversary of their death.
Another question is: what does human rights mean in other parts of the world? What does it mean for the thousands around the world whose rights are grossly violated? What do we do for them?
The Israeli- Palestine conflict. The “war on terror”. How will a few small actions have an effect on the bigger picture? Important factors here are education and awareness.
If you are not aware of something, how can you ask yourself what you can do? Read the news, read newspapers, tune into radio stations, listen for events which speak out on human rights issues and keep your ear to the ground.
For a long time I knew about the ongoing conflict in Israel, but never grasped the severity of it and never knew how it had all started.
The film, Occupation 101, which was shown at Rhodes University a few weeks ago was a small step in my understanding of what is going on beyond my own backyard.
The film was shown in Israeli Apartheid Week, which discussed the causes of the conflict, and its devastating effects on people’s lives.
South Africa came out of apartheid in its own way owing to a number of co-operative efforts, one of them being international support.
In 10, 20 or even 30 years’ time, what can we say we did to help those we knew were being oppressed? Do something, even if it means telling your neighbour about what is happening in the world. Let’s get the whole world involved.
