When did SA become free?

THOSE born in the new democracy may never truly understand nor visualise the atrocities and cruelty inflicted on others simply because they were not white.

Many non-whites who were of age before democracy can attest to how they were denied many rights that today we take for granted.

They were denied the opportunity to realise their full potential simply because they were black, coloured and or Indian.

Independence is a special day of remembrance, a special day for not only remembering those that paid the ultimate price, but also to reflect on how far we came, where we are and where we need to be.

It is the worst ever insult to an African, going online to search for South African independence and May 31, 1910 pops up. Accompanied by the narration: “Eight years after the end of the Boer War and four years of negotiations an Act of the British Parliament (SA Act 1909) granted nominal independence while creating the Union of SA on May 30, 1910.”

This is a deliberate attempt at wiping out anything African in South Africa.

1910 makes it a year before even Pixley ka Osaka Seme was quoted as saying: “Forget all past difference among Africans and unite in one national organisation.”

A statement which eventually gave birth to the ANC on January 8, 1912.

The online insult is very offending to every self-respecting African the world over, as history tells us that South Africa is the cradle of African political movements with Fort Hare University at the forefront, many of its alumni are or were heads of states in many African countries.

We have seen it too often in many different African countries, after two decades or so of independence the governments are viciously attacked, achievements never mentioned while challenges and failures are amplified on every platform, but this deliberate attempt at ignoring Africans in the history of the country is a horrible, bold new step.

My first act of patriotism tomorrow will be to go online and type in: “When did South Africa attain independence?”.

And I expect to see corrected information.