What tomorrow’s leaders think of Human Rights Day
The Herald visited schools in Nelson Mandela Bay to find out what pupils understood about the public holiday
AFIKILE TYISO, 12, from Herbert Hurd Primary School : “We celebrate equality because [previously] not every South African had the right to do specific things. We should really be grateful for Human Rights Day because everyone has the right to a healthy family and a happy home.”
BEN NOTHNAGEL, 12 from Laerskool Newton Park : “It’s a day of basic rights and freedom that belongs to everyone in our country.”
BUSISIWE GOJELA, 17, from Paterson High School: “We share the same key values as a society because we are all given the same rights. We should be one as the people of South Africa.”
CAITLIN VERRYN, 17, from Paterson High School: “We have a right to freedom, stability and access because without human rights we would not have the life that we are living now.”
CALEB DEVINE, 11, from Herbert Hurd Primary School: “You have the right to do specific things. You have the right to health and religion. You have the right to do anything you desire.”
ELRI SMIT, 13, from Laerskool Newton Park: “For me personally, it means that we are privileged to have rights and freedom that we can protect and to have an opportunity as South Africans to work towards our future.”
KAREN NSUA, 17, from Paterson High School: “It’s a symbolic day which reminds us of the people who fought for us. Human Rights Day means I am privileged to go to a school where I can meet people who are different from me.”
KEMICA HARTH, 12, from Laerskool Newton Park: “To me personally it means hope, it symbolises the fact that we do not have to worry because our Heavenly Father will help us. It means we have to stand for our rights and as a child I can go to school to follow my dreams.”
KUNGAWO MAME, 14, from Khumbulani High School: “This day is a celebration of our rights, but mainly to celebrate those who sacrificed their lives for us to have the rights we have today.”
LILLY HURTER, 11, from Herbert Hurd Primary School: “It’s a day about what we have the right to do. We have the right to shelter, a roof over our heads, water, food and health. It started with some in our country who sacrificed their lives so that we could have what we have right now.”
LIYEMA NONDUMO, 14, from Khumbulani High School: “Human Rights Day is a national day commemorated on March 21 to remind South Africans about the sacrifices that came along with the struggles they had before attaining democracy.”
LJ CAMPHER, 12, from Laerskool Newton Park: “It’s a day of 27 rights that are given to people from birth to death.”
MATTHEW GOLDSMITH, 17, from Paterson High School: “We all have the right to privacy, security, the right to live and have an education. This day motivates us to become better people.”
MBALENTLE MABANGULA, 17, from Khumbulani High School: “This is the day South Africans fought to have equal rights between black and white people so that we can also have the same privileges as white people.”
MEGAN VAN WYK, 13, from Laerskool Newton Park: “It’s a day about the basic rights of human beings, a day where people received the same rights.”
MICHILO MENTOOR, 16, from Paterson High School: “This day is a celebration of what it means to be human. Being able to live your full potential within your rights.”
NQOBILE LUVALO, 15, from Khumbulani High School: “Human Rights Day is a day to remember the struggles and sacrifices that were made for South Africa to become a democratic country and for the freedom of our people.”
OWAM KOLELE, 18, from Khumbulani High School: “People sacrificed their lives for our freedom.”
OYAMI NGWENYA, 12, from Herbert Hurd Primary School: “This day is about people in the world who have a right to education, shelter and health. It is to have a right to what you need and what you have.”
SIPHO PEFILE, 11, from Herbert Hurd Primary School: “This a day about understanding your rights and responsibilities. It started in 1960 in Sharpeville, where 69 people died and 180 were injured to give us what we have now as South Africans.”