We honour all the fallen
AS THE world has done annually at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month yesterday, we marked the guns falling silent in World War 1. It is now a century ago.
In our war of liberation in South Africa we too experience the guns falling silent in 1990 after a long and bitter Struggle that started in 1652.
Over the centuries our people never gave up, from the earliest Wars of Resistance by the Khoisan, Shaka, Dingaan, Sekukune, Cetshwayo, and so many others, to the Spear of the Nation, uMkhonto weSizwe, which helped to deliver the fatal blow on colonialism of a special type.
What a sweet moment it was. The relief was indescribable. The tears that flowed were of joy, but also intense pain at losing so many loved ones along the way.
For what greater love can there be than to be prepared to give up your life for another.
We dip our revolutionary banners in honour of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
While today, Armistice Day, honours the millions who perished in WW1, we in South Africa on this day honour all those who fell in the service of our country in all the wars. All, on every side.
This is because we want to ensure, as the founding president of our precious democracy Nelson Mandela put it: Never, never and never again.