Time to reflect on achievements, but also our troubles

South Africa today observes Human Rights Day. For many it will just be another public holiday while political parties will use it for electioneering. Human Rights Day has its origins in a very painful moment in South Africa’s history. It commemorates the day 69 people were gunned down outside the Sharpeville police station. The year was 1960 and residents had gathered outside the station to surrender for not carrying their passbooks. The jubilant mood among the crowd, who chanted freedom songs, turned to screams of terror when police opened fire. Dozens were killed and nearly 200 were injured in what became known as the “Sharpeville Massacre”. More than two decades after the deadly anti-pass law campaign, in 1986, the state finally lifted the requirement for blacks to carry passbooks. The country’s road to liberation is one lined with the corpses of those who sacrificed their lives for the liberties enjoyed today.

It will be unfair not to recognise the strides the country has made in attempting to redress the historic injustices. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to the problems that plague the country.

One only needs to look at the Eastern Cape to realise that we still have a long way to go in ensuring people’s most basic rights are being

It will be unfair not to recognise the strides the country has made in attempting to redress the historic injustices

fulfilled.

Thousands of children are forced to learn in shoddy schools with no access to proper sanitation, water or electricity.

Classrooms are bursting at the seams. A school in Mthatha, one of just many, has to cram more than 100 pupils into a classroom. There is barely any room for the teachers, who are unable to give individual attention to struggling pupils.

Several municipalities in the province are virtually dysfunctional due to incompetent leadership, leaving its residents to suffer the consequences. Many villages still share water sources with dogs, pigs and cows.

Despite basic services such as the provision of clean drinking water being promised, many residents are still waiting for help.

In a patriarchal society such as ours, men abuse women and children with impunity. As we reflect on our journey today, so too will it be important to acknowledge that many still suffer indignity due to failure by the state.