Rise up against violence
Iam one of those South Africans who is angry and deeply saddened by the brutal murder last week of 24-year-old teacher Gadimang Mokolobate from Mahikeng, in Dinokana village near Zeerust, the birth and resting place of one of the greatest Black Consciousness student leaders and heroes, Onkgopotse Tiro.
What makes me even angrier is the fact that little is done by authorities to guarantee the safety of those who want to be taught and learn, and those who want to teach.
It is not enough for us to justify any dastardly incident like this and only resort to endless condemnation, media statements and blaming it all on our horrible and violent past. All I know is that Mokolobate’s family and loved ones will never see him alive again — but his spirit will certainly continue to live on and inspire many teachers to carry the torch for a better society to arise.
We need to get rid of the anger and violence that we see in our schools and communities on a daily basis. I believe that it is through the promotion of an education that instils a sense of responsibility, respect for life, dignity, self-respect, patriotism and solidarity in our communities that we will make it very difficult for delinquents, druglords, criminals and thugs to thrive in our society. The only place criminals and thugs belong is prison, not in any educational and academic environment.
We are often so angry with ourselves that we loathe everything about ourselves and everyone around us and always find it so convenient to blame it all on colonialism and apartheid, when we have all the power to make a difference in our communities by becoming active citizens.
We also need to ask ourselves about the role of the parents in the education of a black child. If they are a bunch of those uncaring and useless parents, why we have not asked the question: Do they deserve the honour of being called parents?
There is certainly an urgent need for psychological liberation within black communities and for black solidarity to be intensified. The need has never been more urgent; it should be the bedrock upon which a more caring, humane and egalitarian society should be based, as eloquently espoused by Steve Biko, the founding father of the Black Consciousness Movement.
Although politically we have been in power for the past 24 years, by and large we still remain psychologically impoverished. The extent of the damage caused by many years of colonialism and apartheid to the minds of black people cannot be underestimated.
However, we have had a solid 24 years to unshackle ourselves from this horrible culture of violence and the acceptance of mediocrity to at least re-educate ourselves to be more human than we were yesterday.
For those of us who are true patriots and law-abiding citizens in our various communities, we have no other choice but to organise ourselves and rise up in memory of Mokolobate and the many other teachers out there who currently feel dejected and helpless in this abnormal society of ours.