Human rights came with sacrifice, so let not their significance wither away
The 21st of March marks Human Rights Day celebrations. This year was a little different; in the midst of pressing national issues, debates have erupted regarding the significance of celebrating this day.
As someone who grew up in Soweto during the Apartheid era, the significance of human rights resonates deeply with me. Human rights mean a lot to me, I witnessed the brutal injustices and oppression first hand and everyday was a battle for dignity and an identity. Human rights were not just an abstract idea, they were an aspiration that gave us hope in the darkest of days. In our area there used to be a pass office locally referred to as Juvenile. The municipal office was situated next to Morris Isaacson high school and catered for the pass law needs of sixteen-year-olds. In addition, the office was also used to enforce repressive laws meted out by the Apartheid government.
One such law was the Pass Law [Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act of 1952] the sole purpose was governing the control and supervision of an Urban Residential Area and other matters. What this regulation meant is that houses had permits listing the number of occupants in each house of Soweto and only the people listed in the permit were allowed to be there. In cases where there was a relative who was staying with a particular family for a short stay, the main member would usually get into trouble and have the local police known as Black Jacks appear out of nowhere in the wee hours of the morning knocking and requesting the owner of the house to Gqoka sambe (translated as: Get dressed) and go with these police to face the authorities for having a relative in the area who is not supposed to be living with you. Should there be a case of a divorce, or a death of one of the parents, there was a likelihood that the dependents would be thrown out of their house and be homeless. Bearing witness to the brutality and inhumane laws that limited freedom of movement, opinion, association just to name a few has allowed me to understand and cherish the significance of human rights today. The intrusive and disruptive regulation that oppressed so many of us allows me to understand the role of the constitution in our day to day lives.
On the 16th of June 1976 which was exam time there was a march, but because our school was a Catholic school, we were not affected by the morning march disruptions. However, when going back home from school we had heard that school children were shot by the police and quickly ran to go and check what was happening. As we were about to reach the municipal office, we saw the young people who had run away and came back from the shootings in Orlando still frustrated, angry, and tearing the place apart with anything that they could get on their hands. While watching this unfold, a police helicopter came which made us run for our lives. Later that evening, the remainder of that office went up in smoke with all the documents inside and that hated municipal building was never rebuilt again. In that space today, there are newly built houses without any trace of its history.
Despite defiance of all the repressive laws, Apartheid continued until 1994. Human rights not only mean a celebration of people not subjected to control, but to me, it’s a celebration of the freedom of making choices and enjoying the unrestricted movement that I have in 2024.