NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON THE 25^TH ANNIVERSARY OF JUNE 16^TH, BY MOSIBIDI MANGENA. (AZAPO), 12/06/2001

 

Madam Speaker

 

The youth of 1976 who participated in those glorious events we are remembering in this house are now men and women in their 40’s and 50’s. There is a sense in which the characterisation of the day as one for the youth puts these men and women in the margins.

 

We put at the centre of our remembrance young people who were either not born or were too young to remember. And unfairly, some of us try to compare the youth of today to the group of 1976.

 

Apart from the fact that young people of today live in a different environment with its influences and imperatives, our society is not helping them to develop a greater sense of relevance in their own country

 

It is this society that bombards our young with avalanche after avalanche of American music, films and other cultural expressions that have nothing except violence, decadence and conspicuous consumerism.

 

When they switch on the TV or Radio or open a magazine or newspaper, these are the images that hit them. At street corners and taxi ranks pornographic magazines are sold freely. You reap what you sow. We cannot feed our young people decadence and then expect them to be revolutionaries in the mould of the 1976 generation.

 

It is this society that is not giving our young people a sense of history by de-emphasising history learning in our schools. Through no fault of their own, many of them are not quite sure where we come from as a country and people.

 

Contemporary young people are from the same proud stock as Steve Biko, Hector Peterson, Mangaliso Sobukwe, Chris Hani and countless others. They’re not just weaklings who can do nothing expect have a good time. They are smart enough to confront the problems of HIV/Aids, crime, poverty and ignorance. What they need is support from society in the form of depiction and propagation of our values on TV, Radio, in newspapers and magazine, as well as a well-run education system that situates their generation in history. They need our society to fill their heads with knowledge, positive and relevant images of themselves, their country and their role in it. In this way, we will be developing their mental and spiritual strength and grit necessary to confront the real national issues of today.

 

 

Mosibudi Mangena

12/06/2001