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National Youth Day06 - 16 - 06 |
On this historic 30th anniversary of 16 June 1976 the Congress of South African Trade Unions salutes all the young people of South Africa, whose heroism and self-sacrifice three decades ago helped pave the way for the liberation of our country.
This was the most decisive turning point in our struggle, as thousands of our young people decided that they had put up with racism and repression for long enough. It was time for change.
The youth of 1976 had undoubtedly been influenced by the mighty strike wave that erupted in Durban in 1973 and which was still reverberating around the workplaces and communities. This inspired the sons and daughters of those workers to take forward the struggle. They set in motion a stream of resistance that swelled over the following decades into a mighty river of revolution.
South African workers will never forget the huge debt they owe to the generation of 1976. They risked death, curtailed their education and defied the might of the apartheid state so that future generations could enjoy liberation, democracy and human rights.
Today, young people face a different struggle, which requires a similar movement. The youth of 2006 are growing up in a very different and far better world. Thanks to their parents' battles, they no longer suffer the humiliation of legalised racist discrimination and abuse, arbitrary arrest and torture by the state. They are no longer denied the right to vote and all the other democratic rights we enjoy today. They can vote, join a trade union and have the right to develop their lives on the basis of ability rather than race.
Many of today's young people however cannot reap the full benefit of the liberation victory. Despite their political emancipation, the shocking levels of unemployment and poverty condemn thousands to a life of economic hardship and despair.
Mass unemployment denies thousands of school leavers the chance of a job and a career. This is a cruel waste of the skills and enthusiasm of young people who have so much to offer society but who are denied the opportunity to empower themselves and serve their communities.
As Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has said, youth unemployment is "horrendously high". 70% of all the unemployed are under the age of 35. Even using the official statistics which exclude people deemed not to be looking for work, the unemployment rate for youths aged between 16 and 25 is 52%, compared with a national average for all ages of 26.5%.
Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana has rightly referred to a "powder keg waiting to explode". Noting lots of protests in Africa, including South Africa, from youths, he said: "This is an indication that something is not right. The youth is clearly becoming restless and creative ways should be found to keep them employed".
For many the problem of unemployment is compounded by the severe lack of skills, inherited from the apartheid years when African learners were deliberately deprived of access to training.
However the problem of unemployment cannot all be blamed on the lack of skills. The ranks of the unemployed also include many who are highly educated and qualified young people, who still struggle to find a job and an income. Some are even tempted to take jobs overseas because of the lack of opportunities here.
Nevertheless the underlying problem remains poor education. The Freedom Chater demanded that "education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit."
Despite the commendable efforts of the governments over 12 years, that demand has not been achieved. Education still reflects the huge inequalities of society as a whole. Schools which cater for the poorest learners, especially in the former homelands, still have far worse facilities than those in the predominantly white, urban suburbs.
Of the approximately one million learners who enter schools each year, 650 000, almost two thirds, leave without matric. This means that access to higher education is still out of the question for thousands of poor, African students. It is clearly not "open to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit", but remains a privilege for the middle-class people whose parents can afford the fees.
Another massive challenge is the epidemic of HIV and AIDS, which has struck down far too many people at a tragically early age. Young people living with the virus have now been offered a lifeline, with the government beginning the roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment in the public health system, which will give them the chance to live for many more years. But the rate at which ARVs are being distributed is far too slow. We cannot rest until the programme is running at full steam in every province.
If we are to address all these challenges we must revive the June 1976 traditions of mass mobilisation, which most of today's youth have not experienced. They face the counter-attraction of the culture of individualism and consumerism, promoted by the media, TV and advertising, whose inspiration comes from New York and Los Angeles rather than from Soweto and Khayalitsha.
We urge them not to treat 16 June - National Youth Day 2006 - as just another public holiday but to attend the Youth Day celebrations around the country.
The best possible way to commemorate the struggles of the youth of 1976 is to mobilise the youth of today in a crusade to create jobs, open up educational opportunities and create healthy and prosperous communities, so that tomorrow's youth can be free from the evils which still blight the lives of so many young people today.
Let the youth of today rededicate themselves to service to the community, so that the youth of tomorrow can inherit the better life for all our people, for which the youth of yesterday fought and died. We must never let those martyrs of our struggle be forgotten