As a “novice writer” I’m
always searching for appropriate topic matter which will
have significance and appeal to my fellow Scatterlings in
the States. I remain conscious of the delicate balance that
exists between writing articles that promote interest and
those that reduce readers to frustrating tears of boredom.
Of the many fascinating articles that one could write about
this glorious country I feel poignantly drawn to take a
moment and pay tribute to 16th June 1976, nationally
observed as Youth Day. This past June marked the 30th
anniversary of the infamous 1976 Soweto student uprising.
Historically, a dark and violent period in our political
history; where thousands of black youth passionately
protested against the oppression and prejudiced control of
education in their schools.
In an illuminating newspaper article in the Sunday Times,
18th June 2006 the journalist urges that, as a community and
as parents, we have to make sure that the youth of today are
properly prepared for the future.
As I have sat on my dusty stoep this past weekend
philosophizing about this caution I’ve come to realize that
it is fundamentally about what our children become in the
future and how we as parents prepare and equip them for
life.
I’m a ‘closet’ Idols fan as well as an ardent admirer of the
subtle and humorous intricacies of the Afrikaans language,
thus it is with immense anticipation that I’m looking
forward to the first ever Afrikaans Pop Idols. It has the
look and feel of the standard American Idols with the
mandatory three judges, one sensitive, one caustic and the
other nonchalant. What is so fascinating to me is the
eternal optimism of the young contestants eagerly vying for
stardom. The youth are full of promise, hope and defiant in
their bid to be the first Afrikaans’ pop idol. It is
wonderful that in our rainbow nation everyone undeniably has
the opportunity to find their cultural niche as evidenced by
this contest.
In a moment of childlike wisdom my children congregated
together to inform me that my husband and I were holding
them back!
In a serious and sympathetic tone I asked them to explain
how we were holding them back. Collectively they patiently
reasoned that my husband and I are old-fashioned we need to
embraced ‘the new’ ways, let go of old traditional ways of
setting bedtime limits, discard the ancient practice of
adhering to movie censorship and let them play slightly more
adventurous computer games as ‘all’ their friends (no doubt
a gigantic exaggeration) were allowed to participate in
these exciting activities. As hard-pressed as I was not to
laugh out loud, I respectfully replied that I did truly
understand what they were trying to tell me but then
proceeded to give them a tedious diatribe about how
seriously my husband and I take our parental duties and why
we do the seemingly weird and archaic things we do!
Together, let’s cherish the amazing youth of this country
who have fought for their educational rights, the youth who
continue to dream in a land filled with challenge and
turbulent change, the children who strive to be heard in a
world filled with technological noise and pressure. Yes,
let’s cherish our youth and go beyond our best as parents
and mentors to prepare them for life as leaders, citizens
and ultimately history makers so that they can continue the
legacy of freedom so painfully birthed 30 years ago on the
tear-stained dirt roads of Soweto.
“A society that does not care about the well-being of its
children is a society without a future”.
Calixthe Beyala, Cameroonian novelist, 1988.
Tot Volgende Maand,
Scatterbag Marsden
