At the funeral of white supremacist leader, Eugene Terre’blanche, his supporters were seen waving the old South African flag and singing the old national anthem Die Stem van Suid Afrika. Black South Africans would understandably have been upset. The song and the flag are symbols of Apartheid. At the same time, Julius Malema, the ANC Youth League and the ANC are still under attack over the struggle song Ayasab’ amagwala [the cowards are scared], following the death of Terre’blanche. Malema has just returned from his trip to Zimbabwe, where he not only met Robert Mugabe, but also sang the song in defiance of the ban on the song.
Every time we see some silly person waving the old South African flag at a rugby match, it once again draws South Africans into a national debate about history. The ANC is quick to condemn and voice disapproval whenever the old flag rears its ugly head. The people who wave it say that they are simply remembering their history; black South Africans and others say that it is a history of oppression and racism that is being remembered, because that is what the old flag and anthem represents. It would be like a German person waving the old flag of Nazi Germany.
The ANC defended the singing of Ayasab’ amagwala. It has argued that the controversial lyrics, dubul’ iBhunu [shoot the Boer] are not literal. It is metaphorical, and not actually saying ‘shoot the Boer’, or ‘shoot the farmer/white man’ if you prefer. They slammed the banning of the song, saying that when struggle songs are sung, it is not to incite hatred against white people, but merely to remember the history of the struggle.
I’m unsure if the ANC realises that while they support remembering its own history, it is unwilling to remember the other side of the history of Apartheid. It wants a ban on the old flag and anthem. I am not declaring support for Apartheid in any way, I am merely pointing out that the ANC is speaking with a forked tongue; remember the past, as long as it’s our past. If the ANC wants to erase symbols associated with Apartheid, then it should erase symbols associated with the struggle against Apartheid. Because the two narratives are all put of the grander narrative of the history of South Africa. The narratives of resistance and the struggle for freedom cannot be told without knowing the narratives of oppression and tyranny, otherwise we will never know why oppression and tyranny existed in the first place. And then we will never learn from the mistakes of Apartheid and racial segregation.
Julius Malema is a good example of someone who knows the history of the struggle, but doesn’t really understand it. He knows the romantic side of the struggle against Apartheid i.e the armed campaign, singing liberation songs. He doesn’t know anything about Apartheid itself. So he wouldn't know that a song like Ayasab’ amagwala was sung in the context of rising tensions between black and white, and the escalation of the armed struggle. Likewise, those that wave the old flag and anthem do not realise what it represents. They do not understand that the flag and the anthem represent a nation that discriminated against and violently oppressed the majority of its population on the basis of skin colour.
I do not believe that banning either the old South African flag and anthem or Ayasab' amagwala is good for anything. These relics of the past should belong where most democracies keep relics of their national history; in textbooks, in museums and libraries. We need not forget the history of the struggle or Apartheid, because it made South Africa what it is today. But it is the past, and not the present or the future.
Every time we see some silly person waving the old South African flag at a rugby match, it once again draws South Africans into a national debate about history. The ANC is quick to condemn and voice disapproval whenever the old flag rears its ugly head. The people who wave it say that they are simply remembering their history; black South Africans and others say that it is a history of oppression and racism that is being remembered, because that is what the old flag and anthem represents. It would be like a German person waving the old flag of Nazi Germany.
The ANC defended the singing of Ayasab’ amagwala. It has argued that the controversial lyrics, dubul’ iBhunu [shoot the Boer] are not literal. It is metaphorical, and not actually saying ‘shoot the Boer’, or ‘shoot the farmer/white man’ if you prefer. They slammed the banning of the song, saying that when struggle songs are sung, it is not to incite hatred against white people, but merely to remember the history of the struggle.
I’m unsure if the ANC realises that while they support remembering its own history, it is unwilling to remember the other side of the history of Apartheid. It wants a ban on the old flag and anthem. I am not declaring support for Apartheid in any way, I am merely pointing out that the ANC is speaking with a forked tongue; remember the past, as long as it’s our past. If the ANC wants to erase symbols associated with Apartheid, then it should erase symbols associated with the struggle against Apartheid. Because the two narratives are all put of the grander narrative of the history of South Africa. The narratives of resistance and the struggle for freedom cannot be told without knowing the narratives of oppression and tyranny, otherwise we will never know why oppression and tyranny existed in the first place. And then we will never learn from the mistakes of Apartheid and racial segregation.
Julius Malema is a good example of someone who knows the history of the struggle, but doesn’t really understand it. He knows the romantic side of the struggle against Apartheid i.e the armed campaign, singing liberation songs. He doesn’t know anything about Apartheid itself. So he wouldn't know that a song like Ayasab’ amagwala was sung in the context of rising tensions between black and white, and the escalation of the armed struggle. Likewise, those that wave the old flag and anthem do not realise what it represents. They do not understand that the flag and the anthem represent a nation that discriminated against and violently oppressed the majority of its population on the basis of skin colour.
I do not believe that banning either the old South African flag and anthem or Ayasab' amagwala is good for anything. These relics of the past should belong where most democracies keep relics of their national history; in textbooks, in museums and libraries. We need not forget the history of the struggle or Apartheid, because it made South Africa what it is today. But it is the past, and not the present or the future.
