June 16 each year is Youth Day in South Africa. While a day off work for many of us means we get to spend time with our kids, which is of course a great thing to do on any day, that is not the reason behind Youth Day.
On this day we commemorate an event that took place in June 1976 in Soweto, where the young people in that communtiy rioted in protest against the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction of half their school curriculum. The police responded with teargas and live bullets
Growing up in South Africa during the Apartheid era I was expected to learn English and Afrikaans but I wasn't also expected to learn or be taught in a 3rd language completely different to my own. South African children who came from homes where indigenous languages were spoken were now expected to be educated in a language of a minority group in the land of their birth.
These riots sparking eight months of violent uprisings across the country.
On Youth Day we honour the many young people who lost their lives in the struggle against Apartheid and especially against Bantu Education, which stated that "Natives [blacks] must be taught from an early age that equality with Europeans [whites] is not for them."
I for one am so grateful that my son is growing up in a country which, while not perfect, offers equal education to all the children born and raised here.
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