Reclaiming Freedom Dividends

By Rev Dr Molefe Tsele, Thebe Director and Batho Batho Trustee.

On April 27th this year, it will be the first time we celebrate our Freedom Day in a post Nelson Mandela era. This is but one of the signs that as a nation, our democracy is maturing into adulthood. It’s been 21 years since we took the first steps of freedom, and declared that the South Africa of our aspirations must be a united, free, democratic and prosperous nation.

As our democracy and freedom matures, it invariably brings with it new challenges. Some, rightfully, begin to think that they have missed the freedom train that they have waited too long at the station to catch a ride, and they now get the feeling that that train has left them behind. And, they begin to question whether they have anything to celebrate.

Still others begin to develop a sense that this freedom thing is an event buried somewhere in the distant past. This is especially the case with the so-called born-free generation, who have no personal memory of the harsh reality of our apartheid past. To them, the history of apartheid is just that, history, and one that is where it belongs, in historical archives.

Our first challenge is to ensure that the freedom story is told and retold, especially to younger and future generations. Every generation must tell its story of freedom, and must own it.

As the Thebe family, we are in a unique position in that our very existence is a part of the story of our freedom. Whilst others can afford the luxury of forgetting their past, for us at Thebe, we cannot divorce our story from the freedom story.

In telling the story of our freedom, we are retelling our own story and thereby declaring who we are. It is for that reason that we reiterate the call for Thebe to know and celebrate its roots. We must never forget who we are. We are resolute in saying a child who does not know where he or she comes from, have no identity or future.

The second challenge is to ensure that the dividends of freedom are enjoyed by all, not just the few. It must never be, that the freedom train leaves behind some of our people. All of us, as children of the struggle for freedom, have a right to demand our freedom dividends. As a nation, our parents sacrificed and paid dearly for the freedom we now enjoy. It is only proper that all of us enjoy its dividends.

At this critical juncture in the maturing years of our freedom, it is only proper that we claim the dividends of freedom, and harvest the sweet fruits of the struggle for freedom. At Thebe, we believe that this is the legitimate claim of the majority of South Africans, not just the select few. And we believe that the best way to honour our founders is by retelling the story of freedom to our children and future generations.

Freedom Day is a moment to recall where we come from, and to reclaim our identity as children of the founding parents of our freedom and democracy.