“THE term born free was used to sway us to forget where we come from. I have difficulty understanding this term because I really believe that all children born, who come from a background of segregation, are still there even today because many things are still not resolved.”
So said Dr Albertina Luthuli, eldest daughter of Nobel Peace Prize winner and former ANC President, Chief Albert Luthuli, who was speaking at a Human Rights competition held at Phansi Museum in Glenwood on Saturday.
“We are very concerned about the generation we are leaving behind, it should be a generation that should know what to do for the country,” she said, commending Phansi museum on its efforts to make the youth aware of what was going on around them.
“Arts and Culture which allows us to know where we come from is not being taught at schools. I would like to encourage the youth to know that the birth of democracy and a new country did not mean that you were born free,” said Luthuli.
The competition by the museum aimed to foster awareness in Grade Seven school children across KwaZulu-Natal and to better understand human rights. More than 100 submissions were received from more than 80 schools in the province. Phansi museum houses one of the largest collections of traditional arts, crafts and artifacts in the country. Architect Paul Mikula who is one of Phansi’s trustees said it all the entries were very good.
“It was difficult to choose winners because on what basis do you chose the winner? We asked the public to vote and gave all our visitors red stickers to put on the art works they liked the most. We also asked the professionals to vote, so the vote was split into 50-50. We are thrilled that we had so many entries for this exhibition of wonderful artists,” said Mikula.
Professor David Mcquoid-Mason, who was also instrumental in the murals on the walls of Durban’s old prison which reflects issues covered by the Bill of Rights, said “Art competitions like this are used to stimulate the kids to think.”
In conclusion Luthuli said, “We have not yet gotten to be free. We really need to work hard at schools, talk to our youth about terminology that hoodwinked us, just like the term rainbow nation. We were euphoric and it blurred the real picture which faces us today. Having such competitions allows us to look back and then move forward as a country.”
