Matshidiso Tonjeni: It is the day we got freedom as black people. I think South Africans must work together for the rights things that will take our country forward. Right now we have the opportunity to access the things that black people were not able to access during apartheid. We can go to certain places and be treated the same way and I am so grateful for that.
Freedom Day was commemorated yesterday in celebration of the first democratic elections in South Africa, which took place on April 27, 1994. On the day people commemorate the first national elections in the country after apartheid, which saw people of any race being allowed to cast their votes.
Randburg Sun took to the streets to ask residents what Freedom Day means to them.
Here is what they said:
Kgoro Makgoale: I am free from oppression and I can do whatever I want to. I think we have to reconcile as a country from past experiences so that we can build the democracy that we want. Freedom Day means that I can exercise my rights freely as South African national.Jabulile Mthombeni: Even though Freedom Day is the day we got freedom as black people, I am not free because the streets are not safe at all for us women. Women get raped and killed almost every day in South Africa and that to me doesn’t prove that we have freedom as women.Morris Nkosi: Freedom means I can do anything that I want with my life but in a legal way. I am free to go to different workplaces and ask for a job, that’s freedom. I am so privileged to have the freedom of expression because it allows to hold my opinions and express them freely without interference.Omphile Mokoto: Freedom Day reminds us of how black people were treated back in the day by white people. South Africa was under the rule of white people and black people had to endure some hardships during that time. Right now we live in a county of many opportunities where we have freedom of expression and freedom of speech.Revon Mookeletsi: It means being free from apartheid. This is because we are free as South Africans and we don’t have a fear to walk in the streets freely compared to the treatment back in the days when black people were not allowed to walk in the streets without carrying identification documents, which was known as a pass law. I am so happy for the freedom that I have.
