Leave the statues alone, locals say
Statues are an important part of history and should be left alone. This was readers' unanimous response last week when Review went to the streets asking the question what the role of statues was.
POLOKWANE – Statues are an important part of history and should be left alone. This was readers’ unanimous response last week when Review went to the streets asking the question what the role of statues was.
Recently, the Cecil John Rhodes statue was removed from the campus of the University of Cape Town, something which has sparked much debate.
The Paul Kruger statue at Church Square in Pretoria was covered in green paint after being vandalised. Even the Queen Elizabeth statue in Port Elizabeth received a fresh coat of green paint.
Mokgaetjie Maloka says statues form part of a collective heritage in South Africa.
“The statues of Apartheid figures and freedom fighters should be left alone as they are a part of us. What if a certain group teamed up and decided to remove and or deface the statue of Nelson Mandela? What will happen next, war?” he asks.
PHS principal Willie Schoeman says a statue remains a building block for any nation.
“The old statues put the country’s history in perspective. History, be it good or bad, remains history. New statues will bring an understanding of new changes and transition in South Africa. As a result both old and new statues should be respected so that we can move forward in a positive manner,” adds Schoeman.
Thato Ntlailane says history should be left the way it is so that future generations can have an inside look into the past, “statues carry the history of our country”.
MP van Staden says the past should be respected. “Removing statues will not change history. What happened back then will not change just because people destroy statues. Mutual tolerance and acceptance must be a source of building a new nation. We need to build a country rather than destroy it,” he says.
Resh Legora feels the damage done to statues is not right.”Let bygones be bygones. We should unite and move on rather than opening up old wounds. I do not understand why people choose to vandalise statues now and not when Nelson Mandela was still alive. They know for a fact that he would not have allowed this turmoil,” Legora comments.
