The politically driven defacing of statues continue to be a hot topic of debate in South Africa and at a DA gathering for national reconcilliation on Tuesday, Florida resident and DA Gauteng provincial leader, John Moodey made a thought provoking speech regarding this issue.
Moodey started of by saying “South Africa’s past is one of a deeply divided society filled with suffering, injustice and a disregard for human rights.
“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was a moment in history when, in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, the victims of apartheid came face to face with their persecutors”.
He questioned whether South Africa has used this as a springbord and moved on and wanted to know if the destruction of statues is contributing to the work of the TRC.
“Vandalising statues will not unburden us of our history. It only provides fuel to the fires of racial nationalists on our left and right. We saw this in Pretoria with Steve Hofmeyr and Julius Malema’s followers clashing,” said Moodey.
According to Moodey the sollution lies in rather uniting around shared values than emphasizing differences. He also said communication between different groups is one of the keys to unity.
He concluded his speech by saying that the nation should rather look at the real issues that South Africa face today.
“Anger directed at statues makes no sense. Look at our society today. Our education and health systems remain fundamentally unequal. A lack of opportunity has left an entire generation of young South Africans without hope. The lights go off in our homes almost daily and we struggle more each month with higher food, electricity and transport costs.Our streets are overrun with criminality and our young people are calling foreigners the enemy,” said Moodey.
