Towards less-violent protests
HOUGHTON – An exhibition which aims to create a visual narrative which will offer the public an opportunity to reflect on protests and the state's response to protests will be available for the next six months.
Since democracy in 1994, South Africa has been characterised by a wave of protest and action campaigns. In seeking to understand the patterns behind these protests as well as ploughing a way forward, the Nelson Mandela Foundation in association with Seri (Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa) hosted an exhibition. The exhibition titled, Insurgent Citizens – Reflections on protest in democratic SA, was held at the foundation in Houghton.
CEO at Nelson Mandela Foundation, Sello Hatang started the dialogue and expressed his condolences to all the countries affected by recent mass deaths.
Hatang said the exhibition was very relevant to the moment of history in which the country finds itself where levels of anger, frustration, and rage characterise the society. “As we approach the 25th anniversary of the first democracy, we must realise that we have not done enough to destroy the structures that built these frustrations.
“However, as we become active, we must also remember that we are a wounded nation and may we find healing from those wounds.”
He highlighted some of the recent issues such as load-shedding, a silent protest by one individual as well as the violent killings perpetrated by teenagers and said ‘we must never reach a point of accepting these abnormalities as a norm’.
Allan Ngari from the Institute of Security Studies said community protests are rising and not receiving the coverage they deserve and not forming the national dialogue which infringes on the rights of the protesters. Ngari said the institute experienced challenges with regard to ‘public order policing’ which looks at how the use of force by the police during protests meets human rights standards.
Activist and lecturer at Rhodes University Simamkele Dlakavu shared the ‘personal costs’ of protests which include trauma and isolation as well as undiagnosed psychological effects.
Keynote speaker Professor Thuli Madonsela expressed how impressed she was with how young people, as well as those with privileges, did not get left behind during the fees-must-fall protests because, ‘they realised that as long as there is injustice anywhere, there can’t be sustainable peace anywhere’.
Madonsela posed some rhetorical questions, one of which was how often the media was present when young people protested peacefully because it seemed the case that people only showed up when something burnt.
She added, “My message to young people is – may we learn lessons from our past legends on their strategic approach to protests. Violence is the language of the disempowered and the greatest general is the one who wins the war without firing a single shot.”
Details: Nelson Mandela Foundation www.nelsonmandela.org
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