11 October 19762
First of all I should like introduce myself. I am a student in Soweto's Morris Isaacson High School. I came out of South Africa in September this year because of pressure exercised by the police force of South Africa.
It pains me to talk to this Committee about a subject which is so familiar to it. At this juncture I wish to express my congratulations on the vast documentation work that this Committee has made available for all who come from all over the world to learn about the evils that men commit against their fellowmen. Bearing this in mind, some people would think it rather absurd for a 21-year-old school-girl to address this Committee on a perennial subject on the agenda of this body since its inception. Therefore, I do not wish to bore you with this subject, but, on the contrary, I, as a product of apartheid, wish to have you see in me the mood of the dying youth of South Africa.
I do not propose that there is anything new in the black man's struggle against white domination, but rather I should like to concur in and confirm the continuity of our struggle and the untempered, burning desire of our people for freedom. May I declare before this Committee so that henceforth the world will know, that we, the people of South Africa, have during our lifetimes, our mothers', our fathers', our ancestors' -- and we, the youth, are no exception -- dedicated ourselves to the struggle for the liberation of the African, Coloured and Indian peoples of our country. We fight against white domination and we also fight against black puppet domination – bantustans being no exception -- in whatever forms these have come to us. We have and indeed continue to cherish the ideals of a democratic free society in which all persons shall live together in harmony and with equal opportunities, regardless of the colour of their skins. These are ideals we hope to achieve; but, again, these are ideals for which, if need be, we are prepared to die. To die in order to secure a better life for generations to come -- that we are prepared to do. But, alas, we are also quite aware of the determination of the enemy to fight us to the end to secure for its generations to come also the so-called “South African way of life”. We have heard and seen, as children, the massacres the white racist regimes of Verwoerd and Vorster have committed against our people. Wehave wondered how 4 million people have been able to oppress, exploit and dehumanize 18 million people and the answers have not been too difficult to find, for wehave seen them in Sharpeville, Carletonville, Bulhoek, Dimbaza, Alexandra townships and, most recently, in Mamelodi and Soweto. Without being taught, we have discovered for ourselves the secret of power -- that in fact comes out of the barrel of a gun. Without persuasion, we have grown wiser at a very early age. For these reasons and for many others we are prepared to pave our way for our future.
The fact that the system of apartheid has been universally condemned as a crime against humanity poses a challenge to us. This challenge we have accepted. In recent years Mozambique and Angola, just across our borders, not only have won their independence but have fought for their self-determination and consequently have taken the power to determine their fate and their future into their own hands.
So we ask ourselves, are we different? If so, how?
Without appearing to ask for personal sympathy, I wish to put a sketch of a typical South African family before this Committee. My father was a founder member of the Youth League of the African National Congress and, when the Congress was banned in 1960, my father was put under strict police surveillance. This meant that during certain periods of the year he had to report at certain police stations and had to report whenever he proposed to move from one part of South Africa to another, and, to crown it all, we, his descendants, were subjected to all sorts of questions and abusive treatment for sharing a common name with a person who, in the racist language, was an unlawful citizen. But, then, the story does not end there but continues, as the Bible says that children shall suffer for the sins of their parents. This is exactly what is happening in South Africa. My brother, an immediate past President of the South African Students’ Organization, was arrested by the security police of South Africa on 19 August 1976. At 3 a.m. on that morning 300 of those loathed police made their raid on the campus of the Medical School of Durban.. My brother and many of his kind now stay in the prisons of South Africa, where many have died, in solitary confinement. Whether they will live or die is not only highly debatable but highly questionable. For 288 days or more, depending on Kruger and company, under section 6 of the Suppression of Communism Act, my parents can never be allowed to see my brother. Not only that, but the Government even refuses to disclose the name of the gaol where they are keeping him. I am fortunate in having fled the country, but what about those who are detained? What about those on Robben Island? What about those who have died in the bloody streets of Soweto and in Cape Town and elsewhere throughout South Africa? What about my friends who are dying as I am talking to you now?
Allow me, on behalf of my colleagues who are facing fascist machine-guns with stone in hand and dustbin lids as their shields, to convey a pressing appeal for the redoubling of the commendable efforts by the international community which is represented here. We are not in doubt as to the inevitability of our victory. We are determined to play our role in the struggle for national liberation of our fatherland. Even though we face heavy odds., we are resolved to pay the highest sacrifice. Help us to hasten the triumph of justice by enabling us to meet the enemy on at least relatively equal terms. Help us also by providing us opportunities to pursue our studies. As representatives know, today hundreds are without educational facilities in South Africa owing to the current situation.
Chief Justice of Senegal and Chairman of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Southern Africa of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
Source: United Nations document A/AC.115/PV.48