Youth month should stress future possibilities

As the curtain closes on another youth month, I ask myself what remarkable change transpired in the lives of our youth during June?

Celebrations this year took place against the backdrop of several incidents of rape and murder of young children. To make matters worse the majority of perpetrators, if not all, are youngsters. If that is not enough to raise alarm bells, the fact that social challenges have played a role in almost all of these cases is significant.

We have long passed the stage of straightbacked alarm at the news of a rape or murder of a child. By now we should be sitting on the edge of our seats and asking ourselves rather earnestly, “where and when did we take a wrong turn?” Whom or what do we blame? Drug addiction, the drug lord who owns the means of our degradation, the merchants who pass the quick fix from one hand to the next? Or, are we going to blame peer-pressure?

A very good friend reminded me recently that it is tougher being a youngster today than a few years ago.

The youth of today are exposed to peer-pressure on a higher scale, communities with higher expectations from our youth – mainly because there are more opportunities – and then there is the pressure of social media.

As we put filters on our photographs, we cannot seem to do the same with our lives.

I draw the conclusion that changes in life expectations are largely to blame. Our youth are trying to keep everyone happy and to fit in. Very little focus, however, is given to our youngsters as individuals. The individual rather focuses on expectations from family, the community, friends, social media, and so on, but not their own goals, their vision.

The solution looks simple by addressing the challenges and paying attention to individual goals, but is that what we are doing? And what contribution is society, generally, making?

Something that has bothered me for some time now is the fact that we don’t give justice to the thousands of young people who, 41 years ago, stood up for what they believed to be wrong and to make shifts that finally led to a democratic South Africa.

Youth Day, and more still the month, is intended to commemorate the youth legends of yesteryear. But also to look at the challenges our youth battle with today.

Instead of doing this, Youth Day has just turned into another public holiday, an opportunity to drink, to be lazy or to just enjoy sports events.

On Youth Day I posted on Facebook: “I fail to understand why every Youth Day there is this and that sport thing. Sport is not the only thing our youth are good at and not all youths are interested in sport. Let’s not only focus on entertaining our youth but also inform and educate them to be better leaders.”

The more positive comments hold that sport unites, is healthy and promotes team spirit.

I still wonder, though: how many young people actually attend the sports events, and I don’t just mean those participating or are forced to be there.

Besides a certificate of participation and possible trophy, what else did our young people accomplish by the end of youth month?

If we want to address the challenges of our youth, we will have to be more creative than a sports event or two. If all the song, dance and sports are planned better Youth Day can be used to provide an opportunity for our young people to get information to further their studies, employment opportunities and learn more about different industries of employment.

Open days are not only for schools.

It is not only matriculants who need bursaries and do we have a database of unemployed young people in our communities?

Daylin Mitchell, member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, recently said in parliament the youth in our rural communities should be empowered.

What have youth development and opportunities been to young people in rural areas over the past five to seven years? How many cases are there not of an older individual, with more work experience, being employed instead of a young person with a degree, because the young person lacks the work experience? No opportunity is given, though, to the young person to gain the necessary experience.

I agree with my friend the MPL, that if young, previously disadvantaged South Africans aren’t empowered they will remain in a social void.

Youth development, then, is about presenting opportunities for the future, or we fail the Class of ’76.

• Original post appeared as Post Scriptum in Paarl Post of Thursday 6 July 2017

Jeug, die baanbrekers van ontwikkeling

Jippie, dit is Jeugmaand! Maar het ons regtig iets om te vier?

Daar word gesê een uit vier jongmense is werkloos. Ons land se werkloosheidsyfer vir die eerste kwartaal van 2016 was 26,7% waarvan ’n groot deel – meer as 50% – jeugdiges is.

Ons is op die vooraand van Jeugdagvieringe waar ons onthou hoe honderde jongmense in 1976 opgestaan het vir dít wat hulle geglo het is reg en regverdig.

Ek kan nie help om myself af te vra nie – het hulle toe nie maar net die battle gewen nie, terwyl die oorlog voortduur?

Bendegeweld beheer ons gemeenskappe en vir so baie het dit al ’n comfort zone geword. As jy nie ’n kind voor 21 het nie, is jy nie cool nie, of die nuwe sêding is “jou kind gaan jou ouma noem”. Voorts word dwelms ook geëet soos ek lekkers kou.

Maar alles is nie verlore nie. Verlede jaar het ons die jaar van studente gesien, van

#RhodesMustFall tot #FeesMust-Fall. Jongmense het, soos 40 jaar gelede, opgestaan en sterk gestaan, van kampusse tot op die stoep van die parlement.

Hulle het die sekretaris-generaal van die ANC gedwing om op die teer saam met hulle voor Luthuli-huis te sit en Tata Madiba moes toekyk hoe duisende op die grasperk buite die Uniegebou byeenkom en aandring dat aan hul eise voldoen word.

Hier staan ons nou weer voor Jeugdag en talle gaan sê hoe belangrik die jeug is en watter belangrike rol ons jongmense speel in organisasies, ons kerke en die gemeenskappe. Die woorde sal verskil, maar almal se boodskap sal dieselfde wees: die jeug van vandag staar talle uitdagings in die gesig.

Dis geen geheim dat ons jeug uitdagings het nie, maar kan ons dit regtig nog sê? Is ons nie veronderstel om liefs met realistiese voorstelle na vore te kom nie?

Voorstelle waar ons die uitdagings aanpak, pleks van kyk wie gaan dit oplos.

Ons jeug is goed in tegnologie. Kan vir ure in ’n laptop, tablet of selfoonskerm vaskyk en nog ander take verrig aka multi-tasking.

Tog is ons ’n sogenaamde verlore generasie, ’n confused generasie. Ons is onseker omdat sommige sê daar is nie geleenthede nie, terwyl daar tog baie is, maar ons nie kan besluit watter een nie.

Baie reken dit is cool om vriende te volg, maar dink nie vir hulself nie. 

Ons dink wat ons sien, hoor en wat ons ouers en grootouers moes deurmaak, ook met ons moet gebeur. Ons is baie keer te gemaklik in ons gemaksone en bang of onseker om daaruit te styg.

Van ’n vroeë ouderdom af, word ons geleer wat is reg en verkeerd en dit behoort ons almal snags wakker te hou dat so baie jongmense die verkeerde bo die regte kies. Daar is geen kitsoplossing vir die uitdagings nie en die antwoorde lê by ons as individue.

As gemeenskappe verenig ons by groot sportbyeenkomste; kom ons verenig ook vir ons uitdagings.

Wyle oudpresident Nelson Mandela het eenkeer gesê “jongmense reik uit na ander om ’n eenvoudige toekoms te bou. Dit verg emosionele volwassenheid en morele krag”.

Ons verlede is belangrik omdat dit ons leer waarvandaan ons kom. Ons moet daaruit leer, maar ons moet ook in die hede werk om na die toekoms te beweeg.

Tata Madiba se woorde slaan dus die spyker op sy kop. Jongmense is uniek op hul eie manier en hulle reik uit. As ’n samelewing neig ons baie keer om dit nie raak te sien nie, om ons jeug te kritiseer, ons jeug te verwerp, af te skryf en die ou gunsteling, te veroordeel.

By ’n jeugsaamtrek ’n dekade gelede het Mandela gesê “jongmense moet baanbrekers van die heropbou en ontwikkeling word.

Deur die jeug se voorbeeld sal daar gehelp word dat Suid-Afrika die land van ons drome word’.

Die bou van die toekoms waarvan Madiba praat verg die morele krag, waardes en emosionele volwassenheid van ons almal deur ons jeug te aanvaar en erkenning, inligting, opvoeding, motivering en aanmoediging te bied.

Faith needs no Public Holiday

The second half of the year has just began and it is downhill towards the festive season, but now rumours started to emerge that Christmas and Easter days might be numbered. It is not the first time such rumours have been circulating, and honestly it will not be the last. This has been a discussion point or attempted discussion point since the early 2000’s (in the past there were also protest against this) and the recent opening of a can of worms is all thanks to The Herald in May 2015 – subsequently leading to a few other media outlets jumping on the bandwagon – without doing the necessary research and if they did, it was not included in the article.

So let’s state the fact that there is currently no attempt by the current government to scrap Christian holidays or even some of it.

The latest rumour comes following a discussion document by the South African Law Reform Commission to the department of Homes Affairs.

It is however important to know that the SALRC is tasked with revising the South African statute book by identifying and recommending for repeal or amendment of legislation or provisions in legislation that are inconsistent with the equality clause in the Constitution, are redundant or obsolete. Also note that the commission has no power to change any legislation, for that we have the legislator.

The SALRC did release a discussion paper that is administered by the department of Home Affairs, for general information and comment and part of the document – on page 56 – the Public Holiday’s Act is discussed and the commission recommends to the department “that since there is an element of unequal treatment, the section should be reviewed. It is also suggested that either these holidays be reviewed or that equal weight be given to religious holiday of other faiths”.

With the above said I find it mind boggling anyone would come to the conclusion that there is a recommendation that religious holidays be cancelled.

Something we so easily forget is that only the Christian religion is included in the twelve existing public holidays, excluding important religious days for the Islam-, Jewish-, Bahá’í- and other religions.

Apart from the twelve days, the Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be a public holiday. From time to time the President of the Republic is generous and we get once-off Public Holidays like with a General election and on:

• 31 December 1999 and 2 and 3 January 2000,

• 2 May 2008

• 27 December 2008

Taking all the above into consideration, then yes our Public Holidays are unequal for a democracy and we discriminating against our neighbours, friends and family who serve a different religion.

I am a Christian, having and still continue to play an active role within my church and grew up with strict conservative religious values. Thus as a Christian who spread the word of love and believe that we are all equal I fully support the call for the review of our public holidays as per the Public Holiday’s Act of 1994.

Before I’m stoned for being a Christian turning on my Christian values – take a second and think what if those current Christian holiday’s on the calendar were any other religion, how would you as Christian have felt and how badly would you have wanted it to change?

How many of those who appear upset over this, attended church every single Sunday the past six months, or are they amongst those who only attend church on Good Friday and Christmas?

Yes 79% of South Africans are Christians but a day being declared a public holiday or not does not make you more or less a Christian.

Whether Easter and/or Christmas appear on the Public Holidays Act does not mean you will not have the right to celebrate it.

I am a Christian who believes preaching should not just happen between the four walls of a building on a Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas morning, but preaching is everyday with not only our words but our actions.

A true Christian is one who remains committed to his/her values and live their faith – irrespective of public holidays.

Youth: Pioneers of Reconstruction and Development

As South Africa commemorates Youth Day, it is important to know the day is about more than the death of Hector Peterson and the many others who died. It is also about the hundred of young people who stood up for what they believed was right and this sadly lead to the tragic death of so many.
Most of the young people I know show either little or no interest in this historic day. This happens with reason as most would say why dwell in the past if we have a future to work towards, why talk and talk about what happened and not what could be done?

Politicians will speak about our role as youth in our democracy and while their words might differ, the messages comes down to the same thing: the youth of today also face challenges.
South Africa's youth unemployment rate is not what it should be, gangsters rule neighbourhoods and this is becoming a comfort for so many. Drugs are used like I would eat sweets, if you don’t have a child before you are 21 then you not really that cool.

Despite these challenges our youth is good in technology, yet our lost generation, is a confuse generation. Confuse because:

• Some say there are no opportunities while there’s so many we just can’t decide what to go for.
• We think following friends is cool, and not thinking as an individual
• We think what we see, hear and our parents go through should also happen to me
• We sometimes don’t want to come out our comfort zones

The late former President Nelson Mandela said in 1995 “young people are reaching out to other to build a common future. This demands emotional maturity and moral strength.”

Our past is important and while we should learn from the past, we need to work on the present to move towards the future.
I would thus agree with Madiba, young people in their own unique way try and reach out to build a common future, sometimes society just tend to:

• Not see this
• Criticize the youth
• Reject the youth
• Judge young people

The common future Tata talks about is not just a common future amongst the youth but also all spheres of society.

At a youth day event in Zuurbekom in 1997, Mandela told young people “become pioneers of reconstruction and development, by your example you will be helping ensure that South Africa indeed becomes the country of our dreams.”
Building this common future would thus seek the moral strength and emotional maturity of all recognizing, informing, educating, motivating, encouraging and accepting the youth...