Renaming historical public holidays undermines black people’s suffering

THE majority of public holidays in South Africa are not about celebration whatsoever, but are about commemorating the dark past of our beautiful land; the atrocities the natives of the country encountered from their erstwhile colonisers they today "coexist" with.

- YONELA MLAMBO and LERATO NTEBELE

These public holidays are supposed to foster social cohesion through reminding us about the beauty of unity in our diversity, and to remind the nation to never backslide to our dark past. To some people, these holidays are a nuisance and serve as a victimisation card in the hands of the natives because it's been over 30 years since South Africa transitioned to a "democratic" dispensation.

To these persons, the lives of natives are stagnating not because of the past but because of the corrupt nationalist elites. To them, the livelihood of the natives and by extension that of South Africans, would be far better if the nationalist elites could vacate the Union Buildings and a new government be elected.

This new government would embrace "good governance", end corruption and patronage and maleficence, and usher in meritocracy and all good governance associated with ideal liberal democracy. Damned if you damned if you don't.

On the other hand, by fostering "social cohesion", and "nation building", the nationalist elites in the Union Buildings have to a greater extent reduced the significance of these public holidays - this will be clear in a moment. This largely emanates from taking into consideration the sensibilities of the natives' erstwhile colonisers under the pretext of nation building and from the “discourse” that talking about the past is a sensitive matter.

The Sharpeville Massacre has been reduced to merely Human Rights Day masking the actual historical record about the day.

The emphasis is placed on the respect for Human Rights and the government in different iterations pledges and recommits to changing the lives of the natives. However, the natives still live in structural material conditions of the disadvantaged.