On the 16th of June, South Africa celebrates Youth Day, a day to honour and remember the thousands of young South Africans that partook in a protest against their oppression from the Apartheid regime. The protests were intended to be peaceful in order to plea with the government to not enforce Afrikaans in schools. However, the protests quickly escalated when the apartheid regime police ambushed the youth. The police attempted to disperse the crowds at the protest, which resulted in over 500 youthful South Africans being murdered. One of the most famous of these casualties, is Hector Pieterson. Hector was directly shot at by the police and rushed to a nearby clinic where he was pronounced dead. Hector Pieterson lost his life trying to peacefully fight for his rights. He was only 12 years old. He had barely lived a life; he hadn’t even finished High School before his murder. The people like Hector deserve to be commemorated and shared, today we are able to enjoy democracy, but the past of apartheid should not be forgotten. While, we are all at home with our families, enjoying this public holiday, take a moment and think about what the day really means. Take a moment to realise South Africa’s past mistakes, may we always strive to a more inclusive and accepting community. As today’s youth of South Africa, we need to continue striving for positive change in our country and across the globe.
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