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Report
from public meeting: Celebrating the life and works of Bantu Steve
Biko
Uhuru Network
September 26, 2007
Opening
remarks- Biko Mutsaurwa- UHURU Network
Social activists
including young people converged on the 26th of September in Harare
to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of Bantu Steve
Biko who died at the age of 30 years during the apartheid regime
in South Africa in 1977.
The objectives
of the public meeting under the auspices of Uhuru Network included
-
i)
Enabling people to reflect on the legacy of Steve Biko's
contribution to freedom and to ensure that young people can be
inspired to follow the lead.
ii) A deep reflection on the changes in the struggles (from racism
to neo-liberalism)
iii) The need to draw anything on the struggles that Steve Biko
was engaged in.
The public meeting
was characterised through presentations in plenary sessions, poems,
and questions and answer sessions as highlighted in the following
presentations.
Takura
Zhangazha's presentation
In his presentation,
Takura Zhangazha was inspired by Steve Biko during his days at University
of Zimbabwe in 1997. He read a lot of work published by David
Woods. He noted with concern that there was no commemoration or
celebration of a national liberation hero in Zimbabwe. Hence, there
was a need to separate and interrogate who Steve Biko was and also
interrogate the ideal of Steve Biko. He also noted that the idea
of Steve Biko has been problematic and it was also important to
note that Steve Biko was a man who believed in his blackness, empowerment
of the black people
Takura went
on to state how Biko was becoming an idea which had been idolised
by the world. He also noted that Steve Biko led a movement and that
movement was not all charismatic, but in essence, he was a leader
like the rest of every young person .Takura went on to note that
Steve Biko led at a time when there was nothing the ANC (African
National Congress) of South Africa was doing during the apartheid
in terms of driving the process of change. Steve led the community
based organizations where people were taught life skills in building
clinics as encouraging young people to be involved in sports like
football among others. Takura also stated that at the present moment,
there was an absence of young people's voices in Zimbabwe
that is united and its single legacy was to declare the Black Consciousness
movement.
He noted that
being a leader meant that Steve Biko had to lead a movement that
was horizontal, hence his criticism towards apartheid and a danger
to the white rule system. He also noted that there was need for
young people to look at Steve Biko not as a myth and that the youths
should learn to critique such people like Biko as they are. Takura
also stated the need to learn that one cannot do anything at a local
level without linking it to the global context, since Steve Biko
was both a community activist and a national activist. He also stated
that there was also need for young people to fill in a voice which
the political leaders have failed to fill in, and also the need
to engage each other with ideas, as Steve Biko was able to articulate
ideas.
Takura went
on to encourage young people to assess their reality within their
local context and at the moment the challenges that face young people
includes borrowing other ideologies in the region. Thus, there was
a need to come up with solutions that address the scenario. He noted
that at the moment, young people in Zimbabwe needed to have their
own messages based on what is happening within their context. In
other words, youths should be in a position of appreciating the
fact that Zimbabwe's ideology is different from the Steve
Biko ideology. At the end of the day, young people were encouraged
to come to terms with their own identity and look at the progression
of the new struggle today
Way forward
Takura encouraged
young people to position the current situation with what they believe
in, and should also be articulators of the new messages. He concluded
his presentation by stating that young people should be the 'new
Bikos' and reflect on their role in the current struggle ,
and be in a position to re-contextualise and re-organise themselves
Issues arising
from the plenary session
- Young people
should be able to reflect and seek themselves on whether they
are prepare to pay the ultimate price for freedom, by being ready
to die
- Young people
need to reflect on their values in relation to what society says
Vimbai-
ZCTU
Informal sector department representative
Vimbai noted
that Steve Biko was a black man subjected to two forces (neo-liberalism
and racism), was oppressed by the external force. She also stated
that neo-liberalism survives on instilling fear, distancing people
from what they originally own and the same applies to how capital
survives where there is chaos.
She noted that
new technology has made people become distanced from our humanity,
hence the need to reflect on how Steve Biko's ideas influenced
the rise of social movements throughout the 3 decades since his
death.Vimbai lamented on the participation of few women in local
and national public meetings which has reflected on how the struggle
against patriarchy still needs to be won. She concluded her presentation
by urging young people to know who they are in this era of global
capitalism.
Macdonald
Lewanika - Students
Solidarity Trust (SST) and Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition spokesperson
Macdonald stated
that Steve Biko was a mere mortal who came from humble origins who
was able to inspire young people around the world. Thus, this should
be able to inspire young people to carry forward with the daily
struggles that they encounter.
Macdonald went
on to lament on the state of the education sector which has deteriorated
over the past years. He noted that Steve Biko was against the Bantu
education system which was racist in nature, and reflecting on the
present situation, the black rich people now afford the best education
at the expense of the poor black people. He also noted that between
the age of 22 and 30, Steve Biko was able to put the ideas together
which was a good example of youth activism. He urged young people
to ask themselves, that, within the Zimbabwean context, young people
should be clear on their responsibilities and be able to understand
the deep roots that inspired Steve Biko.
Macdonald also
encouraged young people to appreciate the fact that Steve Biko was
part of a community (university environment) where ideas were shared.
Hence young people also needed to acknowledge the fact that Steve
Biko was a good listener and an avid reader who had good inquisitive
skills. He stated that Steve Biko was inspired by previous African
leaders and intellectuals who included Kwame Nkrumah, Franz Fanon,
Senghor and other leaders from the Negritude movement in United
States of America and Latin America.
Way
forward
MacDonald urged
young people to think about new roles or ways of consciousness as
it is only way that could liberate people. He also noted that the
society should be able to regain their humanity that they have lost
and urged young people to know themselves better and be able to
assert their own identity as African people
Issues
arising from the presentations - plenary session
- How did
Steve Biko address the need for gender equality where women are
respected by men as mere human beings (friendship between the
late Steve Biko and Mamphele Ramphele - the chancellor of University
of Cape Town)? if this was not adequately addressed, can it be
a situation that explains why few young women attend public meetings?
- There is
a need for the young generation to reflect on the role of women
in various struggles, including the struggles that we have in
Zimbabwe
- Those in
Biko's generation were writers and poets, hence as young
people there is need to revitalise the art of poetry as well as
writing articles on our thoughts in relation to the way we see
the struggle
- There is
need to appreciate the politics of South Africa during Steve Biko's
time and the question of the 20th century was the issue of colour
(racism)
- Steve Biko
also influenced political parties of his day namely the AZAPO
and out of it, Pan African Congress (PAC) was formed as well as
its guerrilla movements (APLA). The PAC centred its struggles
on the need to emancipate the position of the black person in
the white South Africa apartheid.
- There is
also need to analyse Steve Biko alongside other African leaders
who have died including the late Thomas Sankara
- There is
also a need to appreciate the fact hat ideas come with a cost
(life), as well as appreciating the fact that since Steve Biko
used to have mentors among the older generation that he looked
up to, the same should apply to young people who should be able
to look up to the older generation for advice.
- There is
also need to point out the relationship that existed between Steve
Biko and our president, Robert Mugabe during that period and even
though he's dead, his ideas continue to inspire many people.
* Uhuru Network
is a youth based organization based in Harare working on issues
of social justice and youth empowerment.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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