The battle against economic inequality and cultural amnesia must be intensified

‘Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.’ - Winston Churchill.

All around the world, Black history is not just acknowledged but celebrated with great respect, honouring the resilience and the struggles for the liberation of those who suffered through the brutalities of slavery, colonialism and racism. Memorial centres bear witness to these histories, ensuring that the sacrifices made by those who fought for freedom are never forgotten while also celebrating the resistance and eventual triumph of the oppressed. However, in South Africa – a country deeply marked by the blood of its oppressed people – the remembrance of one of its most pivotal moments, the Sharpeville Massacre, has been sanitised and repackaged. To appease our former oppressors, we have diluted the revolutionary spirit of March 21, 1960, by renaming it Human Rights Day.

This shift to frame Sharpeville Day as Human Rights Day reflects South Africa’s post-apartheid reconciliation project, which aims to foster unity in a newly democratic nation. Yet, reconciliation suggests restoring a previously harmonious relationship. Recognising that such harmony never existed between South Africa’s oppressors and the oppressed is crucial. For centuries, Black South Africans faced dehumanisation, exploitation, violence, torture, murder, imprisonment, and exile. Even when in exile, we were relentlessly pursued and persecuted. When we dared to fight back or demand equality and justice, we were labelled as terrorists.

We are constantly told to stop dwelling on the past. Our mostly passive resistance against apartheid continues to be distorted into claims of brutality, and we are unfairly labelled as mere criminals who are unfit to govern. The motivations behind our struggle and the unjust persecution we faced simply for demanding our fundamental human rights continue to be denied. This notion of reconciliation has placed the burden of national unity squarely on the shoulders of the oppressed.

Even as South Africa boasts one of the world’s most progressive constitutions enshrining civil liberties and human rights, the privileged minority continues to cry victimhood. Afrikaner groups in the form of AfriForum and Solidarity lament imaginary violations of their rights while ignoring the systemic inequalities that persist as a direct result of apartheid’s legacy. They bemoan land reform efforts aimed at addressing historical dispossession, framing them as attacks on their freedoms. Some even seek intervention from right-wing demagogues like Donald Trump, perpetuating an image of white persecution on an international stage.

This hypocrisy is staggering when one considers the democratic South Africa’s achievements in protecting civil and political rights. Human rights, as defined by the United Nations, include life, liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, and access to education and work. South Africa’s Constitution enshrines these principles in its Bill of Rights, which is overseen by the South African Human Rights Commission.

Internationally, South Africa ranks highly in civil, political, and cultural freedoms. The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (2024) confirms that our judiciary is 97.6% impartial, property rights are 81.7% protected, and institutional checks and balances are 81.5% effective. Our freedom of association, political pluralism, and gender protections place us among the continent’s best in governance.  These metrics expose claims of Afrikaner oppression for what they are: baseless attempts to derail progress toward justice and redress for the injustices of the past.

The real human rights crisis in South Africa is economic. Despite progress in access to services, poverty and inequality remain astronomical. The World Bank (2024) reports an unemployment rate of 33.5% and a poverty rate of 62.6%, with South Africa ranking as among the most unequal countries in the world. The violation of socio-economic rights is fundamentally a class issue – but one with undeniable racial dimensions. The majority of South Africa’s poor are black, their suffering compounded by decades of systemic exclusion from land ownership, quality education, and economic opportunities.

Instead of fostering genuine change, a self-serving minority clings to its privileges and undermines our nation’s reputation on the global stage, inviting foreign interference to maintain its wealth. The Democratic Alliance, keen to please its corporate backers, engineers crises to stir panic and positions itself as the saviour. Whether through artificially inflating tensions with the United States or spinning fears around the national budget, they consistently play risky games with our economy and national security. Their obstructionism sabotages national unity and worsens economic instability by driving away potential investment.

If we genuinely want to tackle the challenges facing our country, we must dismantle the systems that sustain economic apartheid. It is essential to end poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The reactionary calls for an Afrikaner Volkstaat or an independent Western Cape must cease; these are the fantasies of segregationists who cannot accept a democracy that has brought a non-racial government into power.

To improve public services, we must reject austerity measures. We cannot allow the privatisation of essential services that drain our nation’s resources  and turn basic human needs into luxuries that only the wealthy can access. The failures we observe in electricity, water, and public healthcare are direct consequences of neoliberal policies that place corporate interests above the welfare of the people.

The time for illusions has passed. As we commemorate 65 years since the Sharpeville Massacre, let us stand firm against any attempts to dilute its revolutionary significance. It is time for all stakeholders, including those who have historically oppressed, to acknowledge the past and work towards a future where the rights and dignity of all South Africans are respected and upheld.

Dr Reneva Fourie is a policy analyst specialising in governance, development and security and co-author of the book ‘The art of power: Pursuing liberation and nation-building’