#IMadeMyMark: Elderly still remember the first democratic elections
One resident remembered how her mother collected canned food. Another reminisced on hearing Nelson Mandela speak for the first time.
Voting day on May 8 will mark 25 years since South Africans united to make their marks in the country’s first democratic election.
Express visited three elderly residents, who shared what they remember about the dawn of democracy, why it’s important to vote, and what they would want the new president to change about South Africa.
Lala Norton (70)
Norton has voted since she was 18. “If you don’t vote, you’ll lose the country.”
She remembered the first democratic election as if it was yesterday. “They tried to scare us and told us there’d be war. My mother brought canned food and a little stove. But the atmosphere on voting day was good, and everything turned out fine.”
Norton would ask the president of South Africa to address the safety in Kempton Park. “When we came here in 1973, you could leave the front door open. It was very safe.”
Rose Reynolds (78)
Unfortunately, Rose said she can’t remember much about the first democratic election. “It’s a while ago, and I’m 78.” She does, however, know that it’s important to vote, and she’s excited to make her mark in the upcoming election.
Charlotte Liebenberg (87)
Liebenberg plans to vote on May 8, “because every vote counts.”
She said she’ll never forget the day that Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa.
“We were very thankful that he was elected. When he started talking, you could just feel that this man wanted to help our country. If he were alive today, I would’ve voted for him.”
Liebenberg would ask the new president of South Africa to bring back the death penalty. “The killings in our country need to stop.”
