On the day, police opened fire on a group of peaceful protestors marching against pass laws which they believed degraded their humanity. This past Saturday, young people from in and around Gauteng joined survivors in commemoration for the upcoming Human Rights Day which takes place on March 21.
The day is also recognised as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The event took place at the Human Rights precinct in Sharpeville where Anti-Racism Week was launched under the theme “Youth standing up against racism”.
Survivors told stories of how their lives changed since from that day.
“In the beginning we were afraid to speak out about what happened to us on the day. Every year on the day we feared that history would repeat itself.”
Some said that they made sure that they were not around Sharpeville on the anniversary of the massacre.
One of the survivors Abram Mofokeng (82) said, “The pass laws made it very difficult. You could not live where you wanted or work where you wanted. There was deep racial discrimination during that time.”
Elizabeth Chabedi (72) who was 11 years at the time said, “I was looking for my parents and that is when I was shot on the hand. I stayed for about a month in hospital after that, even today, we have not been compensated, we plead with the government to remember us and not only when this day approaches.”
The survivors said that they will continue teaching young people about the history of this country.
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