By Dr Vusi Shongwe
“GIVE me my liberty or give me death’: Celebrating the lives of unsung heroes and heroines of SA’s struggle for freedom.
These were South Africa's valiant men and women, unsung freedom fighters who suffered casualties and untold hardships but gave the world an example of courage, dedication, and belief in freedom, independence, and human dignity.
These were sons and daughters of South Africa whose dreams for freedom represented fundamental values that will endure forever in the spirit of the South African people.
They joined the struggle for liberation to promote a full-scale political revolution. They were cadres who were chosen to make freedom “more than an abstract concept”. They took up arms and were willing, and some did, to pay the ultimate supreme price for the freedom we enjoy today.
These were, in the words of the US civil rights woman activist, Fannie Lou Hamer, bridges that carried us over to freedom. They laid down their bodies, laid down their lives, so we might enjoy the fruits of our democracy, the right to vote.
We dare not rubbish the sacrifices these unsung freedom fighters made. Unapologetically, the dismal May 29 election results were a slap in the faces of the ancestors of the struggle for freedom.
There is a need to collectively celebrate the contributions of the unsung freedom fighters who died in exile. This could be done through massive outreach activities.
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government must consider the need to document the lives of unsung revolutionaries and women warriors whose earthly seasons were rounded out in exile.
The documentation will cover the paths taken by the freedom fighters and the countries where they lived, as well as engaging the families who supported the unsung revolutionaries and women warriors.
There were moments in the history of this country when a fundamental had to be made. A choice that would determine the life or death of our society and the future of its generations.
That moment was when the unsung freedom fighters I have paid tribute to in this small contribution said, in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer, “sick and tired of being sick and tired” with the evil apartheid system.
They sacrificed their lives and comfort for us to be free today. Their sacrifices will forever inspire every South African to always have the courage to fight any injustice that rears its ugly head.
That was the moment when a legion of unsung freedom fighters were confronted with a line from a speech given by Patrick Henry to the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, and the hard choice was: “Give me liberty, or give me death”.
This line became their war cry of the revolution for freedom. Many chose death so that today we can enjoy the fruits of their hard labour. It was Dr Margaret Mncadi who said: “The road to freedom is difficult. It is hard and heartbreaking at times, but the cause is just, and the result, which is not in doubt, is well worth any sacrifice—even death.”
NB: The reader is humbly requested to observe a moment of silence when he or she finishes reading this reminder about the unsung revolutionaries of our struggle for freedom.
The following names are some of the freedom fighters whose mortal remains will be buried across the province following their repatriation from Zambia and Zimbabwe:
- Albon Bafana Duma
- Judson Diza Khuzwayo — Khuzwayo was born in Adams Mission and grew up in KwaMashu. He died in a car crash in Zimbabwe in 1985.
- Balungile Shembe — Shembe, who hails from northern KwaZulu-Natal, died in Zimbabwe in 1990.
- Sipho Mdletshe — Mdletshe, who died in Zambia in 1988, was from eThekwini’s Chesterville township.
- Luckyboy Ngubane — Ngubane, who died in Zambia in 1988, was from eThekwini’s Lamontville township.
- Artwell Zikhali — Zikahali, who also hails from KZN, died in Zambia in 1987.
* Dr Vusi Shongwe is the former head of the Department of the Royal Household. The contribution is written in his personal capacity, and the views expressed here are his own.