Media statement - immediate release - 13 December 2005
Western Cape remembers and reclaims Slavery past
"A confluence of events and commemorations from tonight to the 23 December will focus the Western Cape on our heritage and history during the era of formalised slavery.
"The primary framework for this concentration of remembrance and reclamation is the Slavery Focus Week proclaimed in the context of the opening of Freedom Park and which will last from Reconciliation Day on Friday the 16th December to the 23rd December. As a Province that endured the enslavement of the poor from many parts of Africa and the world and that still bears the often unspoken scars of this inhumanity, we must consider the impact that this history has on our present society and our future possibilities.
"A number of important markers lie ahead for us and the assistance of the media in promoting awareness and dialogue around these, despite the 'silly season' and Christmas focus will be of great value in promoting the dignity and humanity that we need in the Western Cape.
1. On Saturday the 10th, International Human Rights Day, the 'magnum opus' of arguably our greatest artist, the late Gregoire Boonzaier, entitled 'Homage to District Six', was received on loan to the Province from its owner Mr AK Peer. This work depicts a dignified life forever forcibly removed from District Six and reminds us of the forms that enslavement took after its abolition through Colonialism and apartheid. This painting will be on display at the V&A Waterfront Shopping Centre from Reconciliation Day to stimulate public debate and discourse through art.
2. The growing awareness and dialogue around the identity of the marginalised majorities in our Province is underscored by Natalia de la Rocha's production of 'Wa was djy?' an exploration of the Coloured community's search for dignity and worth in the 1960s and '70s in Cape Town. Parts of this production were performed at Leeuwenhof's Carrols for Children on Sunday the 11th.
3. The Provincial Government, with Standard Bank and Brimstone has bought out the Baxter Theatre for tonight's production of 'Ghoema' by Taliep Petersen and David Kramer. 'Ghoema' uses drama and music to strike notes of poignancy in reconnecting contemporary citizens with out roots. Our endorsement of the production and invitation of guests, serves as the first statement from us in this period to signal the ownership and necessary dialogue around our slave predecessors in Africa, those who sympathised with them and gave sanctuary and their legacies.
4. The morning of Reconciliation Day on Friday the 16th will witness the unveiling of statues to the four Nobel Peace Laureates of South Africa's struggle for freedom and democracy at the Waterfront. While apartheid and slavery are both gone, the scars remain from both. Memorialising our struggles through both our discourse as a Province and in stone must lead us toward a posterity of peace and unity based on the hard lessons of injustice and liberation. The unveiling will be followed by a popular concert at the Waterfront Amphitheatre in which the music and artists will reflect our diversity and celebrate our journey toward mutual understanding and compassion.
5. The culmination of these events takes place on Sunday the 18th in the slave refuge town of Genadendal at the Moravian Mission Church. The annual Provincial Honours Awards for 2005 will take place in a Church service focussing on 14 individuals who represent slaves, abolitionists, sympathisers and those who gave refuge to slaves. Five Premier's Commendations will also be given to organisations that do invaluable work today on this subject. The stories of the 14 posthumous honorees will be newsworthy in themselves and of value to our common awareness of this time.
"Our Provincial infrastructure, economy, politics and society still bears the marks of slavery and successive tools of oppression. A key building block in the Home for All's foundation must be our acceptance and honest discussion of the impact of slavery on colonialists, on slaves, on indigenous communities, on Africa, on religious communities and on all of us who live here today."
Premier Ebrahim Rasool
All media enquiries and requests for further detail should be directed to
Shado Twala
on stwala@pgwc.gov.za or cell 083 640 6771 or 021 483 5642.
Acting Provincial Head of Communications Office of the Premier of the Western Cape
Mobile: +27 (0) 82 827 8792
Tel: +27 (0) 21 483 3528
Fax: +27 (0) 21 483 3921
Address: Provincial Parliament, Mezzanine level, Office of the Premier, M7, 7 Wale Street, Cape Town
Email: cwakeford@pgwc.gov.za
