Date: 14/08/2004
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: S Ndebele: Prayer meeting and cleansing ceremony
SPEECH BY PREMIER OF KWAZULU-NATAL, MR S NDEBELE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRAYER MEETING AND CLEANSING CEREMONY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, Durban, 14 August 2004
The Programme Director
The Vice Chancellor of the University Of KwaZulu-Natal, Professor Makgoba
The Religious Leaders present
The Deans of Faculties
Various student organizations present
The student community of this University
Parents present
Ladies and Gentlemen
it is a dry white season
dark leaves don't last; their brief lives dry out
and with a broken heart they dive down gently headed for the earth
not even bleeding
it is a dry white season brother
only the trees know the pain, as they still stand erect
dry like steel, their branches dry like wire
indeed, it is a dry white season
but seasons come to pass
The few words I have just uttered that were penned by the poet, Mongane Wally Serote, lamenting the banning of another activist and poet, Don Mattera.
Today, I decided to use these words, words that talk about a dry white season, a season devoid of hope, to express our feelings firstly as citizens of this province and as government of this province about the dying of students particularly at this institution.
Our office was approached by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Makgoba, and students of this institution approached us as government to intervene and intervene urgently to stop campus deaths. At first we were dumbstruck because, much s we knew of incidents of murder and suicide in our campuses, we did not appreciate that this problem had reached such alarming proportions.
We were informed that until June this year, up to 60 students, mostly women, had died at University campuses in KwaZulu-Natal. Let me hasten to add that while a fair number of these students died within the perimeters of the five campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, not all sixty students died within the boundaries. Yet the fact remains that at the time of death, they were students of this institution.
This, the figure of sixty deaths, was the figure for the past two years alone. The picture becomes even gloomier when we consider that in Durban last week alone, five students have died. One can only imagine how many students we lose in all our tertiary institutions in the province.
Indeed, a dry white season is upon as the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Today, we have come as government of KwaZulu-Natal to publicly declare our anger and sadness at this growing phenomenon. We have come to join the community of this particular university as well as communities of other tertiary institutions in our province to say, " Enough is enough! We cannot afford to stand by the sidelines while we see the future of this province wither away". Today we have come to seek solution and offer help in order to curb this problem.
The causes of deaths
We believe that it is not a coincidence that it is mainly women students who die on campus. We believe that this trend mirrors that stage our country is in, in terms of the evolution of gender equality. Intimate relationships between young men and women on our campuses are still characterised by men dominating women.
Although our country had enacted various laws to address the problem of gender inequality, we are not yet at a stage where we can say that men and women are equal. But, because in the lecture theatre, it does not depend on whether one is a male or female in order for one to excel, in this is where the term male domination loses meaning. We find that women students compete well and even outshine men students.
In order to restore the status quo, some men, especially those in relationships with successful women students, resort to violence to enforce their dominance on women. Hence we hear of stories where a male student first shoots a female student, who is almost always his partner, and then turns the gun on himself.
This is a major challenge on us as parents, particularly as fathers, to instil in our boys the ethos of gender equality and for them to have a sense of worth. Clever minds have held that superiority complex is borne out of an inferiority complex. If one does not have a sense of worth and is plagued by insecurity, then one resorts to violence or to drugs to get that sense of worth, a sense of belonging.
It is particularly for this reason that we say most of these campus deaths is senseless.
Scourge of alcohol and drug abuse
Again, as an attempt to fit in and be part of the in-crowd some of our children at universities and other institutions of higher learning end up abusing alcohol and drugs. The reality of this situation is that, because most of the students come from decent home where alcohol, let alone drugs, is taboo, they tend to over-indulge when they taste the freedom of tertiary institutions.
As a result, our children engage in all kinds of wrong things, Women students for example, who are most vulnerable engage in unprotected sex which leads to some of them falling pregnant or worse still, contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS. Again because of the abuse of drugs, some male students end up in engaging in criminal activities.
This scenario means one thing for all of us. It means that if we do not act and act now, then the future of this province is doomed.
So what is the solution?
Almost two months ago we held an interfaith prayer meeting to give our thanks for a peaceful election. During that prayer meeting, we spoke at length about what we understand peace to be.
We said, and are still have the view that peace in KwaZulu-Natal is not an absence of political violence but an understanding that all problems have one solution- a peaceful solution. We believe that peace means an end of criminal incidents, that families live in harmony, that we do not hear about cases of child abuse and molestation. We believe that peace means a situation where all the people of this province are working flat out for the reconstruction and development of KwaZulu-Natal.
Clearly, judging by the number of students who have passed away over the past two years, this thinking has not permeated the psyche of the people in our province. We feel therefore that as government, working in partnership with the broader community of KwaZulu-Natal we need to intensify our efforts to roll out peace in our province. If we fail to do this then the dry white season that Serote writes about will continue to afflict us.
Moral Regeneration
There is a saying that goes: "A problem identified, is a problem half-solved." We have identified our problem and our major problem is mainly a sociological one. We need to look at ourselves as a society and say: "Is this where we want to go as a province?"
We need to determine for ourselves what it is that we are going to do to address this scourge of campus deaths. The point of departure could be, over and above addressing the symptoms of the problem like drug abuse, violence and intolerance, to work hard at rebuilding ourselves as a people. Moral regeneration is the most potent weapon we could use in this fight.
Different faiths to lead moral regeneration campaign
We invited different faiths specifically because we know that they will help us ward off this dry white season threatening to snuff the life out of our province.
From time immemorial, different faiths have led the moral regeneration campaign. We ask the various faiths in our province to join hands with government in turning our province around and ensuring that we stop the death of students on campus. We have seen the power of prayer before in this province and this time again we urge the different faiths to join us in this battle.
Our students need to be taught that their future is in their hands.
Role of parents
One can only imagine the pain that parents go through when they send their children to universities to arm themselves for the future only for these children to come back as corpses.
Mongane Serote says, "...Only the trees know the pain as they still stand erect." Indeed only parents can know the pain of burying their children. It is a known fact that in most African households it is still an insurmountable struggle to send a child to school, let alone a university. If a family, despite the odds, manages to send a child to university then that particular family indeed has hope about its future. A child studying at university or institution of higher learning is a beacon of hope to the rest of the community.
To have that child die on campus, does not only affect the family but the rest of the community. It is therefore a task of all of us as parents to make sure that we inculcate on our children's sense of worth. It is our task to show our children the role they have to play in rebuilding our province. We3 need to show our children that they are the future of this country. Let us as parents do all we can to safeguard our future.
The students
KwaZulu-Natal opened a new page in its history after the 2004 elections. Today we are a province that is looking forward, a province that wants to claim its rightful place in the sun.
It is not us who will see the changes that start this year coming to fruition. We might give guidance but it is you, students who must live that dream for us. You cannot live the dream of a prosperous and violence-free KwaZulu-Natal if you are careless with your lives. Your lives are in your hands. We have laws that protect us from harm. We have the police force that ensures our safety and where we report criminal acts. We have a government that wants to ensure that the youth of this province does not carry the baggage of our violent past, a government that wants the youth to participate meaningfully in the economy of this province.
It is up to you as students to change your mindset and work for development. History has placed difficult tasks in front of you, a task to rebuild this province. You dare not fail the future generations.
Indeed it is a dry white season
But seasons come to pass.
We take form Mongane's last line that this dry white season gripping this university will indeed come to pass. Let us all work for this season of death and fear to pass as quickly as possible. Let us all pray for this season never to come back again.
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
14 August 2004
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (www.kwazulunatal.gov.za)
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: S Ndebele: Prayer meeting and cleansing ceremony
SPEECH BY PREMIER OF KWAZULU-NATAL, MR S NDEBELE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRAYER MEETING AND CLEANSING CEREMONY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, Durban, 14 August 2004
The Programme Director
The Vice Chancellor of the University Of KwaZulu-Natal, Professor Makgoba
The Religious Leaders present
The Deans of Faculties
Various student organizations present
The student community of this University
Parents present
Ladies and Gentlemen
it is a dry white season
dark leaves don't last; their brief lives dry out
and with a broken heart they dive down gently headed for the earth
not even bleeding
it is a dry white season brother
only the trees know the pain, as they still stand erect
dry like steel, their branches dry like wire
indeed, it is a dry white season
but seasons come to pass
The few words I have just uttered that were penned by the poet, Mongane Wally Serote, lamenting the banning of another activist and poet, Don Mattera.
Today, I decided to use these words, words that talk about a dry white season, a season devoid of hope, to express our feelings firstly as citizens of this province and as government of this province about the dying of students particularly at this institution.
Our office was approached by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Makgoba, and students of this institution approached us as government to intervene and intervene urgently to stop campus deaths. At first we were dumbstruck because, much s we knew of incidents of murder and suicide in our campuses, we did not appreciate that this problem had reached such alarming proportions.
We were informed that until June this year, up to 60 students, mostly women, had died at University campuses in KwaZulu-Natal. Let me hasten to add that while a fair number of these students died within the perimeters of the five campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, not all sixty students died within the boundaries. Yet the fact remains that at the time of death, they were students of this institution.
This, the figure of sixty deaths, was the figure for the past two years alone. The picture becomes even gloomier when we consider that in Durban last week alone, five students have died. One can only imagine how many students we lose in all our tertiary institutions in the province.
Indeed, a dry white season is upon as the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Today, we have come as government of KwaZulu-Natal to publicly declare our anger and sadness at this growing phenomenon. We have come to join the community of this particular university as well as communities of other tertiary institutions in our province to say, " Enough is enough! We cannot afford to stand by the sidelines while we see the future of this province wither away". Today we have come to seek solution and offer help in order to curb this problem.
The causes of deaths
We believe that it is not a coincidence that it is mainly women students who die on campus. We believe that this trend mirrors that stage our country is in, in terms of the evolution of gender equality. Intimate relationships between young men and women on our campuses are still characterised by men dominating women.
Although our country had enacted various laws to address the problem of gender inequality, we are not yet at a stage where we can say that men and women are equal. But, because in the lecture theatre, it does not depend on whether one is a male or female in order for one to excel, in this is where the term male domination loses meaning. We find that women students compete well and even outshine men students.
In order to restore the status quo, some men, especially those in relationships with successful women students, resort to violence to enforce their dominance on women. Hence we hear of stories where a male student first shoots a female student, who is almost always his partner, and then turns the gun on himself.
This is a major challenge on us as parents, particularly as fathers, to instil in our boys the ethos of gender equality and for them to have a sense of worth. Clever minds have held that superiority complex is borne out of an inferiority complex. If one does not have a sense of worth and is plagued by insecurity, then one resorts to violence or to drugs to get that sense of worth, a sense of belonging.
It is particularly for this reason that we say most of these campus deaths is senseless.
Scourge of alcohol and drug abuse
Again, as an attempt to fit in and be part of the in-crowd some of our children at universities and other institutions of higher learning end up abusing alcohol and drugs. The reality of this situation is that, because most of the students come from decent home where alcohol, let alone drugs, is taboo, they tend to over-indulge when they taste the freedom of tertiary institutions.
As a result, our children engage in all kinds of wrong things, Women students for example, who are most vulnerable engage in unprotected sex which leads to some of them falling pregnant or worse still, contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS. Again because of the abuse of drugs, some male students end up in engaging in criminal activities.
This scenario means one thing for all of us. It means that if we do not act and act now, then the future of this province is doomed.
So what is the solution?
Almost two months ago we held an interfaith prayer meeting to give our thanks for a peaceful election. During that prayer meeting, we spoke at length about what we understand peace to be.
We said, and are still have the view that peace in KwaZulu-Natal is not an absence of political violence but an understanding that all problems have one solution- a peaceful solution. We believe that peace means an end of criminal incidents, that families live in harmony, that we do not hear about cases of child abuse and molestation. We believe that peace means a situation where all the people of this province are working flat out for the reconstruction and development of KwaZulu-Natal.
Clearly, judging by the number of students who have passed away over the past two years, this thinking has not permeated the psyche of the people in our province. We feel therefore that as government, working in partnership with the broader community of KwaZulu-Natal we need to intensify our efforts to roll out peace in our province. If we fail to do this then the dry white season that Serote writes about will continue to afflict us.
Moral Regeneration
There is a saying that goes: "A problem identified, is a problem half-solved." We have identified our problem and our major problem is mainly a sociological one. We need to look at ourselves as a society and say: "Is this where we want to go as a province?"
We need to determine for ourselves what it is that we are going to do to address this scourge of campus deaths. The point of departure could be, over and above addressing the symptoms of the problem like drug abuse, violence and intolerance, to work hard at rebuilding ourselves as a people. Moral regeneration is the most potent weapon we could use in this fight.
Different faiths to lead moral regeneration campaign
We invited different faiths specifically because we know that they will help us ward off this dry white season threatening to snuff the life out of our province.
From time immemorial, different faiths have led the moral regeneration campaign. We ask the various faiths in our province to join hands with government in turning our province around and ensuring that we stop the death of students on campus. We have seen the power of prayer before in this province and this time again we urge the different faiths to join us in this battle.
Our students need to be taught that their future is in their hands.
Role of parents
One can only imagine the pain that parents go through when they send their children to universities to arm themselves for the future only for these children to come back as corpses.
Mongane Serote says, "...Only the trees know the pain as they still stand erect." Indeed only parents can know the pain of burying their children. It is a known fact that in most African households it is still an insurmountable struggle to send a child to school, let alone a university. If a family, despite the odds, manages to send a child to university then that particular family indeed has hope about its future. A child studying at university or institution of higher learning is a beacon of hope to the rest of the community.
To have that child die on campus, does not only affect the family but the rest of the community. It is therefore a task of all of us as parents to make sure that we inculcate on our children's sense of worth. It is our task to show our children the role they have to play in rebuilding our province. We3 need to show our children that they are the future of this country. Let us as parents do all we can to safeguard our future.
The students
KwaZulu-Natal opened a new page in its history after the 2004 elections. Today we are a province that is looking forward, a province that wants to claim its rightful place in the sun.
It is not us who will see the changes that start this year coming to fruition. We might give guidance but it is you, students who must live that dream for us. You cannot live the dream of a prosperous and violence-free KwaZulu-Natal if you are careless with your lives. Your lives are in your hands. We have laws that protect us from harm. We have the police force that ensures our safety and where we report criminal acts. We have a government that wants to ensure that the youth of this province does not carry the baggage of our violent past, a government that wants the youth to participate meaningfully in the economy of this province.
It is up to you as students to change your mindset and work for development. History has placed difficult tasks in front of you, a task to rebuild this province. You dare not fail the future generations.
Indeed it is a dry white season
But seasons come to pass.
We take form Mongane's last line that this dry white season gripping this university will indeed come to pass. Let us all work for this season of death and fear to pass as quickly as possible. Let us all pray for this season never to come back again.
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
14 August 2004
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (www.kwazulunatal.gov.za)
Advertisement
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
