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Youth Day: 16 June

When we look into today,

*Do our minds dial back to 16 June '76 to envision the torment

Our fallen heroes endured?

 

Is your vision blurred?

Mine isn't.

 

Their fight was just,

It was sacrificial

One by one they perished

But, even with blood and sweat slipping

Through their trembling fingers

They did not falter

 

They pushed boundaries

In order to create opportunities

 

They had a burning desire

For something greater,

For freedom

The freedom that we now bask in

Like it's just another day of leisure

 

"The youth of today are the leaders

of tomorrow", they say

 

Look in the mirror,

Are you really the leader of tomorrow?

Do you fit somewhere in that statement?

 

Me: No

 

Do we have the will to stand

Firm for what's right,

Against what's wrong

Or do we clam up, let the

Truth escape through broken doors?

 

We feed the stereotypes,

We fit perfectly into the stereotypes

We've been dubbed insubstantial,

Not layered, and one dimensional

What are we really after?

What are we doing to change that perspective?

No- what am I doing to change that??

 

Ask yourself, what would the

world have lost if you were not born?

 

Me: Nothing

 

But there are those who

understand that the meaning of "struggle"

Goes beyond the dictionary definition,

Those who look at the world

With crystal clear eyes

Those looking to make a difference

Those looking for a difference

 

We may be in freedom,

but we're not free at all

The chains are still bound to our

Wrists binding us from reaching

Out to the sun,

The chains are still tied to our

Feet hindering us from going further

 

We can stand united

Against the ****** government,

Against illiteracy,

Against poverty,

Against pointless wars,

Against abuse.

We can clench up our fists,

Ready to fight for what others

Led way for

 

I am, by no means, a beacon of

Hope (hypocrisy at it's best)

I'm uninformed, like they say

Ignorance is bliss

But I am not proud of it

 

We've come far since '94

We still can go further

 

"Together we can do more"*

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Written by
fnm
Published
Jun 16, 2014
Lines·Words
70·351
Notes

Another historic day in South Africa. In 16 June 1976, students from townships started an uprising, refusing to be taught in Afrikaans. So many lost their lives, and today, English is the medium of instruction but we still have a choice to choose our mother tongues as first languages instead of second additional languages. That's what they fought for

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