by Masixole KaDlamini
Post-1994 in South
Africa, the majority of black working-class youth in different townships and
rural outskirts share a common, almost identical struggle of continuing
unemployment. If employed, they are super-exploited as cheap labour by white
capitalists in local factories and farms.
This colonial
make-up and apartheid legacy has been institutionalised and sustained in
numerous ways, but I will mention three aspects post-1994 which I think are
important. Firstly it is through the collaboration of white monopoly capital
with black political elites that maintained the apartheid socio-economic
patterns and property relations that continue to marginalise and exploit black
poor people.
Secondly, through
deliberate dysfunctional rural-township public education system (attended only
by the black working-class child). Thirdly, through legalised alcohol
consumption which in most times inevitably create all types of social ills such
as social fragmentation and degradation, rape, youth delinquency, crime and
gang-violence in our black communities.
To show the
colonial systematic intent and impact of alcohol consumption and drugs in South
African rural-township communities that still continue to this day, Omali
Yeshitela -our fearless revolutionary elder- noted that “what the imperialists
and capitalists with white power have done, was to take all the other options
and said if you want to live, this is what you have to do to live, they put the
crack cocaine in our black communities that demoralise the African workers and
poor people who are at the heartbeat of the revolution”.
Posts 1994 in
South Africa, these carefully socially engineered structural-trappings still
dehumanize black people and enchain the black working-class communities and the
youth in particular in inter-generational poverty, which is modern day slavery.
It was Bantu Biko, who made a critical observation of our condition in
townships, when he succinctly pointed out that “Township life alone makes it a
miracle for anyone to live up to adulthood”.
In Twenty years of
the democratic dispensation in South Africa, these formidable rural-township
realities of economic marginalisation of black youth,force them into a position of being mere colonial subjects that
must just accept brutal capital exploitation. Furthermore, there is state
repression and the failing education system which definitely ensures that it is
difficult for the black working-class youth “to live up to adulthood”.
Economic Freedom
Fighter, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, best describes these economic conditions of the
black youth in rural-townships as “a permanent state of juniorisation”. On the
other hand, an eloquent poet and a writer, Pura Lavisa in his song called
Oomahlalela, asserts that, “singomahlalela kule lokishi, thina asisaqeshwa noba
singageleza, asina ntsebenzo siphila ngokuxhomekeka” (We in township are
unemployable, even if we study we don’t get to be employed, we are forever
dependent).
This persistent
status quo that economically marginalises black youth must be radically
dismantled and interrupted by revolutionary organised youth. The momentum behind such a course must be that
of apolitical action that is founded on a common struggle of being black and
poor, even by the black youth outside party-politics. South Africa, especially
for the black youth in rural-townships is still an anti-black and anti-working
class space.
Hence,
revolutionary art, poetry and conscious hip hop or truth music that speaks the
language of the marginalised and unapologetically challenges the reproduction
of political elites at the expenses of black youth is an essential potent
instrument to bring about collective unity and political agency informed by
black consciousness philosophical underpinnings and a precise class analysis in
order to organise themselves and totally reject any form of injustice and
economic subjugation perpetuated against them.
We as the black
youth in rural-township can no longer be patient and tolerate the pacifying
discourse and political rhetoric from liberal academic commentators and political
elites, ANC in particular and other political parties. To tell us, ‘to be
patient and understand, that 20 years of democracy is not enough to redress the
historical injustice perpetuated against black people’. But funny enough the
same Twenty years of democracy is absolutely adequate for private capital,
political elites and white privilege community to collaborate and thrive to
accumulate wealth and be millionaires, living in mansions, with their children
in private schools with invested funds for university. While majority of black
working class youth with their rural-township education -which is a ‘set-up’
for failure for a majority- are unemployable and continue to be exploited as
petrol attendants, security guards and cashiers at Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay,
etc.
Let it be known
and be remembered that some of us as the selected few black working-class youth
from the townships are not going to take an assimilationist liberal stance and
be silent, because now we are in these liberal middle-class universities we
won't pretend that everything is fine and perfect, it is not. The marginalised black working-class youth in
rural-townships must revolt in different forms for economic emancipation and total
liberation as black people.
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