African Oral Narratives
Military Intelligence in Apartheid-era South Africa

Interviews

Youth and Education

It is generally believed that children in rural areas lack a proper education, while children in the suburbs not only get a better life, but also better education. Just to attend school in Maandagshoek proves challenging, as children have to travel long distances to and from school every day. There is seldom enough money for further education and this is aggravated by the lack of bursaries (scholarships). Alcohol addiction at a young age is also prevalent. One resident is of the opinion that the youth prefer to work instead of going to school because they will earn money and "they will have anything they want." Youth have also been disillusioned by the prospects/expectations of a better life after 1994, as well as the futile promises of upliftment and development from the surrounding mines. Some residents feel that the current lack of development and facilities for younger people in the community will result in a positive focus on sport if addressed properly. However, many community elders understand that education is the key to a better future. A female Bapedi Chief in Maandagshoek strongly believes that it is more important for a young girl to get an education than to get married. The school situation in Rammolutsi seems particularly bad with children disrespecting teachers, carrying knives, drinking and smoking in school toilets (bathrooms). Gangsterism is also rife. As in Maandagshoek, Rammolutsi also lacks adequate sporting facilities. Although some residents feel that the only positive change since 1994 has been free education, others argue that education was in fact better under the previous regime. (There is a strong drive towards adult literacy education in Rammolutsi.) Although disillusioned by government's futile promises of a better life after 1994, many young people from Sebokeng feel the need to rise above their disadvantaged background to ensure a stable future career. They also have the tendency to aspire to making the most of their lives for the sake of their parents, who had to sacrifice so much in order for their children to achieve. Yet, poverty remains widespread. One young resident recalls how he had seen "other people at school living with poverty, starvation – no food, no shoes, no uniform, no covered books, no bags, just a plastic", and mentions how children would go to school and return home on empty stomachs. A resident, and once COSAS activist, changed the COSAS slogan "liberation before education" to "be educated that you can be liberated." The older generation, however, feels that the younger generation has little respect for people and they blame the recognition of child rights for this attitude. "Before [1994], we were respecting our parents a lot as compared to the children of today..." There is also a mention of the initiation schools for young boys - "just a step to convert a boy to a man." One youth is of the opinion that that these young initiates have the wrong perception as they come back from initiation thinking they are superior to other people. He believes: "that's where the aggression and the violence start."

This interview with Grade 11 high school students Kedimetsi Mapori and Lerato Tebele was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Simon Siloane, who is physically disabled and unemployed, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Lucas Serage and Pinky Komane, both high school matric students and community activists, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The first interview with Emmanuel Mokgoga, community leader/activist and spokesperson of the Maandagshoek Development Committee, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Chief Sonias Vilakazi of the Matimatsatsi community was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Flora Mpusi and Flora Makwa, both elderly women in Chief Vilakazi’s household, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Simon Vilakazi, son of Chief Vilakazi and secretary for the Matimatsatsi Tribal Authority, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The first part of the interview with Johannes Madikgakge, Bishop of the Apostolic Church of Christ, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This is the second part of the interview with Johannes Madigakge, Bishop of the Apostolic Church of Christ, conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This is the first interview with Joyce Kgwete conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The first interview with Malome Serame Isaac Masike, a semi-retired small business man, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Ouma Ngelele, who runs a home for 18 orphans and abused children in her 5-room shack and is wholly supported by sympathetic local businesses and a white church in town, along with a few child grants, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Rabase Lehlohonolo, a Grade 10 high school student and a member of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

Part one of the first interview with Mmamodike Lydia Ntsala, an Adult Basic Education (ABET) teacher, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

Part two of the first interview with Mmamodike Lydia Ntsala, an Adult Basic Education (ABET) teacher, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Ndaba David Nzunga, an unemployed community youth activist and music enthusiast, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with pre-school teacher Joyce Bafedile Mokgadi was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Bramage Edmond Sekete, a local community activist and traditional healer, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Kate Masabatha Makhanya, an elderly crèche owner, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with unemployed youth Happy Jabulani Malindi was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with retired policeman Siqelo Fredrick Mkhize was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Maria Mabeko Nkomo, a divorced traditional healer/herbalist, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Tsebo Knowledge Ngema, a recently finished matric student, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Sara Maduma, a worker at a private clinic in the nearby town of Vereeninging, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Motseki Johannes Ngake was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Amelia Mavuso, an unemployed single young woman heading her household, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The first interview with widowed pensioner Daniel Serame Masemola was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This interview with Bafana Ezekiel Makhanya, a retrenched SAMANCOR worker and community activist, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2007 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

Part one of the second interview with Emmanuel Mokgoga, community leader/activist and spokesperson of the Maandagshoek Development Committee, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2008 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

Part two of the second interview with Emmanuel Mokgoga, community leader/activist and spokesperson of the Maandagshoek Development Committee, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2008 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

This is the second interview with Joyce Kgwete conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Maandagshoek in 2008 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The second interview with Mmamodike Lydia Ntsala, an Adult Basic Education (ABET) teacher, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2008 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The second interview with Malome Serame Isaac Masike, a semi-retired small business man, was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Rammolutsi in 2008 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The first part of the second interview with widowed pensioner Daniel Serame Masemola was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2008 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

The second part of the second interview with widowed pensioner Daniel Serame Masemola was conducted by Dale McKinley and Ahmed Veriava in Sebokeng in 2008 as part of the South African History Archive's Alternative History Project, titled 'Forgotten Voices in the Present'.

Validate: XHTML | CSS