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We are the future, we have been hearing the same rhetoric for years. Last Friday we celebrated youth day which commemorates the Soweto Uprising of 1974. The day celebrates the youth’s contribution to the liberation movement. Like all other public holidays the day has been reduced to taking a break from our daily tasks, be it work or school. Of course there were masses at a rally who applauded our fallen heroes and of course heard the same rhetoric, we are the future, the youth must take a stand and that we’ve come a long way, but more needs to be done. Some may argue we are far better than we were prior to 1994 that is not disputable, however we have not dealt with socio-economic challenges.
Thing is we have heard this one too many times, we don’t want someone that will just analyse the problem and tell us what we already know, we want tangible solutions. This is evident in the contrasting lifestyles between Sandton and Alexandra. The fact that the building of malls and sky-scrappers is more of a priority rather than doing away with shacks or run-down schools, this is an indication that the poor will forever remain marginalised. As a nation we have become complacent in addressing our challenges. This lies with all of us, our leaders’ intentions all sound like lip-service, society has lost the will to vote differently and our opposition parties only tend to find fault in everything, but don’t offer anything better. Perhaps that’s why there’s a protest every other week or so. Our leaders only listen when elections are around the corner, so what other option do we have? When we do make noise about it, we are either reminded how fortunate we are or deemed criminals. Not that some protests don’t spiral out of control, but it should be noted not all protestors are vandals.
Recent stats indicate that the youth are affected the most by the unemployment rate which stands at 27.7 %, they make up just over 50% of the figure. What’s even more worrying is the quality of education, not being taught in the same standard will only make it more difficult to get into a good tertiary institution. Another challenge is the training one receives after completing their qualification, this often results in not using your qualification in the right field or being absorbed into the organisation after completing your internship. This coupled with high tuition fees further entrenches the disparities in one’s socio-economic status and pretty much shows you a glimpse of what your future will look like.
It makes one wonder why our generation’s fight against injustice doesn’t have much of a bearing unlike the former. Will our #FeesMustFall legacy shape the future? Will we also have our names in history books? It seems whenever the youth make noise about an issue, we are viewed as delinquents and our leaders only react when the issue has gone too far. It doesn’t help that one talks about inclusive economic growth without addressing issues in an already fragmented ruling party.
We can’t deny that challenges have become blurred, as one problem leads to another. We also can’t deny that we have adopted the culture of protesting and it has not been very effective, as the matter is often swept under the carpet and solutions only provide a temporary fix. Acknowledging that there is an issue and not really having measures in place to deal with it is an indication of government’s complacency. Reoccurring protests without voting for change also illustrates complacency from the constituent’s side. As we await the next significant public holiday, let’s take the opportunity to think about our future and how we contribute to its significance.
