I’m only now getting to write about the Hector Pieterson and
Apartheid museums as well as the Sharpeville Memorial. It’s just really a lot
to grasp and try to understand. It’s hard to imagine such madness happening,
but I guess it’s a different story when people’s dignity is being taken away
and they are being oppressed. Even though it happened in 1976, it doesn’t seem
like so long ago. It’s just so hard to picture children being shot, dogs being
lit on fire, and people being dragged and beaten to death. I wonder at what
point does all chaos break loose and everyone loses control. The fact that
there were so many massacres during apartheid makes me wonder how the
government could not see how awful it was. Even during Sharpeville the fact
that people were shot in the back running for their lives gives me shivers. I
wonder at what point that human nature allows us to be so heartless and
violent. It also makes me think about the people who died and were never
recognized. They say 69 people were killed at Sharpeville, but multiple bodies were
dumped into graves. I can’t imagine not having closure after losing a loved
one. I also hope the younger generation appreciates all that the older
generation has risked and sacrificed. One thing I have learned on this trip is to be
appreciative of everything and everyone.
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| Kelsey an her co-educators listen to the retelling of the story of Sharpeville. |
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