of the visit of President Klaus of the Czech Republic to the Cradle of
Humankind World Heritage Site
11 December 2006
President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus,
Vice-chancellor of the University of Witwatersrand, Professor Loyisa Nongxa,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:
On behalf of the government and the people of Gauteng, I would like to
welcome you Mr President to our province. You have just walked on the soil long
travelled by our common ancestors many thousands of years ago and your
footprint will now be left here at Maropeng as an expression that all humanity
originated from Africa.
I need not remind you that we are standing at the home of Nelson Mandela,
our former President, who walked a long walk to the top of the hill of humanity
to achieve victory against a tyrannical system without anger, bitterness and
revenge. A revolution that Mandela led warmed the hearts of the whole planet
and many saw it as a miracle.
If we look further back in South African history, there were other
revolutions which may be easy to ignore but which have a significance that
rivals the rise of democracy in both historical importance and relevance to the
world we live in today. When Professor Raymond Dart publicised his description
of the 'Taung Child' in 1925, he was dismissed by the world's leading
authorities such as Mr Arthur Keith as having wrongly described a monkey on no
other basis than the small size of the skull. Despite clear evidence that the
'Taung Child' was from an upright walking species, Dart's description was
rejected by those who did not like being told by an Australian living in South
Africa that humans had evolved in Africa.
In 1936 Dr Robert Broom made the first discovery of an adult southern ape of
Africa (Australopithecus africanus). In 1947 he discovered 'Mrs Ples' and
although the puzzle of human evolution remained incomplete, many of its largest
anomalies were resolved when it was realised that primitive hominids co-existed
with human ancestors. It was finally accepted that Africa was the birthplace of
humankind, as had earlier been predicted by Charles Darwin.
The 'Taung Child' and 'Mrs Ples' were recognised as authentic fossils of
creatures which walked on two legs on South African soil over two million years
ago.
It is now acknowledged that our direct ancestors certainly existed from
about 200 000 years before present, when the first of them left Africa.
Their journey was to take them mainly on foot, but occasionally by boat, to
every continent in the world. Over 60 000 years ago they had reached Australia
and much of Asia. Forty thousand years ago they reached Europe. Twelve thousand
years ago humans reached the Americas across the then frozen Bering Strait.
We now occupy every habitat across the globe from the coldest to the
hottest, from the wettest to the driest place on earth. Human existence is no
longer a fight for survival. Our greatest fight is to curb our own dominance to
realise that our species has become the one creature with the potential to
trample all other species into extinction. Our technology is so advanced that
on 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to place a human
footprint on another celestial body when he landed on the moon, uttering the
immortal but unfortunately gender insensitive, words "one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind!"
Mr President, by leaving your footprint here at Maropeng,, you are
expressing solidarity with United Nations (UN) General-Secretary Kofi Annan,
President Thabo Mbeki, all other Heads of State who will visit this place and
all the people of the world, both in a revolution which achieved a democracy in
South Africa and hope for all the oppressed people of the world but also in
acknowledgement of our shared evolution.
The first modern humans in Africa 2 000 000 years ago were the ancestors of
every person on the earth today. They walked many miles and gave birth to a
host of ever changing and beautiful children, the people of the world. By your
presence here today Mr President, you are acknowledging that your ancestor is
my ancestor and our ancestor is the ancestor of everybody alive and the journey
of every descendant throughout the world and even occasionally of a person on
the moon began as a single modest step of an upright ape in Africa.
Our journey has taken us through a world which changes ever faster. We now
walk taller, run faster and think smarter than we ever were before. We must ask
ourselves if we've become happier, kinder or better?
We cannot be when poverty continues to entrap many of our people and when
women, the youth and disabled continue to be marginalised. We will succeed in
building a better world once we start adopting inclusive policy positions in
recognition of the reality that we are all children of a common ancestor, we
share a common origin and we have a common destiny.
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
11 December 2006
