Programme Director;
Minister of Arts and Culture, Paul Mashatile;
Acting Premier, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza;
Executive Mayor of Tshwane Municipality, Cllr Kgosientso Ramokgopa;
Chairperson of the National Heritage Council, Mxolisi Zwane;
Chairperson of the Freedom Park Council, Vusi Mchunu;
The CEO of Freedom Park, Mr FanaJiyane;
Members of Parliament;
Members of the Diplomatic corps;
Traditional Leaders;
Leaders of Faith-Based Organisations;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for joining us on this special occasion to mark 19 years of democracy and Freedom in South Africa and, also, to open the new Freedom Park //hapo. Our purpose in this gathering today is to witness an act of history; the official opening of the //hapo museum and by so doing, handing it over to the nation.
The historical importance of the opening of the //hapo centre resides in the symbolism it embodies for our nation. While //hapo is the product of our collective history, it also resonates with the imperatives of the present, as well as the edicts upon which our nation is founded.
The founding father of our democratic nation, former President Nelson Mandela is the patron in chief of Freedom Park, and so this museum also serves as a monument to his mighty legacy.
To that extent it also stands as a testimony to our rugged determination to continue working for a united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, just and prosperous society.
This abiding vision frames the theme under which today's historic event is taking place: We meet today under the theme of "//hapo” which is drawn from the ancient wisdom of the San and Khoi that "A dream is not a dream until it is shared by the entire community."
This Freedom Park has been conceptualised as a monument for all South Africans to consolidate and preserve their freedom heritage in an all-encompassing and inclusive manner; including its links to the Voortrekker monument and Union Buildings within the Tshwane Heritage belt.
This park is also unique in that it extends freedom beyond the regurgitation of institutionalised history by expanding the definition of freedom to include spiritually, symbolic and multi-faith freedoms of expression by, amongst others, offering visitors a quiet place for meditation and reflection.
This distinctive approach to history and heritage reflects an appreciation that human beings are complex beings; thus we have to tap into their beliefs, interests and feelings if we are to bring them along in our journey to build a common South African identity.
Programme Director;
We are taught by scholars of philosophy that, the essence of humanity comprises both the spiritual sphere, the sphere of the mind, and bodily organisation and that humanity identifies themselves as a part of the social whole. This is an old age understanding in our African folk laws that "motho ke motho ka batho”, "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”; meaning that a person is a person through others.
In this regard, the concept of //hapo, this great idea that— "a dream is not a dream until it is shared by an entire community”— is instrumental for inculcating a culture of unity and democracy among South Africans. People, by their nature, can only feel equal and united when the dignity, self-worth and esteem of all is guaranteed.
A common consciousness must therefore be developed amongst all South Africans such that our national symbols— including our flags and national anthem — reflect our social-economic development.
Understanding this complexity, it is important to develop spaces for people to tune into their consciousness, providing them with the space to freely fulfil themselves and to cultivate an identity through guaranteeing their freedoms of expression, religion, thought, conscience, belief, opinion and association.
This is founded on the understanding of the indivisibility between the mind, body, and soul and the need to identify the self through language, religion, custom and tradition. It is for this reason that the aforesaid freedoms were engraved into our constitution to guarantee South Africans an unencumbered pursuit of their dreams and to live meaningful lives.
In this respect, the opening of the //hapo and the completion of the final stages of the Freedom Park construction could not have come a moment too soon. The //hapo Museum has immeasurable memorial value for the evolution of our struggle for freedom and it embodies our national values of reconciliation, reconstruction and rebirth of our country post 1994.
Preserving our history in this way is an important historical imperative which allows us to reflect on our past, present and future in a manner that helps to heal our past and foster reconciliation, social cohesion and nation building.
Generations to come will use this centre to learn about their origins and therefore understand the uniqueness of being a South African citizen and people who come from diverse quarters of the world but are despite this united in diversity.
Certainly this centre will allow us to deal with all that is good and bad about our past, conscious not to dwell on it or repeat its mistakes while at the same time being steadfast in drawing important lessons to unite us as we foster a new and common national heritage.
Visitors to //hapo will learn more about the struggle for freedom from amongst others the Pan African Archives, which are archives of research material in audio, visual and text formats. //hapo will also host an interactive exhibition space, presenting the history of Southern Africa over the past 3.6 billion years in the old-age custom of narrative and visual form, extended by the Vhuawela garden and walkway which create space for quiet and peaceful meditation and reflection.
Understanding that our country is made up of various settler communities ranging from the arrival of the Dromedaries, followed by slaves brought in from Malaysia, India, Java to man the Dutch East Indian Company Refreshment station in the Cape Colony and later on the British, French Huguenots and so on; //hapo will provide us with the opportunity to appreciate that our country is built through the hands of the indentured labourers in the sugar cane plantations, in the mines, Chinese labourers; artisans in the mines, fortune hunters and many people who are part of the fabric of who we are as a nation.
The narration of our history in this way will help us appreciate that the freedom we enjoy today is no exclusive preserve of any one social grouping but a proud heritage of all South Africans.
This narrating of our history through the //hapo Museum will help to tell our history in an authentic way that is supported by scholarly research and the recording of oral history, thereby opening up new perspectives and re-interpretation of our freedom heritage.
It will help our country re-define our history in holistic terms, of starting from the early wars of dispossession such as Khoikhoi-Dutch war in the 1500s; the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in the Cape in 1652; the Third War of Dispossession between the Khoisan and colonial authorities in the 1800s; the South Africa War, previously known as 'Anglo Boer War,' and anti-apartheid struggle, all of which form part of our freedom history and define the freedoms we enjoy today.
Programme Director;
Allow me to conclude by reiterating the //hapo message that a "dream is not a dream until it is shared by an entire community.” This museum is the result of nation-wide consultative processes that solicited advice from youth, organic intellectuals, academics, artistic communities, women groups, traditional leaders and healers and faith-based organisations. It is a product of South Africans from all walks of life and is in every shape and form a community's dream.
Beyond this, shaping the concept of freedom in terms of our struggle, this //hapo Museum must also help us understand that the notion of freedom goes to the heart of what it means to be human.
It is this type of freedom that Nelson Mandela envisioned when PW Botha in response, offered him a conditional release from Robben Island Prison when he said 'what freedom am I being offered while the organisation of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.'
Indeed telling our history in an all-encompassing way will free our minds from the bounds of mental imprisonment, allowing us the necessary singular focus to tackling the socio-economic conditions of poverty, unemployment and inequality that constrain the realisation of a better-life for all South Africans.
Telling our history in an all-inclusive way will indeed go a long way toward making the dream of a better life for all our people a South African dream shared by all.
As Peter Abrahams remarked: "You can't walk alone. Many have given the illusion, but none have really walked alone. Man is not made that way. Each man is bedded in his people, their history, their culture, and their values.”
No one has ever or can ever walk alone; our history is a shared history, as is our future. In consequence, I urge all South Africans to take ownership of this centre and consider it our centre of consciousness as a nation aware of its indissoluble oneness.
I thank you.
