Directors of the ceremony
Deputy Minister of Human Rights of Brazil, Mr Rogerio Sottili
Archbishop of Johannesburg, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale
Bishop of Rustenburg, Bishop Kevin
Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Eddie Makue
Parish Priest of Regina Mundi, Father Ben Mahlangu
Religious leaders
Comrades and friends in the struggle for justice and human rights
Dumelang! Sawubona! Molweni! Avuxeni! Goeie More! Ndi macheloni! Good morning. Bom dia. Sejam bem-vindos a Africa do Sul!
It is a great honour for me to represent the government and the people of the Republic of South Africa on this very special occasion. I would like to convey, in particular, the greetings and best wishes of the President of the Republic, President Jacob Zuma and also the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Minister Jeff Radebe.
This is indeed a very special moment underlined as it is by deep similarities between South Africa and Brazil similarities that, of course, go beyond the painful memory that, despite the best efforts of, and intercessions by many women and men of faith, in both countries, including Archbishop Tutu, neither of our teams made it to the semi finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Both our countries are homes to a rich diversity of peoples, peoples in whose veins flow the heritage of many continents, peoples whose cultures are rich and diverse and yet constitute a celebration of all that speaks of a shared humanity.
Both our countries carry the marks and the consequences of colonial conquest and years of tyranny inflicted on the majority by a minority.
Both bear the scars of the dispossession of land and the accumulation of vast wealth in the hands of a few.
Both have lived through sad chapters in their histories marked by the absence of a culture of human rights and by the violent subjugation of whole populations. In this regard we can and must as South Africans share our experiences with the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation as Brazil prepares to embark on a similar process to deal with their painful experience of military dictatorship. On a personal level it was my great privilege to have been able to make a very small contribution to the struggle against dictatorship in Brazil as high school student in the early 1980s.
Both, to this day, remain challenged by the spectres of poverty and racism despite the concerted efforts of and significant advances made by our governments and people.
Both understand very well that as long as poverty and racism threaten our life together, as long as the culture of human rights remains vulnerable and fragile, none of us is truly free.
Yet we both share a truly unique wealth. Both our countries have birthed women and men of great courage, women and men who have refused to give up on the dream to be free, who against all odds, through small and great acts of defiance, shaped and continue to shape, a nobler future for the generations still to come.
There is in the human spirit an unquenchable yearning to be free. Dom Helder Camara understood this yearning well when he said, ‘I dream, I am thinking of a future when people will become the agents of their social progress.’
He also stressed the importance of understanding and addressing the root causes of the challenges that we face when he said that, "When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist."
Both our countries have seen the power and the progress that is unleashed when all sectors of society act together to create a better future.
All these are convictions that South Africa and Brazil also share in the sphere of international relations. It is reflected in a common global vision alluded to by President Zuma after his meeting with President Lula when he said, "We are co-operating on a range of international issues promoting common views on development, human rights and democracy.
We are also of one mind regarding global efforts to prevent conflicts and threats such as those posed by crime, drugs and environmental degradation. At a multilateral level, the relationship between our two countries is underpinned by a common desire to influence the global agenda in the 21st century.
We are determined to continue doing this in a manner that reflects the aspirations of developing countries, particularly through South to South relations and IBSA. We share similar views on the transformation of multilateral institutions such as international financial institutions."
It is significant that we gather here at Regina Mundi because the universe of faith is yet another aspect of our shared heritage. Faith has an ambiguous history, used on the one hand to subjugate and pacify, but also an inspiration in the struggle against oppression and a reminder of a God who takes the side of the poor and the oppressed.
Our own Archbishop Tutu has reminded us time and again that ‘our God is not a neutral God. We have a God who takes sides. Who will not let us forget the widow and the orphan.’
Regina Mundi has been one of those potent reminders of ‘a faith that does justice’. It stands as a symbol of hope as it did in those dark days of 1976 when it became the rallying point for the student revolt. In those trying times it served as a place of sanctuary for those being pursued by apartheid's forces, it served as a meeting place for the community and it opened its spaces for dialogue, for discussion, for debate. Outside in the garden there is a stone tablet recording the meeting here of ‘kairos’ theologians whose ideas were to influence the struggle very deeply.
We need more spaces where ideas can be debated and new ideas find a place in which to be born. We need more spaces for remembering and healing and for building a culture of hope. It is thus salutary that there is a museum, a photographic display in this Church that reminds us of the past but also invites us to put our mark of commitment as a pledge for a future in which such things will not happen again.
It is worrying that even as we gather there are persistent rumours of possible outbreaks of xenophobia related violence. Government takes the threats of violence against foreign nationals seriously and we have reiterated that no such attacks will be tolerated.
On Thursday this week government announced a strategy to act in partnership with various organs of civil society to proactively curb and avert the threat of violence against foreign nationals.
This strategy includes the extension of the 2010 FIFA World Cup National Joint Committee and the swift policing and justice approach that was witnessed during the World Cup. Law enforcement agencies will not hesitate to act speedily and decisively against anyone found to perpetrate or to incite violent acts against foreign nationals.
Other key elements of this strategy include the proactive facilitation of a societal dialogue as well as reinforcing civic education in society and within the law enforcement agencies. This has taken place at various areas around the country comprising of police, churches, community policing forums and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Communities need to blow the whistle against any criminals that are masquerade behind xenophobia. It needs to be noted that the 2008 attacks against foreign nationals did not spread to areas within Soweto, a fact that can largely be attributed to the critical role played by community policing forums.
We are confident that faith communities such as Regina Mundi will play a crucial role in this regard.
Today, in this ecumenical gathering, there will be an exchange of Madonnas. Both those Madonnas bear the features of the women in both our countries that most times carry the brunt of poverty, of violence and of discrimination. They also carry the features of women in both of our countries who have passed on the dreams of freedom to their children, who have acted with great courage in the midst of adversity.
The tradition of the Madonna is rooted in the song of Mary in the New Testament (in Luke’s gospel) where the Madonna sings of pulling down the mighty from their thrones and raising the lowly, in other words of ushering into history moments and categories of significant transformation and of the participation of ordinary people in shaping their own destinies.
In exchanging such significant gifts, we are pledging ourselves, our countries, our governments, our faith communities, our civil society, to continue the struggle to create a better life for all. The tradition of the Madonna is also about acts of kindness, gestures of affirmation that speak the language of the heart.
In unexpected ways we have seen many of these acts of kindness during the world cup and we need to build on them as continue the daunting task of nation building and reconciliation.
Let us remind ourselves that in just over a week's time, on 18 July 2010, former President Nelson Mandela will be turning 92. In celebrating his life and contribution, the people of South Africa and the world are called to contribute 67 minutes of their time in honour and emulation of his iconic example of 67 years of service to humanity.
Brazil and South Africa have achieved much in recent years of which we can be justifiably proud. Much remains to be done. Let us continue to join hands in friendship and solidarity in the conviction that working together we can do more.
In doing so let us say, as the Brazilian composer and singer Geraldo Vandre does in his song, Pra Nao Dizer Que Nao Falei Das Flores:
Nas escolas, nas ruas, campos, construções
Somos todos soldados, armados ou não
Caminhando e cantando e seguindo a canção
Somos todos iguais, braços dados ou não
Os amores na mente, as flores no chão
A certeza na frente, a história na mão
Caminhando e cantando e seguindo a canção
Aprendendo e ensinando uma nova lição.
(In the schools, on the streets, fields, construction sites
We are all soldiers, armed or not
Marching and singing and following the song
We are all equal, arms linked or not
Loved ones in mind, flowers on the ground
Certainty ahead, history in hand
Marching and singing and following the song
Learning and teaching a new lesson)
I thank you. Nkosi kakhulu. Baie dankie. Ngiyabonga. Ke a leboga.
Inkomu. Ndi a livhuwa. Muito obrigado.
