Aug-Sept 2014 K.indd

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AUG/SEPT 2014 • www.cosatu.org.za

Is this what stands a possibility of being refused, a chance to be inculcated in the minds of our youth? Who in their right mind can refuse to associate with such a noble call of unity expressed in our National Anthem? When citizens of Germany sing their National Anthem, it takes their memory back the holocaust and yet inspires them to the future. When citizens of the former colonial countries sing their National Anthem it reminds them of the colonial past they will never return to and yet inspires them to march towards the future of true freedom from colonialism When South Africans raise their fl ag and sing the national anthem, their minds wonder to the past and travel to the future and fi lls their hearts with hope for a South Africa painted in the Freedom Charter. It is the dream of unity which must be engraved in the minds of our people both young and old. We dare not wink for a moment and abdicate the responsibility of committing all generations to this dream of Solomon Mahlangu who even at the face of death remained inspired by his love for his people and his country, leading him to the declare to his mother “Tell my people that I love them, my blood will nourish the tree of freedom”. It is this love for our country which made comrade Nelson Mandela and his comrades to be prepared for a life sentence causing them to declare through Nelson Mandela that “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” This living generation of South African

were added by the renowned IsiXhosa national poet, Samuel E.K. Mqhayi. It was fi rst recorded on 16 October 1923, in London. By 1925 it had become the of fi cial song of the African National Congress (ANC) and was also sung during the British Royal visit in 1947. In the 1960s, Tanzania and Zambia adopted the song as their national anthem. For the white population this song was associated with insurrection, it represented a threat for a forceful takeover against the white establishment. To some the lyrics of the song without reading and understanding it was driving a message which inspired an intention to change South Africa into a communist country. And yet when read from both sides of the divide Nkosi’Sikel’iAfrca is a call for divine intervention on behalf of the oppressed masses of our people and those who stood on the side of the oppressed. It’s an expression of humility and a call for eternal unity. Die stem when read from both sides of the divide reconnects us with the heavens and the seas which de fi nes the boundaries of human existence. It reminds us that we coexist with nature. Die Stem is that voice which reminds that our fi ght from different side was the fi ght for freedom albeit from different sides. Die Stem is that call which reminds us that our fi ght for freedom was actually a fi ght to own and secure the mountains, the rivers, the seas, the glides, and the greenery of our land, the valleys and the abundance of our mineral resources. The last stanza in English version of the Anthem is an expression of the inevitability of Unity if South Africa is to claim true freedom and rise head and shoulders above other nations when it says “Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land

bases of the material experiences of the present only but also on the bases of hope for the future. The question is does our National Anthem inspire such hope. Lord bless Africa May her glory be lifted high Hear our petitions Lord bless us, your children English translation of Sesotho version Lord we ask you to protect our nation Intervene and end all con fl icts protect us; protect our nation Protect South Africa, South Africa English translation of Afrikaans version

Out of the blue of our heavens Out of the depths of our seas over our everlasting mountains where the echoing crags resound Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land

The answer to this is found in the fact that our anthem is an expression of the best from the worst of our countries experiences. Die stem which a poem written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918 and was set to music by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. It was also the co-national anthem with God Save the King/Queen between 1936 and 1957, when it became the sole national anthem until 20 April 1994, when Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika was also recognized as national anthem. To the black and African masses it represented a symbol of robbery of our country’s resources, a symbol of national and racial oppression and exploitation for the black and African masses. Nkosi’Sikelel’i Africa, its fi rst two stanzas were authored in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a distinguished school principal, a choirmaster, and proli fi c poet and the additional verses to the anthem

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