logo
Present Day Chokeholds and how young people are fighting back

Present Day Chokeholds and how young people are fighting back

IOL News04-05-2025

Unemployed graduates South Africa has a huge unemployment crisis, with over 45,6% of young people between the ages of 18-35 without formal employment, says the writer.
Image: Phill Magakoe AFP
Last month, we commemorated Human Rights Day by honouring the loss of life which occurred during the Sharpeville Massacre. This momentous day forces us to reckon with the sacrifices made by the many fallen soldiers who laid their lives down for the liberation of the oppressed.
Years later, the generation of today is drawing strength from the courageous acts made by these stalwarts and breaking free from present-day chokeholds that continue to constrict the economic emancipation and true freedom of young people.
The liberators from the apartheid era might have laid their lives on the ground for liberation for all, while their efforts and bravery were not in vain, young black people under the democratic dispensation continue to suffer new forms of oppression.
South Africa has a huge unemployment crisis, with over 45,6% of young people between the ages of 18-35 without formal employment.
In my community, the scourge of unemployment is widely visible. Young college graduates wander in the streets with hopes of securing jobs and making a living for themselves, still they are faced with an exclusionary system that continues to lock them out of economic opportunities.
Even when some continue to study further, many end up becoming victims of a life of addiction simply to remedy their inescapable conditions. Mass unemployment and the widening inequality gap have led to mental health decline and a loss of hope and dignity for many.
Unemployment: Pass laws are gone, but new systems suffocate us today! Youth unemployment sits at 40%, a stat that's not just numbers but locked doors for millions.
In my township, Tsakane in Ekurhuleni, young people with matric certificates, with college diplomas and University degrees, are collecting dust instead of paychecks.
This has led many young people to fall into depression as they no longer see the importance of obtaining higher education qualifications because of having no opportunities, even when they went to school and furthered their studies.
Nyaope addiction is turning brothers into ghosts and families into wrecks, with no clear solutions to assist their loved ones to break free from this addiction, says the writer.
Image: Supplied
Addiction:
Then there's Nyaope, this demon's hooks sink deeper every day, turning brothers into ghosts and families into wrecks, with no clear solutions to assist their loved ones to break free from this addiction. This has led to an innumerable number of our peers to end up thieving just so they can sell what they stole just so that they can feed their addiction.
Inequality: a child in Sandton's got a strong Wi-Fi connection and tutors, and they are more advantageous to make it well in education, when compared to a child in Alexander, who is just metres away from Sandton. These aren't just challenges, they're chokeholds, squeezing life out of our generation.
Leadership: We are not waiting to be rescued; we make it happen
Activators understand that present-day issues such as inequality and unemployment will not be remedied by an uncaring government that has failed to prioritise them; instead, the onus is on them to band together to rise above these chokeholds.
Last week, I came across a youth group from Duduza who turned a social media group into a job-sharing board that offers services to revamp CVs. While this action may seem small, it is one of the many ways in which young people are making opportunities widely accessible for those without access.
Waiting for something to miraculously happen for you is not an option, not in 2025. Action is the solution right now, and it's in your hands. Young people have to understand that they have ample power at their disposal and nothing will be handed to them on a silver platter until they get up and adopt a can-do attitude.
The theme of the South African Rugby national team (the Springboks) was 'Stronger together,' we can learn from this, the Springboks as a team is comprised of different players who play in different positions and each of them contributes effectively in the positions they are placed in on their line-up, no player has single-handedly made them win the World cup tournament, they played as a team, not as individuals, and that's what made the Springboks be.
This demonstrates that it takes a team to come up with strong and practical solutions. Link up! It could be with like-minded youth entities or individuals, and as a collective or as a network, you will thrive, you will identify problems, and together you can take steps to find solutions and tackle the socio-economic challenges you've identified.
Our efforts as young people shouldn't end on Human Rights Day; they should occur daily.
Image: Leon Muller / Independent Newspapers Archives

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bust attributed to Donatello splits Slovakia
Bust attributed to Donatello splits Slovakia

eNCA

timea day ago

  • eNCA

Bust attributed to Donatello splits Slovakia

A bust attributed to Renaissance master Donatello has re-emerged in Slovakia after falling into obscurity following World War II, but the country's nationalist government has sparked anger by stowing it away in a ministry building. The sculpture of Italian noblewoman Cecilia Gonzaga spent centuries in a manor house in central Slovakia, whose owners, the noble Csaky family, left it behind when they fled the advancing World War II front in 1945. Moved about and ultimately forgotten in the aftermath, it was sitting in a depository at the Spis Museum in the eastern town of Levoca when art historian Marta Herucova stumbled across it. The bust had been marked "unknown author". But Herucova noticed the base was inscribed with the words: "Ceciliae Gonzagae opvs Donatelli" (Cecilia Gonzaga, a work by Donatello). If confirmed, it would be only the eighth artwork signed by the Italian Renaissance sculptor to be discovered worldwide. Herucova made the find in 2019, but it was only announced in February -- surprising the country. "Who would expect an original Donatello to appear in Slovakia?" former museum director Maria Novotna told AFP. But the bust is now a subject of controversy. Nationalist Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova decided to remove it from the museum and bring it to an unknown location in late May, citing security concerns. The move dismayed critics and art historians, who say the bust needs expert conservation and research to confirm if it is really by Donatello (1386-1466). - 'Second expropriation' - A group of cultural sector representatives including Count Moritz Csaky has meanwhile lobbied for the bust to go on display. Csaky said in a statement on Monday that his family did not make any claim for restitution but cautioned "against individual artefacts becoming the plaything of power-political or commercial speculations". "I hope that the bust will not become the victim of a second expropriation and will once again find a dignified and honourable place in the Spis Museum," he added. AFP | JOE KLAMAR The bust has an epic backstory. After the Csaky family fled, Soviet troops looted their house, which then became a juvenile detention centre for girls after the communist government took over what was then Czechoslovakia in 1948. The girls played with the bust and even defined its eyes with blue pen, said Peter Cizmar, the son of a former guardian. In 1975, artwork still surviving at the centre was moved to the nearby Spis Museum. Attributed to an unknown 19th-century artist, the bust "was put in a depository and had not left it since", said former director Novotna, an art historian. Novotna was in charge of the museum catalogue as a young woman, and now regrets she did not have time to research the item as she was swamped with work. - Dinner companion - In 2019, Herucova was working on the museum's 19th-century collection when she found the piece. "The bust just came up," she said. After noticing the inscription, she started in-depth research. She suspected forgery, but the material, details and inscription were all too telling, she said. "Even artists who made Renaissance-style busts never signed them in the name of the original author," Herucova told AFP. She wrote about the finding in the French art history magazine Revue de l'Art, waiting for someone to contest the bust's origin -- which has not happened. Herucova also contacted Csaky, who had no clear recollection of its origin either, as his family left for Vienna when he was 11. But he did recall seeing the bust on a porch where the family dined in summer. "He said there used to be two original Gothic statues next to it, which are also in the museum today," Herucova said. - 'Safe and protected' - Herucova also contacted Italian art history professor Francesco Caglioti, who voiced doubt about the authorship but declined to elaborate. She is now pinning hopes on research in cooperation with foreign institutions. But for now, the bust is hidden away. Simkovicova, the culture minister who ordered it be moved with the help of a police commando, said it was "now safe and protected". Police chief Jana Maskarova later said the bust was at an interior ministry centre in Topolcianky, central Slovakia. Simkovicova promised to display the bust when "conditions are favourable". Herucova hopes the ministry will not try to revamp the bust, which should retain its patina, she said. "It's supposed to go to a professional place where they know how to do lab analyses."

Kohli 'lost for words' after 11 die celebrating Bengaluru IPL win
Kohli 'lost for words' after 11 die celebrating Bengaluru IPL win

eNCA

time5 days ago

  • eNCA

Kohli 'lost for words' after 11 die celebrating Bengaluru IPL win

INDIA - Virat Kohli said he was lost for words after celebrations of a dream IPL title turned to tragedy when 11 mainly young cricket fans were crushed to death in Bengaluru. Hundreds of thousands had packed the streets Wednesday to welcome home their hero Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after they had beaten Punjab Kings a day earlier in a thrilling Indian Premier League final. But the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it "absolutely heartrending". Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the 11 dead were young people and there were 47 others injured in the crush after a stampede near the city's M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium, where the players were parading the trophy for fans. Kohli, who top scored in the final, said earlier it had been "as much for the fans" after the 36-year-old finally celebrated winning the IPL at his 18th attempt. Later, Kohli wrote on social media: "At a loss for words. "Absolutely gutted," he added, alongside a statement from the RCB team saying they were "deeply anguished" at what had unfolded. One of the people injured described to AFP how a "huge crowd" had crushed her. "They stamped on me," said the woman, who did not give her name, from a wheelchair. "I was not able to breathe. I fell unconscious." Most of the dead were young fans who had gone out just to catch a glimpse of their sporting heroes. - 'He died in an RCB shirt' - Street food vendor Manoj Kumar mourned the death of his 18-year-old son, killed in the stampede, who he said he had stopped from working on his stall so he could study. "I wanted him to go to college," Kumar told the Indian Express newspaper. "I brought him up with a lot of care. Now, he is gone." A grieving mother outside a city mortuary said her 22-year-old engineering student son had also died in the crush. "He was crazy about RCB," she was quoted as saying by the Indian Express on Thursday. AFP | STRINGER "He died in an RCB shirt. They danced when RCB won and now he is gone. Can RCB give him back to us?" Authorities had already called off RCB's proposed open-top bus victory parade through the streets after anticipating vast crowds. But organisers pressed ahead with the welcome ceremony and celebrations inside the stadium. RCB's social media account posted a video of cheering crowds lining the streets as the players waved back from their team bus on their way to the stadium. The team said they cut short the celebrations "immediately upon being made aware of the situation". Siddaramaiah said that the stadium had a capacity of "only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came".

Photographer, cultural activist and jazz promoter Rashid Lombard dies
Photographer, cultural activist and jazz promoter Rashid Lombard dies

SowetanLIVE

time6 days ago

  • SowetanLIVE

Photographer, cultural activist and jazz promoter Rashid Lombard dies

Acclaimed photographer, cultural activist and jazz promoter Rashid Lombard died in Cape Town on Wednesday, surrounded by his loved ones. He was 74. Born on April 10 1951 in North End, Gqeberha, Lombard moved with his family to Cape Town in 1962. 'Originally trained as an architectural draftsman and later as an industrial photographer, he began his career with construction giant Murray & Roberts,' said family spokesperson Benny Gool. In 1970, Lombard married Colleen Rayson and the couple had three children. 'As a child in the Eastern Cape, Rashid experienced a diverse, harmonious community — black, white, Coloured, Indian and Chinese — until the brutal machinery of apartheid forcibly removed his friends to racially segregated areas, never to be seen or heard of again.' His political consciousness was later amplified through the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement. Lombard went on to work as a freelance photographer and television sound recordist during the height of the anti-apartheid struggle. 'His lens captured the unrest and hope of a nation in transition for international media outlets including AFP, the BBC and NBC.' Over the course of his career, he documented pivotal moments in South Africa's journey to freedom, including the rise of the democratic movement in the 1980s, the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 and the country's first democratic elections in 1994. Gool said with democracy came the opportunity for Lombard to fully embrace his other great passion, jazz. He served as station manager at Fine Music Radio and later as programming manager at P4 Smooth Jazz Radio. In 1997, Lombard founded espAfrika, the events management company behind one of his most enduring legacies: the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which he launched in 2000 and directed until his retirement in 2014. After stepping away from the festival, Lombard took over the digitisation of his archives, a task previously managed by his wife. He later partnered with the National Archives and the department of sport, arts and culture to make the collection publicly accessible online as a national heritage resource. Lombard's extraordinary archive — more than 500,000 film negatives, video and audio recordings — is now preserved at the University of the Western Cape. In 2010, Lombard published Jazz Rocks, edited by the late George Hallett. The book is a journey looking through the eye of Lombard's camera, capturing music, people and places that defined his life and work across the globe. He was honoured with numerous awards for both his contributions to news photography and his impact on music and tourism. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver 'for his excellent contribution to arts and culture and his dedication to promoting jazz music that has put South Africa on the map for many jazz enthusiasts around the world'. In 1986, legendary exiled photographer Ernest Cole, who had not held a camera for over a decade, borrowed Lombard's and turned the lens on him in a gesture of deep respect and recognition, Gool said. Asked in a later interview about his legacy, Lombard responded: 'No matter who you are — religion, race, male, female — you can achieve your dreams. I'm a true testament to that.' He is survived by his lifelong-partner Colleen Lombard, his sister Fazoe Sydow, his children and five grandchildren. Lombard will be buried according to Muslim rites. The Good Party extended its condolences to Lombard's family and said his contributions helped shape the soul of the nation. 'As the visionary behind the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, he brought global attention to Cape Town while ensuring that the event remained rooted in principles of inclusivity, access and development,' party leader Patricia de Lille said. She said during her time as Cape Town mayor, she had the privilege of working alongside Lombard. 'The jazz festival stood out not just as a world-class musical showcase but as an all-inclusive event that actively worked to build a more inclusive city, one that welcomed all, regardless of colour or creed,' De Lille said. TimesLIVE

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store