The book thus presents a textual and visual map for the journey to take in this garden within gardens that celebrates an African view of the world and its historical, cultural and spiritual manifestations.
ISBN 978-1-4314-2074-2
9 781431 420742
A PLACE OF E M A N C I PAT I O N AND MEANING
As a unique contribution, nationally and internationally, Freedom Park integrates heritage, history, culture and spirituality, anchored within the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) perspective. This is seen as a contribution towards the restoration of South Africa’s Africanshaped heritages and identities and as a means to complement and to illuminate all the aspects that make up Freedom Park. Freedom Park’s interpretive museum called //hapo – which means “a dream is not a dream until shared by the entire community” – is conceived as a place within a place, where the story of South Africa unfolds. By giving voice to submerged histories in South Africa, the transformation of South Africa and its cultural reconstitution in broad and inclusive African terms, the Park is aimed at enlarging and deepening conceptions of humanity and freedom in a dynamic and continuous manner.
FREEDOM PARK
Freedom Park: A Place of Emancipation and Meaning signifies the extent to which Freedom Park was established as a place of contemplation for the immediate and distant past, the present and the future of South Africa. The book narrates the story of Freedom Park from a range of perspectives pertinent to its history and functions by reflecting on how the Park was conceptualised as a presidential legacy project that was approved by cabinet after 1994, to create and foster a new national consciousness of the common legacy that binds the people of South Africa. It shows how Freedom Park emerged in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations for symbolic recognition and reparation of past conflicts in South Africa, with a mandate to honour the heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives for freedom and humanity and to foster reconciliation, social cohesion and nation building, in line with the principles of freedom and inclusive democracy. The narrative of Freedom Park is historically informed and imaginatively conceived to unfold in seven epochs from past to present up to the frontiers of the future, illuminated in the functions and meanings of its various elements and their relationship to the whole.
FREEDOM PARK A P L A C E O F E M A N C I PAT I O N A N D M E A N I N G
EDITED BY
Andries Walter Oliphant, Mongane Wally Serote and Pattabi Ganapathi Raman
FREEDOM PARK: THE PRECINCT FOR R E C O N C I L I AT I O N Mongane Wally Serote
Freedom Park was conceived as a heritage project integral to the national and continental consciousness capable of contributing the full humanisation of South Africa through its structures and contents. As an African national heritage it is constructed on the basis of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) as the primary reference point while borrowing from the national and continental diversity, while also heeding lessons from international experiences. It is, as former President Thabo Mbeki has said, “… one of the most ambitious projects of the new dispensation.” This panorama of the Freedom Park is reflected upon in the essays which are the body of the book – Freedom Park: A Place of Emancipation and Meaning. The essays, divided into five interrelated parts, provide insights into every aspect of Freedom Park. They cover a wide range of topic including history, politics, architecture, spirituality, science and technology, storytelling, culture and the arts. These issues were, at all times, inherent to the construction of the Park. Accordingly, they were continuously examined, verified and validated as there were so many interpretations, observations and comments in the reasoning and meanings given to the different elements which make up the heritage site. An important reference point in all this was former President Mbeki’s observation: In the broad sense of the word, we are dealing with freedom from the adverse impact of the forces of nature, freedom that comes with technological revolution, freedom occasioned by socio-economic factors, and freedom from political oppression, ensuring that the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves.
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In addition, the proverbial finger print of Freedom Park is to be found in the Preamble to the South African Constitution which declares: We the people of South Africa Recognise the injustices of the past Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land Respect those who worked to build and develop our country and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity ‌ Part One of this publication thus focuses on the genesis of Freedom Park and covers the search for an appropriate paradigm for the creation of the site as a whole designated as the Garden of Remembrance and all its constituent elements, each meant to speak individually as well as collectively. This signifies and gives expression to the unity in diversity of South Africa. In this regard the Pan African Archive is a hub of information about how the Park was constructed, philosophically and culturally with the past, the present and the future in mind. It is also intended to serve as a unique centre of knowledge production which will emanate from the preserved experiences and knowledge of freedom fighters from every segment of the South African population. It is a Pan African Archive and was primed, through wide-ranging consultations and interviews, to have voices in it of Africans wherever they are. The circles or circular structures and routes, like the Ring Road, Mveredzo, and other networks of paths are intentional and are meant to produce a subtle concentricity. This contrasts with the Sanctuary and //hapo where sharp wall formations were deliberately used. The circle is a symbol for the pivotal philosophy of the Garden of Remembrance namely that of Motho Ke Motho Ka Batho. The olive tree and the plaque on which this philosophy is engraved was unveiled by former President Mbeki – they stand quietly on an elevated space pronouncing this philosophy visually and symbolically. One missing element, however, is Tiva which was to add to and complete the tranquil aura of the site, a characteristic which is not only extremely important for this site, but which is also a part of the creation story. Hopefully, this will be revisited when funds allow. Another missing element, which may and should be revisited in the future, is the special nursery. This is to be a living nursery like Sentlhaga, a place where children would explore the interrelatedness of life cycles and learn about the flora and fauna of the country. The nursery space was to consist of different elements which would constitute an enclave for revealing and expressing a culture that the African experience founded. This is usually expressed through idioms and proverbs, not only to express the relationship, but also the synergy among plants, animals and the human race. There is an interdependence among these three phenomena, which, as nature and the universe illustrates at all times, forever exposes the expression of one entity. Through that expression, it also links to the multiple expressions of other entities, to eventually produce rippled effects of relations. It is in these silent songs of life, living and being, that the expression, presence and activity of each of them manifest beauty, peace and the freedom which the human spirit forever seeks. The
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nursery was to be the incubation space for healing. It was to resonate with //hapo, where Sentlhaga was supposed to be situated as one with bounds of possibilities for the healing of the nation. The science, the technology which is inherent in biodiversity, if carefully handled and if creatively utilised, promises to change the concept of pharmacology. It also promises to contribute to the quality of all forms of life and, because this approach would demand sustainability, it would also contribute to ensuring that the earth preserves life. The sharp-edged Sanctuary, which brings a variety of shapes and forms into the Garden, stands facing the tranquility of the spacious Amphitheatre. Here there is also the Eternal Flame and the back bone of the Gallery of Leaders. The Wall of Names, Moshate and Utility space (slaughter space, kitchen and security) are the elements that make up S’khumbuto. Both S’khumbuto and Isivivane are a living expression of the beliefs, philosophy, spirituality, history and politics of an African. They express the pre-colonial context of our country and give space for expression to both the diverse cultural and belief systems of this land and the struggle for liberation during colonialism and apartheid. //hapo, which looms large at the entrance to the site, is simulated as a rock formation made of copper. The different rocks or boulders interact with one another giving a sharp-edged formation, pattern and shape of the element. This architectural design and expression is inspired by Credo Mutwa, who demonstrated the spiritual and healing effect of boulders to the human spirit – which we normally refer to as a “beauty to behold”. As one of the minerals, copper has endurable qualities, and was selected to be a symbol and reminder of the lives and being of miners, who endured an inhuman life as they worked underneath the earth. Their labour was eked out under conditions of slavery, being brutally and ruthlessly exploited, and they lived lives of utter poverty and oppression. There are many miners who lost their lives in the depth of the earth, eking out wealth and fortune for the settlers in our country and for Britain and Europe – in short, the West. Not only did the miners die, the mining industry, like religion, tore African society apart, almost forever. In the same way, Indians were brought as slaves to the sugar cane fields in Natal, and the Chinese were torn from their country and brought as slaves to the mines in South Africa – this is all mentioned on the Wall of Names. It was the era when the business of the settlers, the colonisers and slave masters was bloody. As we dig the soil of this country, this ghastly history will loom large to speak to us, while we discover the human remains of all these people, as if to say, “Lest we forget!” Besides that, the mining industry was an extreme expression of oppression and exploitation of black people. It was also the rock on which the illusion of white supremacy and Western civilisation was constructed and hoisted for all to see. They not only earned wealth that cannot be counted, but they also created the systems to protect the monopoly to own it. The wealth imbued them with power, but also they created a platform for themselves, so as to dominate and to conquer the world through their fire power. This changed the destiny
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of humankind forever. The full cycle of subjugation, oppression and exploitation was completed. It is up to the historically subjugated, oppressed and exploited to find ways to reclaim their humanity. The boulders are the carriers of the human spirit. Therefore, inside this boulder formation, through the eight epochs, Africa speaks of a non-racial African perspective. //hapo is expressing the wish and will of Africans to find the manner to reconcile, but also to heal. It is also through this reconciliation and healing that a great aspiration for the reawakening, renewal, rebirth and the regeneration of being an African is sought, expressed and furthered within the human experience. In other words, the question arises: what must be done to emancipate the African voice? And what must that African voice say in the 21st century? If Freedom Park as a heritage site and is also an institution, among many others, which reclaim Africa and the being of Africans, the question is: How must these institutions speak, communicate and dialogue with, and among, the diverse citizens of the continent? Equally, what is it that must be done so that these diverse people of the continent interact among one another through these institutions, and so further Pan Africanism within the global context? In other words, for the dynamism of consciousness to take place, Freedom Park must express human and humane aspirations imbued with African understanding of life, living and beliefs. It must also, in the 21st century, express tolerance of other understandings of life, living and beliefs that emanate from the diversity of other human expressions. These expressions and cultures emanate from human interactions and their interaction with nature and the universe. They also express societal aspirations and the political health of nations, through institutions and declarations. If the history of the world is to go by at this point, these expressions and cultures must have, as an inherent characteristic, the potential and possibility for negotiation and reconciliation. They must function in a manner of awareness of each other, and be exposed to each other at all times. “Guinea fowls keep together because they eat together,” says a Xitsonga proverb. Thus this consciousness opens a possibility for Freedom Park to reconcile the confrontational culture which existed for decades with the democratic dispensation emanating from the South African Constitution, as symbolised by the Voortrekker Monument, on the one hand, and Freedom Park, on the other. The two institutions should link up and speak to each other. Is this a possibility, vir toenadering and na ku vhulavhula? That is, whatever the Voortrekker Monument says and whatever Freedom Park says, both express aspects of the history and culture of South Africa. This then is the possibility for reconciliation, which must be a consciousness and therefore also become a possibility, a potential to contribute to a culture which is in tandem with the South African Constitution. The gift, emanating from Mandela’s and his other colleague’s sacrifices, to South Africa, Africa and the world, is the possibility for opposing confrontational forces with the
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objective to find ground to reconcile. The reason this gravity of reconciliation caused and became a ripple effect is because it found resonance with the being of many people in the world – they had all been exposed to the ripple effect of the possibility for their annihilation. There are many indigenous shrines, spread across South Africa and Africa, which, besides going to church or mosques, thousands of Africans visit. Each of these shrines speaks to life, living and belief, all seek and are in search of human peace. One of these, in Freistata, Motouleng, is a cave, which has been there from time immemorial. Hundreds of people from Europe and America visit it and perform rituals. This shrine, and others like Tswaing, Gauteng, have become part and parcel of the consciousness of thousands of people. So also are many religious denominations, where thousands every week congregate to express their consciousness in the belief that it is and must become part of human behaviour and therefore of human belief. You can call these shrines holy places or places for worship. They are all also heritage sites and finger prints of human action. Is there a possibility for reconciliation among them? What would it take to achieve it? Informed by this understanding, when the legacy project identified other heritage sites, it linked them to Freedom Park which was deemed to be the premier legacy project. Whether it is a premier legacy project or not, the issue is: Is it possible for it to reconcile with all the other shrines and places of worship, which express the condition? So Freedom Park cannot just stand there on the mountain, at Salvokop. What must it do? The South African consciousness, informed by apartheid, has perceived that reconciliation refers to the toenadering of black and white people. Why can it not be reconciliation among men and women, black and white, youth and adults, children and adults, and languages across the spectrum? Why can it not be a process for the coming together, on the basis of tolerance, of all belief systems? Can this toenadering also inform the emergence of the united Africa if six different regions were created and if each of them were to self-develop and speak to one another about the possibilities and differences and seek solutions to whatever challenges each faced? What would happen if in each of the shrines on the African continent reconciliation was not only prayed for, but explored, discussed and celebrated together with the African Union? What would happen if the African Union made it its business to award, through recognition, those shrines that seek this reconciliation, on the basis of tolerance, organised activities, programmes, processes and projects? What would happen if the principle of seeking African solutions through African means were made possible by also mobilising the African media to reflect an understanding that, while wars were fought for their freedom, the media must defend the freedom of those who fought for it? If Freedom Park as a heritage site is also an institution among many others which reclaim Africa and being African, how can this reclamation be achieved? And must it do so? To deepen the question further, the question must also be: How would these institutions
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contribute to claiming the humanness of human beings so that a consciousness is incubated in the world which must claim this possibility? At the beginning of this essay, there was a claim that in creating a paradigm for the emergence of the Park, lessons were also incorporated from international experiences. Some experiences were heeded from the world power, the US, and also from threatened countries, like Cuba, Venezuela and Europe. Extensive perusal of the African continent was also done in search of the humane human experience. In the US, we searched for how the human spirit of the slaves broke free and claimed humanness for itself. We visited President Roosevelt’s memorial, the Vietnam memorial, the Korean memorial, the Freedom Museum and others; in Cuba we visited the Jose Marti memorial, the Che Guevara memorial in Santa Clara; the Yoruba Museum in Havana. By the time we had done several countries on the continent, which deserve a more careful approach and not in passing comment, we had a pillar to link to the paradigm for Freedom Park. This picture portrays how, if the heritage sites were linked, they could become a point of reference, and an example for a dialogue, for the basis of a deliberate and conscious effort to let emerge a consciousness that seeks to make tolerance a world culture. At this stage, it is important to revisit the processes that preceded the construction of the container of Freedom Park. The return of spirits was done through myriad artifacts. It was understood from the beginning, after consultation with faith-based organisations, that healing is a process. There were different beliefs that were used for the process of cleansing people and/or the land. It also consisted of different methods and tools for conducting it. Be that as it may, there were also several commonalities among the different sectors which conducted the cleansing rituals in the different provinces. There was, however, no moment where the different sectors emphasised their differences, but at all times, while there were individual actions for cleansing, there were also collective ways of performing the rituals. A unity of purpose emerged during the cleansing, healing and return of spirits rituals and ceremonies, across religious denominations, belief systems and even political spectrum. However, even as all kinds of attempts were made, these manifestations still expressed a racial divide, although some individuals, consciously and deliberately, sought to seek tolerance. Freedom Park now stands there, on the mountain. As a container, at least, it expresses an aesthetic, and its content as an expression must be enshrined by this book Freedom Park: A Place of Emancipation and Meaning. Both are an expression of the emancipation of the African Voice. This voice is at best expressed by the saying: Motho Ke Motho Ka Batho. There is still unfinished business, even as the construction of the Park has been done. What must be the conclusion about the 5 000 names of soldiers who fell defending apartheid in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa? The families of these soldiers were invited to the Park and were given a platform, in the form of a large book, to write down their feelings about their loved ones.
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The book speaks volumes about some South African citizens who had not heard a word about their loved ones who had fought in a war, and were never talked about after that. However, it must also be recalled that the South African Defence Force (SADF), the apartheid army, had become non-racial. Where are the remains of the black soldiers of the SADF, and where are their relatives? What have they heard since their loved ones went, and of some who fell? The verification committee is still seeking a resolution regarding the names of those who fell in another war between the ANC and the IFP. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) discovered over 600 secret graves where freedom fighters had been buried after being murdered by the apartheid police. The NPA is discovering more graves and will still discover more, and the graves yield more corpses than expected, expressing the nature of secret graves. Freedom Park and the Voortrekker Monument share a precinct and speak of a history of a country from different perspectives. Coming generations of South Africans must come here and find a consciousness about their past. Somewhere as they hear the voices from this precinct, and as they see, feel, touch the surfaces of these containers, and they taste the air that embraces them and the containers, hopefully, they will also understand the voice that keeps saying: Reconciliation.
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