BBC In pictures: Soweto Remembers
The children of Soweto
are my friends, they are my brothers, they are my sisters, and they are my
relations. They are far from my body and they are close to my heart.
I first heard about the children of Soweto in the early 80’s and their protest
against the government of South Africa in 1976. This mass strike was described to
me as 1000's of children neatly dressed in their uniforms. Clean skirts and
pressed pants/shorts, children marching arm in arm, singing, laughing and
expecting to be met by the security forces with much less force than the adult
demonstrations. What they did not expect was to be met by para-military forces
who with no hesitation … no threat of violence …simply opened fire on them.
In 1985 I had a chance to bring my heart tears for the children of Soweto to a community ritual know as Planetary Dance created by Anna Halprin. My role in this event was feather runner, hand drummer and assistant facilitator for the preparation workshops held at Schuylkill Valley Nature Center, Catholic Family Services, Montgomery County Community College, and Gwmynedd Mercy College.
Planetary Dance is a community ritual for Healing and Peace enacted all over the world since 1978. One part of this event is a dedication by each individual to a place, person or people and chose to honor the Children of Soweto, those who had been so brutalized for asking that they be taught in the language of their country, the language of their ancestors, the language of their mothers fathers aunties uncles siblings and neighbors.
