Lest we forget: Remember Langa’s history during the township’s centenary celebrations
Published 03 February 2023 in News
mg.co.za
Langa township outside Cape Town was established 100 years ago and celebrations are planned for its centenary.
The celebrations will focus on the many people who have contributed to the South Africa that we have.
Another reason for these celebrations is to highlight the importance of remembering; it is a way of acknowledging that our past always permeates our present and our future.
But there is ambivalence regarding this centenary. The first issue is to question what it means to celebrate a place that was created to sustain the subjugation of black people.
It is common knowledge that townships in South Africa were created under apartheid as a tool for political and economic endeavours. This resulted in environments that were designed largely on the exchange value that migrant labour was expected to bring to the economic cores, and had little to no consideration for the conditions of life of the black people.
They were forced to stay in these dehumanising places so that their labour could be used in industries. These townships were built in such a way that they became almost uninhabitable. How then do we celebrate a place that was conceived in such a manner? With such intentions