Time to give unsung Khoisan heroes their place in the sun
Maybe alongside the statues of De Klerk, Tutu and Mandela should stand the statues of Doman, Gogosa, Xhore, Autshumato, Adam Kok, Krotoa and contemporary figures such as Allan Boesak. They laid the foundations for our freedom, from the very early beginning, through their resistance to colonialism, at great sacrifice. They paid with their lives.
If we did that we would not only be honouring history, which started more than 500 years ago, not in 1910, but also be saying to their descendants, the coloured people of today and many others, how much as a nation we value them, as a people, and the contributions of their ancestors who preceded them.
We stand upon their shoulders today. If we appear to be tall in the eyes of the world, it is because we stand upon the broad shoulders of these giants of the first nation, the first citizens of this country, the Khoisan people, in all their diversity. What is recorded as a diarised conversation between Jan van Riebeeck and the local Khoisan leaders is quite revealing in regard to the mindset and values framework of the Khoisan people.
He writes: “They (Khoisan) strongly insisted that we (Dutch) had been appropriating more of their land, which had been theirs all these centuries, and on which they had been accustomed to let their cattle graze, etc. They asked if they would be allowed to do such a thing supposing they went to Holland, and they added: ‘It would be of little consequence if you people stayed here at the fort, but you come right into the interior and select the best land for yourselves, without even asking whether we mind or whether it will cause us any inconvenience.’”
Source: iol.co.za