hector pieterson

Infused with the history of the struggle against apartheid and alive with the energy of the city of gold, Soweto is a must-see for tourists in search of more than sun, sea and the big five.

It is a day violently etched on the South African collective conscience. Commemorated over 30 years later as Youth Day, an official holiday, it is the day that honours the deaths of hundreds of Soweto schoolchildren, a day that changed the course of the country's history: 16 June 1976.

A planned, peaceful protest in Soweto against Afrikaans as the teaching medium in schools on 16 June 1976 became one of the most pivotal days in South Africa's history. After the police opened fire on the mainly child protestors, the march quickly changed from peaceful to chaotic. Those who were there shared their memories.

A lack of unity among the children of today is striking for Antoinette Sithole. Back in 1976 children supported one another; now they do drugs, get pregnant, "and they don't take a stand. They are living in another world."

The first episode of Play Your Part's television series features struggle leader Sibongile Mkhabela and her daughter Ntsako as they reflect on their roles in building South Africa's future.

The children who died in the Westdene Dam bus crash in Johannesburg nearly three decades ago were among those who were honoured on Youth Day. It was a day of great sadness, but also of great heroism.
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