“March 21 is celebrated as Human Rights Day in South Africa and this year it comes at a particularly difficult and challenging time for all of South Africa and indeed all of humanity. The ongoing challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, have changed our lives forever and one hopes in many ways, has changed the way we see the world and our place in it and the values that should guide us.
Human Rights are not complex matters. They are essentially about the right to be human and those qualities that are linked to living a life of meaning and dignity. It encompasses rights and freedoms such as the right to vote, to associate with others, to be free to express one’s view, to observe one’s religion and to celebrate one’s culture. These rights are largely observed in our country, though challenges do arise from time to time.
At another level however, the right to be human is also about living in dignity, to be able to have a quality education, to have a home and the necessities that go with it, to enable children to reach their full potential and to be able to live in peace and security. It is at this level that we face enormous challenges in South Africa. All of these rights come with responsibilities and even as we may claim to have rights, we must accept the responsibilities that go with them.
Poverty and inequality, crime and corruption, violence including gender based violence and intolerance and exclusion affect all of us and set back the agenda of advancing this very concept of the right, simply to be human. In a country that has so much, it is disheartening to see so many who battle just to survive from day to day. For them, they may validly ask what is there to celebrate on Human Rights Day?
However, this is not the time to be despondent. If the last year has taught us anything, it is that human solidarity is powerful. It was amazing in this community and elsewhere, to see how people rallied together, gave freely of their time and their possessions and sought to make a difference in the lives of others. It reminded all of us that despite our differences, we share a common humanity that binds us. I have no doubt that if we continue to harness that same spirit, we can begin to overcome many of the problems that beset our community. We may not be able to change the world, but we have the ability to make a difference in the small but important spaces we occupy in our daily lives. There are many organisations and initiatives that do remarkable work every day and whose efforts are worthy of our support. Let us continue to make a difference.”
– Judge Jody Kollapen (local resident).
