The forgotten race in the apartheid struggles
A lot of kids and adults on the cape flats stood in solidarity with the youth from Soweto while the riots and protest took place. Many youth were gunned down and killed some were kidnapped and their bodies were never found.
The government forces were extremely brutal whenever I read articles, books or watch documentaries I can’t help but get emotional.
For me personally it’s extremely important for my “coloured” brothers and sisters to know that we were also part of the struggle but our stories were just conveniently left out of the history books.
It’s sad when you ask more then 20 young kids who Ashley Kriel, Anton Fransch, Robert Waterwitch, Coline Williams, Michael Miranda, Shaun Magmoed and Jonathan Claasen is and they don’t know. It’s even more sad that when I see us being questioned “ what die coloured people contribute towards the apartheid struggle” and kids don’t know how to answer the question because all they know is Nelson Mandela and the “white savior” Jan Van Riebeeck as taught in schools.
Below are some of the deaths of “coloured” people on the cape flats in the late 1970 who were killed by the government forces. This is only a few of their names there were many more that was not recorded.
– Rushaad Mogamat Davids, 24, Athlone – Shot in the back
– Owen Leukes, 17, Bonteheuwel – kidnapped no body found
– Isaac Barnes, 16, Bonteheuwel – shot in chest from front.
– Dawood Essop, 30, Bonteheuwel- shot in back.
– Rodney Cooke, 24, Bonteheuwel – shot in chest from front.
– Shaheed Jacobs, 15, District Six – shot in side of neck and chest
– Mervyn Jacobs, 16, Elsies River – shot in back
– Jurie Muller, 16, Elsies River – shot in side of head and upper body
– Bazil Albern, 16, Elsies River – shot to side of abdomen
– Amgeline Kleinschmidt, 31, Elsies River- shot in back of head
– Patrick J Daniels, 24, Elsies River – shot in back of head
– Sandy Gary Balnardo, 19, Grassy Park – shot through buttocks and chest from front
– Gasant Carolisse, 21, Hanover Park – shot in chest from front
– Herry Ferguson, 30, Hanover Park – shot through lungs from behind
– John Noel Adriaans, 30, Hanover Park – shot through left side of head
– Joyce Sandra Adams, 15, Kew Town – shot in front of head
– Faried Cook, 16, Manenberg – shot in neck from behind
– Charles Elliot, 16, Manenberg- shot in abdomen from front
– John Isaacs, 15, Manenberg- shot
– John Jacobs, 15, Manenberg- shot in arm and chest from left
– Erol Johnson, Manenberg- shot in stomach
– Nazeem Kahn, 15, Manenberg- shot in chest and abdomen from an angle
– Naziem Khan, 15, Manenberg – kidnapped no body found
– Cyril Ivan Limba, 18, Manenberg- shot in back
– Richard McDenci, 35, Manenberg – shot in back
– Basil W Nixkey, 41, Manenberg – shot in the back
– Christopher Appolis, 16, Manenberg – shot in head from front
– John Davids, 16, Manenberg- shot in head from behind
– Abduraghman Allie, Ravensmead – shot in chest from front
– Edward fish, 25, Ravensmead – shot in right side of chest and abdomen
– Christiaan B Kamfer, 16, Ravensmead – shot in chest from front
– Phillip Moses, 41, Ravensmead- shot in stomach from front
– Neville J.G Botha, 20, Retreat – shot in stomach from front
– Bhanudey Danjee, 37, Retreat- shot in lungs and heart
– John Daniels, 35, Retreat – shot in left side of chest
– Alfred Finch, 15, Retreat – shot in right side of chest from front
– Colin Isaacs, 31, Retreat – shot in neck from behind
– Ralph Lee, 34, Retreat- shot in back
– Alfred Marney, 18, Retreat- shot in back
– Reginald Matheso, 18, Retreat – shot in back, neck and head from behind
– Nicholas May, 19, Retreat – shot in back
– Karel Meyer, 45, Sherwood Park – shot in right buttocks from behind
– Ronald Harris, 25, Silvertown – shot in chest from front
– Isa Ebrahiem, 20, Lentegeur/ Mitchell’s Plain – shot
– Nazeem Khan, 15, Manenberg
It was extremely difficult for me to go through the list and see how our hero’s were murdered. Their deaths cannot be in vein. They have fought and died for our freedom and now it’s time for us to continue the fight.
Cape flats will raise up again the teenage gangsters have a lot of fight within them but it’s directed at the wrong people. We need to stop excluding certain classes of people! social exclusion within today’s struggle is one of our biggest downfalls as youth. We mobilize the mobile.
My brothers and sisters we need to know our history, we need to know who we are and what blood runs through our veins. We come from Mighty, strong and fierce people. We are rich in our ancestral history but we don’t know who we are. They have taken a lot of things away from us and now we must fight to reclaim it, We need to reclaim our identity and wear it proudly.
Sources: Bruinou.com | Sahistory.org.za