Julia Grey spoke to learners who unearthed history in their own backyard
Forced removals: The implementation of the apartheid principle of ”separate development”, in accordance with legislation such as the Group Areas Act (1950). Communities of different races were forceably relocated to areas designated for people classified as being of the same race.
This is one way to teach the history of apartheid South Africa. Another is to tap into the living memories of individuals who actually experienced having their houses bulldozed, their possessions loaded on trucks by soldiers, and being dumped in the place the government now determined was their home.
Such an oral history project was run last month at Johannesburg Senior Secondary School (JSS). In conjunction with the TV series Education Express, the grade eights tried their hand at being historians themselves, gathering firsthand information from the older generation about how apartheid touched their lives.
JSS is located in Mayfair West, not far from several areas where ”black spots” – neighbourhoods housing many races – were demolished in the 1960s. Although less wellknown than Sophiatown, the area in the west of Johannesburg that used to be known as Fietas was similarly identified as a ”black spot” and razed to the ground by the apartheid government. Ironically, Fietas was renamed Vrededorp – ”peace-town”. Mpho Dibakoane (15) was one of eight learners who went to interview older people now living in Fietas/Vrededorp who had been on the receiving end of forced removals. ”We spoke to Mr Bulbulia, a shopkeeper,” said Dibakoane. ”The police didn’t give notice – they just crashed into their homes. Mr Bulbulia had a big shop, and they threw everything out. His family ended up having no life.”
The learners also heard of moments of courage as Fietas residents defied the government’s decrees: ”The police said, ‘Move or we’ll kill you’. Mr Bulbulia’s mother just said, ‘I’m not afraid to die. Kill me anytime. I’m not moving’.” His mother stayed, and Mr Bulbulia soon came back to join her.
What was remarkable for Charles Shikalange (14) was the present day state of the place that was once legendary for its buzz – Fourteenth Street. ”They told us it used to be one of the best streets, but now it’s just abandoned, empty spaces where they bulldozed the houses,” said Shikalange.
The spinoffs from this oral history approach are many. Besides the experience of interviewing and then reporting back to the class, it brings to life a subject that often verges on the dreary. Many of the grade eights at JSS expressed empathy for the victims of forced removals as the dry facts of that history came to life through the memories of those they interviewed. As Justin van Zyl put it, ”It makes you think, ‘What if that was my house being demolished?’ I’d be very heartsore if that was me.”
The youngsters also had to revisit their view of ”the wrinklies”, as older people are sometimes dismissively called. ”Some old people look like they’re the walking-dead,” said Dibakoane, ”but they know a lot. It just goes to show, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”
Watch these youngsters in action on Education Express. – The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, November 2001.