South African society has yet to rid itself of the anguish, pain and degradation of the past, Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan said on Friday.
Speaking at the launch of a ”social cohesion” campaign, Jordan said the recent xenophobia attacks should not be downplayed.
”It would be wrong to downplay the horror of these events because they are a serious warning about a profound malaise in our society, though it was only a few who actually acted in this barbaric manner.
”We come from a deeply fractured and violent past. Given that historical experience, all of us have to do all we can to rid South African society of the anguish, the pain and the degradation of the past,” he said.
One of the government’s key responsibilities is to ensure that all South Africans feel they belong; that the exclusions, proscriptions and prohibitions that told most citizens they had no place in society are now in the past.
”We are charged with the responsibility of engendering a sense of unity, a feeling that we are one nation, diverse though we may be in terms of race, colour, creed, class, gender or social standing.
”Today [Friday] we are commencing an important campaign that will take the form of a roadshow across South Africa.
”We will be mounting nationwide public hearings to test public opinion on the transformation and standardisation of geographical place names,” Jordan said.
This should provide a platform for proper and effective consultation and communication within and among communities, and make all three tiers of government more conversant with public opinion on the issue.
Place names are invested with memories, identities and a number of other intangibles that nonetheless ”matter to human beings”.
”No one, least of all our government and myself, wishes to unscramble the historic omelette that is the diverse South Africa we have today.
”But there has to be recognition of a number of realities, lest we deceive ourselves about shared experience that makes up South Africa’s history.
”We can learn from the constitution-making process the value of listening to the voices of political, racial and cultural communities other than our own,” Jordan said.
It still comes as a surprise to many white South Africans that many of the original African place and geographical feature names have never stopped being used by their black compatriots.
While the proponents of change would want to see a more representative heritage landscape, the heroes and heroines of all sections of the population also have to be accommodated.
”The imperative that we handle the matter of geographical names with sensitivity, humility and responsibility cannot be over-emphasised.
”No one is suggesting that in … naming and renaming [places], you want to rub out the history of a section of the South African population.”
No section of the population will be excluded and everyone’s history will be taken into account, he said.
”We are therefore reviving an important traditional form of consultation, the imbizo. We shall expect rigorous research, particularly at local government level, to buttress all claims and counter-claims.
”The assertion that South Africa is the home of us all must find expression both in the spirit with which we undertake this task, and in its outcomes.”
It is important communities be made fully aware of the ensuing consultations and there is no need to rush the process.
”The streams, rivers, hills and mountains will still be there tomorrow. As will be the villages, towns and cities built in the past,” Jordan said. — Sapa