June 16

Today was National Youth Day, a day which commemorates the Soweto Student Uprising of June 16, 1976. On June 16, 1976, students from all over Soweto protested the new government policy of instructing students in Afrikaans, the language of the apartheid (Afrikaner) government. Armed only with a passion for their cause, students walked out of their schools and took to the streets, demanding that they be instructed in their native languages. Unfortunately, the government, in an unprecedented show of force against civilians, opened fire on these primary and secondary schoolchildren, killing or wounding over 1,000.

To commemorate this somber occasion, we went to a Youth Day rally in a nearby township. I took pictures and video, which I will post next weekend when I have a more reliable internet connection. It simply takes too long for video and pictures to upload.



These guys are doing a dance that is, I believe, a traditional Zulu dance. Look at them KICK! The Rockettes got nothin on them.