The South African Border War - Internal strife escalates - the "Soweto Uprising"
1975 saw the large sale melding of the South African Military in Angola.
However 1976 would see the emergence of a whole new facet of the Apartheid governments problems.
In 1974 they issued the Afrikaans Medium Decree. It basically would enforce that black students would have to receive half of their school subjects taught in Afrikaans.
Afrikaans was associated with Apartheid and so since at least 1948 those who were discriminated against preferred to use English rather than Afrikaans.
This decree was put in place to limit the decline of Afrikaans among the black peoples of South Africa.
Students found it difficult to learn their subjects while battling with the language and resentment began to grow.
On 30 April 1976 children at Orlando West Junior School in Soweto went on strike and refused to go to school.
This quickly spread to other schools and by June a massive rally to protest was planned.
On June 16th 1976 a march to the stadium was planned with groups of hundreds and later thousands of students. These groups were met with significant police brutality and quickly the situation escalated into wholesale rioting, stoning, arson and pitched battles with the police.
According to Wikipedia sources.
The number of people who died is usually given as 176 with estimates up to 700. The original government figure claimed only 23 students were killed; the number of wounded was estimated to be over a thousand people.
It would take till the end of the year to quell the uprising and unrest but the Soweto Uprising would spell the end of the relative calm that had prevailed up till then.
The effective use of the situation would elevate the ANC into the dominant role it played from then on.
The images of dead and dying school children would further damage the Apartheid governments image abroad and at home, with fresh calls for tougher sanctions.
Other posts in this series
The piece of the cold war nobody told you about - Africa's forgotten war
The Air Battles
The SA Fighter Aircraft
The SA Bomber Aircraft
The conflicts deep roots and start
Regional Tensions
Africa's forgotten cold war - Angolan War of Independence.
Africa's forgotten cold war - Mozambican War of Independence.
Africa's forgotten cold war - Rhodesian Bush War
Africa's forgotten cold war - The Angolan War of Independence transitions to the Angolan Civil War
The South African Border War - The start of Operation Savannah and Large scale South African involvement.
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - the wheels start coming off.
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Quifangondo
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Ebo
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Bridge 14
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Luso
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah comes to an end.
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah the withdrawal.
The South African Border War - Meanwhile back on the home front.
The South African Border War - Meanwhile over in neighboring Mozambique.
The South African Border War - Meanwhile back at the South West African Border and 32 Battalion.
From 1991 onward, 16 June has been commemorated in South Africa as a public holiday, called "Youth Day." Thanks for another interesting history lesson @gavvet.
You are the hero I want to be like you and I would be grateful if you supported me
The 70's was a crazy decade everywhere.
that's true
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it really was
Especially in Africa.
I remember it in the newspapers, but it seemed so remote. The general sentiment among the white community was "if things are so bad, why are they destroying the little that they have? Generally very little sympathy was demonstrated
gavvet I can not wait to read your posts takes me back, and being old I remember all these nasty things happening, and very worried when my son had to do his army training, but thanks he really enjoyed it. Why I don't know but it did make him into a good man. Thank you for sharing these wonderful posts with us. My few cents will not make a difference to you but I will never not vote for you.
Thanks for sharing. I visited the apartheid museum in Johannesburg once, It was very impressive. I was wondering If there were any collaboration between SA apartheid government and american south states in legislation, culture, financial, security and fundamentalist religion issues. Thanks and good luck again!
Not that I know of...
Hello
Hi
Historical important ....thank's for sharing@gavvet
The hidden genocide that still goes on is nothing short of disgusting for the people that allow it. Millions of people have died in Africa at the hands of militias and guerrilla military. A lot of which are funded or coerced by private business organisations. It's sad how they just deplete this country's wealth and minerals and then never talk about it which has create this massive indifference.
War influences all part of a country, one of them is education. Frequently, education is also used as a tool in achieving the goal of politicians without considering bad impacts on it. In fact, war itself give advantages for politicians and always sacrifices people especially kids. If war still happens in Africa, the condition of education will be worst and worst by the time..In the end, Africa is only a name of place and Africans Will only now how to fight in war and only understand how to discriminate others because the grow under discrimination caused by the people who have interest on it and the world Will be worst in Africa. I hope one Will bring a change on Africa
Thx , all decades are strange, i think you can still make 100 blogs about wars.. unfortunately.. wish we could make it about love..
the white man feels himself the master! they forget that they live in a black continent !! Hopefully this history does not happen again!
Sad to see how apartheid wasn't so long ago and people who live today had to supress their own mother tounge and start to spread English to not face oppression or hate @gavvet
Despite the fact it may hurt the image of the apartheid governments it still doesn't justify the bloodshed of the students. May their courage be commened and may they rest in peace.