The remains of SA freedom fighters who were buried in the former Frontline States arrived back home last week, reminding us that it is imperative that the country pauses and soberly reflects upon its post-liberation trajectory.
South Africans must strive to fully understand the complexities of the liberation struggle and ascertain why these heroes and heroines were buried in foreign lands. Lately in the national discourse there has been an upsurge of distorted narratives, particularly on social media, related to the life of combatants in exile and the role southern African countries played in SA’s struggle for freedom.
Some of these views border on disdain, while some individuals seek to pour cold water on the history of the liberation struggle. Others go as far as to seek to undermine the role the former Front Line States played in helping SA liberate itself from the yoke of settler colonialism and apartheid.
It is poignant that these freedom fighters hailed from different liberation movements. This is not only symbolic but clearly demonstrates to all South Africans today that the struggle for freedom was not sectional. It was a collective endeavour that encompassed different segments of the society. Conversely, the solidarity that was exhibited by the Frontline States was collective and steeped in the African philosophy of ubuntu.
It is thus not coincidental that the remains of these fallen heroes and heroines were easily traced in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Many of the fallen combatants were buried with dignity by the host countries. Nonetheless, what needs to be underscored as the remains of the combatants return to a free SA is that these individuals were part of something bigger and selfless, which transcended narrow and vested interests.
This is in direct contrast to what has been sharply exhibited in the 30 years of democracy, especially in the last 15 years. These heroes and heroines paid the ultimate sacrifice for their motherland without expecting any financial gains. Today, crass materialism seems to be the gold standard.
More importantly, we should not forget the fact that these combatants did not exist in a sociocultural and political vacuum while in exile. Indeed, these individuals were embedded in the societies where they had fled to join the armed struggle. Therefore, many combatants also died with both soldiers and ordinary citizens of their host countries. It is thus fitting to assert that many people in both the region and the country died for SA’s freedom.
When we soberly analyse the lives of the freedom fighters and their living conditions during the liberation, struggle we must bear in mind that life in exile was not easy. Many of the host countries’ economies had begun to collapse in the 1980s, especially after these countries had sought loans from the World Bank and IMF and had to institute austerity measures encoded in structural adjustment programmes.
With crumbling social infrastructure and the cost of living spiralling out of control, ordinary citizens in the Frontline States shared the little they had with their brothers and sisters who were fighting for freedom. In fact, as the apartheid regime tried to strangle the economies of southern African countries and instituted intimidatory and outright hostile tactics against them, these countries rallied around the freedom fighters and did not blame them for their economic woes.
This is something the present generation of South Africans should learn from. Furthermore, life in exile was perilous as the apartheid regime pursued freedom fighters across the region, guided by its “scorched earth” policy. Countless freedom fighters died due to cross border raids, sorties, aerial bombardments, letter bombs and targeted assassinations. The freedom fighters were constantly harassed and at times abducted by apartheid assassination squads. That is why some of these combatants never made it back home alive and are only coming back in caskets 30 years after liberation.
Zambia’s apartheid-related total costs were estimated at $19bn
— Jubilee Zambia, November 2000
For four decades Lusaka, Zambia, was home to the ANC, where it had its headquarters. This country opened its doors to the rest of southern African liberation movements after it gained its independence in 1964, where almost all of them had military bases or offices. Due to this Zambia faced the wrath of settler colonial powers in the region, from the Portuguese to the Rhodesian regimes, which wreaked havoc in this country by bombing critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and rail lines to cripple its economy and break its people’s resolve.
But Zambia never sold out. One issue that is glossed over when discussing the sacrifices countries made during this period are financial costs. According to research undertaken by Jubilee Zambia in November 2000, Zambia’s apartheid-related debts totalled $5.3bn. Apartheid-related total costs were estimated at $19bn — three times this country’s entire debt stock.
The study startlingly revealed that during the struggle against settler colonialism and apartheid, 100,000 people lost their lives in Zambia between 1964 and 1994. This was quite a toll for a country that had a total population of about 3.5-million in 1964. Zambia’s economy is still in tatters due to this principled stance, notwithstanding this country’s wrong-headed policies and 17 years of outright dictatorship.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his administration must be commended for bringing back home these gallant sons and daughters of SA. However, it is curious that it took 30 years to repatriate the remains of these freedom fighters. Nevertheless, the case of Zambia should serve as a stark lesson for SA, which needs to focus on its leadership role in the region and on the continent and not get mired in “service delivery” politics.
SA has a great responsibility in leading the Renaissance of the continent. It is high time that it rose to the occasion and became the powerhouse it is supposed to be.
• Prof Noyoo is director of the Southern African Policy and Development Nexus.
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