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Poetry and debate were used to raise
awareness of, and reject, xenophobia in the Afrika Slam Poetry and Debate
competition.
XENOPHOBIA was left no room when the youth
of Joburg came out in their numbers to celebrate their different African
cultures.
Raising awareness of the need for everyone to make an effort 'to unite Africa'
Held at the Maponya Mall, in Soweto, on
Saturday, 12 December, the Afrika Slam Poetry and Debate competition featured
youngsters who spoke their minds about being African and ways to eradicate
xenophobia.
The show-stopping event had curious
shoppers pausing in their journeys to watch the colourful African dance, song,
poetry and debate. The competition, which first took place in the city regions where
xenophobic attacks took place in 2008, was initiated by the City in partnership
with Afuraka to open dialogue between the youth about xenophobia.
Afuraka is a cultural community development
organisation that was contracted as a service provider for the City of Joburg
to come up with an anti-xenophobia programme. In
officially opening the proceedings, the deputy director of the City's youth
unit, Jolidee Matongo, said: "Today is not about winning, but it is about each
of us making a small contribution to unite Africa.
"I think it is a very nice occasion as part
of the City's programme to counter xenophobia and human rights ... the
involvement of young people in this kind of programme is vital to the success
of all the efforts by the City to eradicate xenophobia," Matongo said.
"Young people are the future and if they
are conscientious about xenophobia the future is bright."
The schedule started at exactly 1pm, with Dinaledi
Afro Dance Ensemble and Dancers warming the stage for the debaters with Setswana
traditional dances and songs.
Debate
The first round of the debate, which had the title, "The 2010 World Cup will
eradicate xenophobia", was between Kwa Bhekilanga Secondary School from
Alexandra, which was in favour of the motion, and Kwena Molapo Comprehensive
Farm School from Diepsloot, which was against the motion.
Winner of the poetry category, Phumelele Mahlangu with actress Hlubi Mboya
Debating the same topic, Senaoane Secondary
School in Soweto was against the motion, and Centurion High School from
Hillbrow was in favour of the motion. Kwa Bhekilanga and Senaoane secondary schools
went through to the next round, in which the two schools debated the topic, "For
Africa to unite, we must adopt one common African language".
This round was won by Senaoane Secondary
School, which was against the motion. The team gave reasons such as, "if we
only have one African language, this would result in a loss of Africa's diverse
but complementary cultures".
Another highlight was the poetry session,
in which eight poets took each other on, in an effort to be named the best. The
eight came from as far as Diepsloot, Alexandra, the inner city and Soweto had
to recite a poem about Africa, its challenges and victories.
Winner
The young up-and-coming poets recited poems in their indigenous languages.
Phumelele Mahlangu from the inner city came first, with Diepsloot's Tshepo
Shakwane in second place.
"Winning the Afrika Slam is the highlight
of my occupation as a young South African poet," Mahlangu said. "For me it was
more than just winning a competition, it is a catalyst for myself and the
people around me, especially my family and crew, to strive for our voices to be
heard by a society that continues to label Africans - whether black or white -
as subservient instead of being self-determined.
"I am forever grateful to the Joburg City council,
Afuraka and Talk Media, not forgetting the lady who took it upon herself to
become my co-ordinator, Mathibedi Nthite," he said.
The winners in both the debate and poetry
received a dictionary, a scroll of African history, a laptop and a laptop bag.
The first runners up in both categories received a dictionary and a scroll,
while everyone who participated in the competition received a dictionary.
Buhle Fakude from Senaoane Secondary School has a wonderful way with words
Two overall best debaters, Buhle Fakude
from Senaoane Secondary School and Samuel Baro from Centurion High School,
received one-year debate training course at the University of the
Witwatersrand. "I feel very honoured ... and very happy to have won such a
prestigious award," Fakude said.
The well-known poet, Lebo Mashile, and the
actress, Hlubi Mboya, were at the event. Mashile complimented the youth for taking
time out of their Saturday to be part of an event that sought to unite Africa.
"I often wonder how we have come to hate
ourselves so much. We beat people that look like us. How did we get to hating
ourselves so much?" Mashile asked.
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