Biography 5 ANC centenary 2012
Hector Pieterson
Hector Pieterson was born and raised in the black township of Soweto, South Africa. He died on 16 June 1976 aged 12 years. Hector was shot and killed by the police while attending a peaceful demonstration against the South African government’s decree that African students should be taught in Afrikaans instead of English. The day of his death marked an important turning point in the struggle against apartheid and became known as the Soweto Uprising.
Little is known about Hector’s life. He grew up during a tense and often violent time during South Africa’s history. Teachers in schools were forced to teach black students in the Afrikaans language. But in February 1976, two teachers were dismissed because they refused to teach in Afrikaans and in May a dozen schools went on strike.
On the day that Hector died, he and thousands of other students planned to march to the Orlando Football Stadium for a peaceful rally. Many held signs that read ‘Down with Afrikaans’ and sang freedom songs. The police met them before they got there. No-one knows who gave the command to shoot, but soon the children were being showered with bullets and running for their lives.
Some children lay wounded on the road - among them was Hector Pieterson. A student called Mbuyisa Makhubo picked Hector up and, together with Hector's sister Antoinette, ran towards a press car. By chance photographer, Sam Nzima, saw and photographed Mbuyisa carrying Hector and this image became famous around the world.
"I saw a child fall down," he says. "Under a shower of bullets I rushed forward and went for the picture. It had been a peaceful march, the children were told to disperse, they started singing Nkosi Sikelele. The police were ordered to shoot."
The shootings in Soweto sparked a massive uprising with thousands of young people, both inside and outside of South Africa, joining the worldwide anti-apartheid movement. Eventually the use of Afrikaans in black schools was dropped. 16 June is now known as ‘Youth Day’ to commemorate all the young people who lost their lives in the struggle against apartheid.
Key words
· Afrikaans: A language derived from Dutch, recognised as an official language in 1925 and further developed with the rise of Afrikaner nationalism and apartheid.
· Soweto: a black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Townships were created by the white government as a way of separating people by race. Today Soweto is the most populous black urban residential area in South Africa, with a fast-growing population of over a million.