North West Premier Thandi Modise was presented with a Special Recognition for her role in the Advancement of Peace and Women in Africa at the African Diaspora Awards held at the Intercontinental Hotel in London on Thursday evening.
In her keynote acceptance speech delivered after receiving the award from leading African academic and Chairman of the African Diaspora Awards, Dr Knox Chitiyo at the celebrated awards ceremony, Premier Modise said that the diversity of people of African descent should not preclude them from acting in unity of purpose.
The Premier said that the spirit of internationalism has sustained human existence to date and that the Diaspora Awards were a celebration of being part of a global society, a society confronted by various challenges but with a shared destiny.
Modise highlighted that the African’s yearning for self-assertion could only find a better articulation at an international platform, thereby elevating what could have been negligible issues, to the attention of the world’s opinion-makers.
“The embrace of moral uprightness which was espoused through the sustained surge for freedom, democracy and progressive self-determination led to empowerment of oppressed communities and made our world better-abled to contend with diversity than ever before,” underscored Modise.
She reminded the dignitaries in attendance that the theme for the commemoration of OAU is “Pan Africanism and African Renaissance.” and that the theme marks a new cornerstone in Africa’s history and gives content and a fresher meaning to the continent as Pan-Africanism provided the logic and the basis for resisting the violations of the dignity of all Africans in Africa and in the Diaspora brought about by this context of discrimination and oppression. It also sought to promote the unity and dignity of all Africans.
Modise called on Africans living in the diaspora to remember that Africa remains their home, their primary base for self-assertion and its people their frame of reference.
“From as far back as the Pan African Conferences held in Paris in 1919 and in Manchester in 1945, and even before that, initiatives have implored on Africans to unite. Notwithstanding the divergent views we may espouse, we should be united in our desire to see this better Africa in a better world,” highlighted Modise.
“As the African National Congress (ANC), and ruling party of the Republic of South Africa, as well as arguably being the oldest liberation movement known to humanity, we have had the opportunity to experience how the Diaspora can be an asset to bring about change in society and for humanity.
Our struggle for freedom was through the ANC and the masses of our people challenged the moral standing of the world, especially during the times when racist tyranny was unleashed mercilessly against defenceless people, especially women, children and the disabled. These struggles developed the ANC into an international brand against human oppression because it operated within the construct of Diaspora politics and networks,” she emphasised.
In paying tribute to the contribution of the Diaspora towards the struggle for liberation of the people of South Africa, Modise said that the Anti-apartheid movement, arguably the biggest ever movement that transcended all ideological and race-based divides, became the elephant child of the ANC’s stratagem within a Diaspora-informed political environment.
“Except for the truth of apartheid being a crime against humanity, its rejection was very much a function of the international community’s mobilisation prowess of the liberation and progressive civil society movement. The people of South Africa and the rest of the continent are ever grateful for the efforts of the solidarity network,” asserted Modise.
Reflecting on her own experience and contribution, she said that as a woman she grew up in the African National Congress and that the best of what she knows as life experiences is majorly informed by how involved she was in the programmes and activities of the ANC.
She said that the majority of young women who swelled the ranks of the liberation movement drew more inspiration from the unmatched leadership of leaders like Oliver Tambo and that more importantly, they found more wisdom in following the footsteps and learning from earlier generations of female leaders who pursued the struggle against racist oppression at different platforms.
“These group of women, distinguished themselves with the ranks of the liberation movements, occupied positions rarely occupied by women before and helped our male compatriots unlearn the patriarchal prejudices they harboured before women’s active involvement at various fronts of the liberation movement. Our involvement alone was a silent teacher to our male comrades and our communities that the ceiling to human development is our failure to challenge the status quo,” said Premier Modise.
She added that it is therefore not surprising that the ANC remains a torchbearer in the advancement of the gender struggle, restoring the pride of women by creating opportunities for them so that they can, like their male counterparts, add requisite value in the transformation of our country into a prosperous one.
Modise said that Africans have in abundance “social skills” which are skills that are formally taught or learned. “Africans we meet, greet and talk, hold hands and embrace and share. All these things are as natural. In value terms, all these attributes can be converted to what one would call “African philosophy”, African way of living or culture.
She reminded the audience of what President Nelson Mandela had said on the occasion of his 91st birthday when he said: “
It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”Premier Modise had contributed and participated in the Peace-building activities such as Peace Mission to stabilise regions such as East Timor, Nigeria and Rwanda and International Conferences highlighting women’s roles in negotiations and conflict resolution and campaigned for the adoption and implementation of Affirmative Action programmes to combat Gender and Race Discrimination in South Africa
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