Freedom Day 2021
27 April
Freedom Day is the commemoration of the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994. These were the first post-apartheid national elections to be held in South African where anyone could vote regardless of race.
The first democratic elections on 27 April 1994 gave birth to our constitutional democracy. For the majority of South Africans who had never voted before their dignity was restored and the country transformed to a non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic society.
Why is Freedom Day so important to South Africans?
Apartheid was implemented in South Africa in 1948. Under this brutal system, indigenous people of colour weren't allowed to vote and this essentially excluded them from having any political say and influence.
Freedom Day offers the opportunity to honour those who fought for the country's liberation. The first democratic election of 1994 saw Nelson Mandela and the ANC (African National Congress) win the election. Nelson Mandela became the first Black president of the country on 9 May 1994.
How is Freedom Day celebrated?
Freedom Day is a national holiday in South Africa. It is also a day of reflection. Before the Covid-19 Pandemic it was celebrated with parades, and people will decorate their homes with South African flags. People also celebrate the day by having friends and family over for traditional food.
Celebrating Freedom Day in a time of COVID-19
Reflect – On what is important!
Freedom Day commemorates the day Nelson Mandela was elected President, and made freedom an inalienable right for all the citizens of South Africa – regardless of race, gender or creed. Today, this symbolic time in our history is being celebrated while the country, and the globe as a whole, finds itself at war with the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of efforts to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic further gripping the country, South Africa went into lockdown towards the end of March 2020, seeing many freedoms the citizens and residents of South Africa previously had, taken away for the good and health of the nation. No one anticipated that commemorating Freedom Day in the absence of many basic freedoms could even be a remote possibility. Before the lockdown, many of these freedoms were undoubtedly either viewed as a given or taken for granted by many.
The freedoms we enjoy every day are ones to be both cherished and honoured. The right to freedom should be protected at all costs by all of us, as should all human rights. The current suspension of freedoms is but for a fleeting moment and for very just reasons – the protection and health of the entire nation would have been at risk otherwise.
Much has been touted about how we are all in this together and we are. As difficult and frustrating as it has been at times, with each person simply observing the lockdown regulations, we put a dent on the impact the pandemic can potentially have on the country. In the face of an invisible, silent enemy, our differences have been put aside and we are all working together to beat COVID-19.
