THBT Colonial and apartheid era statues have no place

in SA - OPP
Case Line:

Definition:

Cast reasonable doubt:

Will it bring about real change?

Will it be a step in the direction of uniting South Africa is it
constructive?

Case Split:
First Speaker: Kim

Focussing on real change that needs to occur now and in the future
How the statues can be used constructively in the present

Second Speaker: Gus

The slippery slope

How the statue removal detracts from the corruption and real issues
were already facing

Third Speaker: Karel

THBT Colonial and apartheid era statues have no place

in SA - OPP
1. The statue argument very much revolves around the emotional,
social and economic damage that colonialism and apartheid caused
and this goes for all South Africans.
In a time like this, when our democracy is as young as 21 years, its
only natural that our country is still undergoing some of its most
fundamental changes.
But the legacy of Apartheid lives on and we see it in the
development of schools, healthcare facilities and the poverty. As
much as wed like to say that South Africa has healed from scars as
far back as colonialism, human dignity simply hasnt been restored
to where we would like to see it.
For us to move on from the indignity and injustices we have to focus
on them. As a country, we have to focus on where weve gone
wrong in the past so that we can fix it.
The answers dont like within the statues, though nor do they lie in
the act of removing them.
If they were to be taken away, unfortunately everything that was
left around it will remain same:
40% of South Africans still wont have access to proper toilets,
The matric pass rate will still be at less than 30%,
And there will still only be 1 doctor for every 1 300 patients.
These are just a few of the serious and critical problems that were
dealing with today.
The only way for us to be able to change that and to develop from
our past is to focus on what needs the most attention and resources
and what needs to be done in order to bring about change.
That change is the one that were striving for in South Africa and
those are the concerns that we can change to make South Africa a
place where the democratic ideals we fought for can be successfully
put into place.
Only then can we say that South Africa has achieved the ideals,
dignity and representation of every citizen.
Our house would like to ask the proposition to prove to us why
removing the statues should take preference over the real changes
that will eliminate the after-effects of apartheid and colonialism.

2. My second point: how we can use the placement of the statues to

further South Africans knowledge about the heritage and
background of where we presently.
Before the end of apartheid, barely anybody would have been able
to tell you what life was like in a South African prison, which is why

THBT Colonial and apartheid era statues have no place

in SA - OPP
we have museums such as Robben Island to show us the realities of
how things were under oppression.
By seeing the actual objects of history, we are able to learn so much
more about them, as it gives us perspective on the time.
Our house feels that instead of simply pulling the statues down, a
better alternative would be to place a plaque with them, which can
put it in historical context and rededicating them.
A lot of South Africans dont actually know what these statues and
leaders represent, so they will be able to learn about the history in a
way that has been put into a more fitting, modern context. At the
same time, the plaque will show that we dont support what was
done to those people at the time and therefore showing South
Africans how far weve come since then and acknowledging our
history.
A statue of the founder of Pretoria, Martinus Pretorius, isnt going to
have the same meaning in a compound in, say, Cape Town. In order
to learn as much about them as we can, they have to be viewed in
their geographical contexts as well.
By keeping the statues where they are, learning about the realities
of the statues become an everyday occurrence in the lives of South
Africans, not just on the rare visit to the museum.
The reason we dont destroy things from history like Robben Island
for example is not only so that people can learn about the past,
but also so that we can remember those that suffered.
By removing our historical objects, youre removing the memory of
those that deserve to be mourned along with it. These statues are a
reminder of the things that weve stood against and therefore a
reminder of where were headed.