Schools’ Oral History Project (SOHP) has worked with learners in at least two of the nine provinces in South Africa. At the beginning of almost every workshop the project has facilitated in the past five years, learners have said that the past is best left undisturbed and forgotten. They give various reasons. Some say that the past, which is imbued with decades of violence and destruction, will only open old wounds. Others call for an end to the ‘blame game’. Then there are those who correctly say that more than a mere knowledge of the past is needed to counter the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

From these views, one can see that our youth is grappling with the future, its shape and their role in shaping it. Rather than viewing these sentiments negatively, the Schools Oral History Project recognises this open invitation to contribute to the critical thinking processes that our youth is evidently engaging with.
The opportunity for young people to converse with ordinary people regarding the struggle against apartheid will not only enable hidden, neglected or distorted histories to be exposed, but will also contribute to a more socially conscious and democratic view of history.

Pages: 273
Dimensions: A4
Date of publication: 2005
ISBN: 0-9585002-8-2