Items
-
On 4 June five years ago Chinese students were gunned down in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Students had camped in the square for three weeks. They were on a hunger-strike. They were demanding that the Chinese government give the people of China democratic rights. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people joined the students in Tiananmen Square. They wanted to support the students. But on the night of the 3rd June1989, the Chinese army invaded Tiananmen Square. Hundreds of armoured vehicles, together with thousands of soldiers, moved into the square. More than 1 000 people; students, children and the aged, were killed. Thousands were wounded as the army opened fire. The dreams of the students' were crushed under the wheels of the army vehicles. In the months that followed over 6 000 people were -
Thousands of young people are not at school. Many more can't find jobs or are homeless with little to eat. Others are frightened and scarred by the violence that surrounds them. Apartheid has brought hardship and pain to millions of people in this country. Ongoing violence, poverty and poor schooling have left over three million young people without a decent education, jobs or opportunities to develop their talents. These young people have come to be known as 'marginalised youth.' Apartheid has left them with little hope for the future. The government doesn't care about them. Often their own families can't help them either. But they have not been forgotten. At the National Youth Development Conference youth, parents, teachers and political leaders debated and discussed ways to solve the problems of marginalised youth in our country. -
American movies and TV want us to believe that there is only one kind of beauty. Girls must be tall and slim and boys should be muscular and manly. Often young people feel bad about their bodies, because they don't look like movie stars or models. But what is beautiful depends on the society in which you live. Among the Masai in Kenya, thin boys are regarded as very handsome. Among the Kuna Indians the shape of your nose is what counts! Read all about them on page 20. 'Upbeat is better than hot chocolate on a cold winter's night.' That's what one reader told us. And she's right. Winter is here and that's the time to be indoors with a good read - Upbeat magazine. There's lots to read about that will warm your heart. Read about Mpho Serobe who's in the movie business. He admires people who's businesses have crashed. Find out why on page 34. It's a tough life for young prostitutes. But there are people who care. Meet them on page 4. The more you read the more you learn about yourself and the world around you. So keep warm and enjoy learning and reading from this month's Upbeat. -
Well, here we are, a month after the elections. Let us pray that everyone in our country will be able to put their differences behind them and work together to build a better South Africa. In this issue of Upbeat we speak to young people about the violence in Bophuthatswana before the elections. But there are also lots of fun stories for you to read. Meet Toni Braxton and find out more a sport that is taking over in South Africa - basketball. Finally there is a story about smoking and what it does to your body on page 12. If you are a beginner smoker, do the quiz at the end of the story and see if you really want to smoke. -
This month millions of South Africans will vote for the first time in their lives. So if you want to know more about voting, there is lots of information for you on pages 4 and 5. If you are over 18, read it and find out what to do on election day. If you are under 18, read it and teach your parents, neighbours and friends. It is also important to know how the new government will work and who is in the new government. Read about it on page 6 and use the map on page 10 to follow the election results. Most young people we spoke to are worried about violence on the days of the election. Some political parties have decided not to take part. Remember that voting is a personal decision. If your party is not taking part in the elections, please let others vote in peace. -
When is the right time to have sex? Upbeat receives hundreds of letters from young people around the country, asking this question. People tell us how confused and frightened they feel. It is a very difficult question and Upbeat doesn't have the answer. Maybe your friends are 'doing it' and you feel left out. But don't rush into anything that you are not sure of. Rather wait than make a big mistake. We've an article on page 14, to make you think about whether you are ready to have sex or not. We hope it helps you make the right choice. There are lots of great stories to read in this issue. On page 4 you can find out what is happening in the troubled schools of Soweto. Read an amazing story about Argentina on page 10 about young boy who was stolen. It is a story about courage - the courage of women who stood up and demanded that the government find their children. This issue is also packed with lots of things to win. We've got FIVE great competitions that will get you thinking, drawing and making things. Don't miss the competition for an ISM computer on page 20, or the school bursaries competition on page 36. There are also competitions for music and books. -
-
On April 27, all South Africans will vote for a new government. Change often brings both hope and fear. We hope that the elections will bring peace and justice. But we fear that violence and intimidation will make democratic change difficult. It's up to us all to build peace. In this issue find out what The Peace Pioneers are doing and discover how to resolve conflicts peacefully in our story Fighting fair or foul'. But that's not all you must do. Be involved in the decisions that your parents, teachers and the politicians are making. Keep yourself informed! Ask questions when you don't understand what the politicians are saying. Be critical of the promises that they make. It's your life that they will control. This is a year of great change in our country. Listen, think and don't be without Upbeat. We'll keep you informed, give you advice and put your views - the views of the youth of South Africa - first. -
The days are getting longer and warmer. It is almost holiday time. This year, there is no need to sit around feeling bored. There are lots of exciting events for young people in the December holidays. Many youth feel that places like museums and art galleries, aren't for them. But they are for everyone. Learn to paint t-shirts or to do beadwork. Attend a workshop on photography or spend an afternoon learning to be a DJ - mixing and scratching records. Find out about all these exciting holiday events on page 36. Upbeat has also organised Upbeat Days. We've got together with schools and resource centres around the country. There will be clean-ups and plays, beach walks and treasure hunts, food, fun and great prizes to win. Why not write a story for Upbeat during the holidays? Spend a day being a reporter. If we publish your story, you will be R30 richer. Find out how to be an Upbeat reporter on page 7. Here's another holiday idea! Put your feet up and spend the afternoon enjoying reading this issue of Upbeat. Read about Bronwyn, the young local teenage star. Wangari Maathai is a tireless and brave woman from Kenya. Don't miss her story on page 4. Have fun making a mask. Or try and find your way through our mind-boggling maze. Reading and learning is always fun with Upbeat! -
Far away in Canada, young, disabled people 1 are getting together. Erinoak is a centre which helps young people with disabilities. A group of young people decided they wanted to speak for themselves. So they started the Youth Advisory Committee or YAC, as they call it. Upbeat spoke to Jennifer Thompson, a committee member of YAC. Jennifer is 19. 'I joined YAC two years ago,' said Jennifer.'YAC has made a big difference to my life. It helped me to make friends. People in the group gave me support and I got a chance to help others,' she said. YAC meets once a month. We asked Jennifer what they do. 'We organise social events for young people with disabilities. We show movies and help teenagers get together. We also have a newsletter. YAC has helped me to build self-confidence. It taught me what I am able to do. It has made me feel good about myself,' said Jennifer. Jennifer is not the only person who thinks that YAC is great. Annette Symanzik had this to say. 'YAC is a special group for me. It gives me a place where I feel I belong. At YAC I am able to talk to others who have different disabilities. I liked all the events YAC did this year, especially the fun fair, the dance and the panel discussion,' she said. GOING TO SCHOOL In South Africa disabled children attend special schools. But in Canada disabled children go to school with other children. Jennifer attended a local school from the time she started nursery school. 'I had no real difficulties at school,' Jennifer told us. 'The other kids at school were always great. I am glad I was integrated in the school system. But sometimes it is very hard to deal with people who have a negative attitude towards my disability,' she said. -
Forte High School in Dobsonville, Soweto has closed down. Students told us what went wrong.'Schooling was normal until hostel dwellers started bothering us. They did not want students to walk past the hostel. But the hostel lies between our school and the township,' explains Thapelo Mohapi, a Std 8 student from Forte. Masego Sekelema was also a student at Forte. 'In March, the hostel dwellers attacked our school,' Masego said. 'Police came in. We thought they would stop the attack. But they shot teargas into the school. One of our students was seriously hurt.' So the principal of Forte called a meeting. At the meeting people agreed that Forte should close. Students' lives were in danger. Since then, Forte students have been attending school at three primary schools in Molapo. 'This arrangement is better than nothing,' said Florence Smith who is in Std 9. 'But we find it difficult to travel so far and it costs our parents money.' -
On 7 August, more than 6 000 teachers from all over the Transvaal gathered in Johannesburg. The teachers wanted the government to know how difficult teaching is when there are no proper facilities. The teachers met at the City Hall to talk about their problems. Then, at one o'clock, everyone left the hall and marched to the Department of Education and Training offices in Braamfontein. Down Rissik Street the teachers marched, right past the Upbeat offices. All you could see were teachers, teachers and more teachers. When they reached the DET offices, they gave the DET a list of their demands. This is what your teachers want. The DET must recognise the teachers' union, SADTU. The DET must stop making the lives of teachers who belong to the union difficult. All teachers must earn a living wage. There must be smaller classes and more teachers. All schools must be open to all people. Women teachers and girl students must be treated the same as males. All education laws to do with apartheid must go. The DET must confirm the jobs of all teachers on probation. -
In July this year, 180 rural communities in the Natal Midlands received very good news. For more than 40 years the government has threatened 160 000 people living in Matiwane's Kop, Steincoalspruit, Cornfields, Stoffelton, Roosboom and Thenbalihle with forced removal. The government told them that they couldn't live there. This area was for whites only. But the communities said they wouldn't go. They had been living in this area for many years. In fact, their families had been living there for more than 200 years. So they decided to fight to stay. Early this year, community leaders met in Pietermaritzburg. They launched a campaign against the forced removal. They also sent a long letter to the Minister of Cooperation and Development. A few months later, the community leaders announced their victory to their communities. The government had backed down. They were not going to force the people to move. -
DENOSA is the largest representative organization for nurses and midwives in South Africa. It was launched by President Nelson Mandela at the Union Buildings in 1996, marking the culmination of a process to unify 10 racially divided nursing associations and homeland-based professional bodies. Unlike traditional industrial unions, DENOSA maintains a "dual mandate": it acts as a trade union to negotiate wages and working conditions (joining COSATU in 2001) and as a professional association that sets ethical standards and provides clinical training. -
SACTWU was formed in September 1989 at the University of the Western Cape through a historic merger that unified the clothing and textile workforce. It is currently the largest union in the clothing, textile, footwear, and leather (CTFL) sectors in South Africa, representing approximately 100,000 members. The union is distinguished by its proactive approach to industry stability, managing a vast network of health clinics and a unique HIV/AIDS industry service that reaches 50,000 workers annually. It is also famous for hosting the annual "Spring Queen" pageant for factory workers. -
A policy statement outlining COSATU's long-term campaign for the democratisation of mutual insurance companies (Old Mutual and Sanlam). It argues that while these companies manage vast sums of worker provident fund contributions, workers are granted no real ownership or governing rights. The document proposes that organised labour be represented on governing structures through Nedlac and that the resources of these "Mutuals" be leveraged for national economic development. -
A 64-page formal submission to Parliament regarding the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill (BCEB). It tracks the transition from the 1996 Green Paper to intense negotiations in NEDLAC. COSATU argues for a mandatory "floor of rights" for all workers, especially domestic and farm labourers, while critiquing business attempts to maintain "apartheid cheap labour practices" under the guise of international competitiveness. -
A discussion document reflecting on the role of COSATU following the 1994 elections. It acknowledges the sympathetic nature of the new ANC-led government while emphasising the need for COSATU to maintain its "high moral ground" and organisational strength. The paper outlines a "Back to Basics" approach, focusing on the core union functions of collective bargaining, the living wage campaign, and meeting the basic needs of workers. -
A 1998 press statement outlining COSATU’s support for "strict anti-trust legislation." The document rejects business opposition to ministerial discretion in merger regulation and advocates for the forced divestiture (breaking up) of conglomerates that abuse their dominant market position. Key focus areas include the erosion of inherited corporate power, the prevention of excessive pricing, and the inclusion of "public interest" criteria—specifically the protection of jobs—in merger reviews. -
The Congress of SA living wage campaign will be launched towards the end of this month. Already various regions report that police are refusing permission for public launches to be held. Initial plans by some regions to launch the campaign at the end of this week, to coincide with the commemoration of the Sharpeville and Langa massacres, had to be shelved when permission to hold a mass rally was turned down. Cosatu has vowed to make this the "biggest challenge to bosses and their profit system". The struggle is also seen as more than just an economic one. "It is a struggle against apartheid- capitalism which is built on ultra-cheap, ultra- controllable and super-exploitable labour. -
We the Trade Union representatives here present firmiy commit ourselves to a unified democratic South Africa, free of oppression and economic exploitation. We believe that this can only be achieved under the leadership of a united working class. Our history has taught us that to achieve this goal we will have to carry out the following tasks. To organise the unorganised workers and build effective trade unions based on the democratic organisation of workers in the factories, mines, shops, farms and other workplaces. Organise national industrial trade unions, financed and controlled by their worker members through democratically elected committees. Unify these industrial unions into a national worker controlled federation. Combat the divisions amongst the workers of South Africa and unite them into a strong and confident working class. Encourage democratic worker organisation and leadership in all spheres of our society together with other progressive sectors of the community. Reinforce and encourage progressive international worker contact and solidarity so as to assist one another in our struggles.We call on all those who identify with this commitment to join us and the workers whom we represent as comrades in the struggle ahead. We call on all trade unions to strive to unite their members in their ranks without discrimination and prejudice, and therefore resolve that this federation shall determinedly seek to further and protect the interests of all workers and that its guiding motto shall be the universal slogan of working class solidarity: "AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL". -
A monthly (later bi-monthly) political journal founded by Alan Paton and other members of the disbanded Liberal Party of South Africa. It served as a critical platform for non-racialism, analysing the socio-economic impacts of Apartheid, Bantu Education, and the "Homeland" (Bantustan) policies.
-
This issue critiques the Bantustan policy as a "dead end," analyzes South Africa's "Outward Policy" of economic expansion into Africa, and features reflections on "Black Disinvolvement" by Nadine Gordimer and the "Slave Mentality" by Selby Msimang. -
This issue critiques the "blind side" of Nationalist cynicism, analyzes the rise of SASO and the Black Consciousness Movement, and provides a "close look" at the devastating inequalities in Bantu Education. It includes a tribute to the late Mary Lee. -
This issue examines the "Dialogue" movement between South Africa and Black African states (specifically Houphouët-Boigny), the 1971 Republic Day boycott, the "Polarisation" vs. "Dialogue" debate in student politics, and a critique of the Dutch Reformed Church.