Freedom Day: Advocates 'demand a life of dignity'

The National Youth Unemployment Movement has marked Freedom Day in South Africa with a call for urgent action to tackle youth joblessness, saying political freedom must translate into real economic opportunity.

The movement is urging government, business and civil society to work together to create jobs, expand skills development, and restore dignity for both graduates and non-graduates.

It said true freedom will only be realised when all South Africans can access work, support their families, and build a better future.

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The spokesperson, Lindokuhle Yende, said that while the country celebrates the unity achieved during the 1994 general elections, millions of young people remain free in law, but not in life.

“This is not the freedom we will accept. We honour their sacrifice by demanding more than survival. We demand a life of dignity. So, on this Freedom Day, we honour the past, and we take responsibility for the future.

“We remember the sorrow that shaped us, the years of struggle, the tears of mothers and fathers who waited for change that did not come.”