Thembisile Ndabeni
Cape Town - How can we make sure that people who made sacrifices are not forgotten? September 18 marked the 61st anniversary of the death of Dag Hammarskjöld.
People differ in how they make contributions in other people’s lives, personally, politically, and otherwise.
Therefore, how we honour them will differ. Hammarskjöld was the second secretary of the UN. He was re-elected for a second term at the UN.
Of course, re-election speaks volumes. Perhaps it suffices to say that it can be attributed, to a certain extent, to the region he hailed from, Scandinavia.
And that should not prevent us from saying that even Sweden, as a country, is a force to be reckoned with.
Later, after Hammarskjöld, Sweden produced Olof Palmer. Palmer was one of many people from Europe who was opposed to the apartheid system in South Africa.
There was a power struggle in DR Congo between the legitimate representatives of the people and the puppets of the imperialists. On the one hand, there was Patrice Lumumba, the genuine leader of the people. On the other hand, there was Moise Tshombe and Joseph Kasavubu, who were comprador bourgeoisie.
Hammarskjöld’s death was controversial because it entailed suspicions.
As a result, some people smell a rat from the direction of the West and its satellites/surrogates.
Some circles point to the Soviet Union: “In late 1961, on his way to intervene personally, the UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld, was killed in a plane crash, and for many years it was rumoured that his death was no accident but the result of a plot by the USSR, which was virulently opposed to him” (Patrick J. McGowan & Philip Nel, 2002:212).
He was the only UN secretary who died on a mission: an internationalist who served God’s people, who were neither his colour nor from his country or continent, but Africans. I am not sure if it is to expect a lot to say that the honour he is given is insufficient.
We, the people of Africa, especially the ones from DRC, owe him a lot. We need to make sure he is part of the curriculum of our history and relevant learning areas/studies.
We need to make sure there are important things/places named in his honour. He was a real internationalist, a fighter, and a soldier for peace and humanity, a genuine diplomat, and a world-builder.
Sweden should be proud of having produced Hammarskjöld, and not only for putting that in the history books, but also for having the likes of Palmer following in his footsteps.
Former US president JF Kennedy was not exaggerating when he called him “the greatest statesman of our century” (Daily Maverick, February 9, 2020).
The case is not a closed matter, but rather still open. The reason for smelling a rat from the West and its satellite states/surrogates, is justifiable.
The West and its satellite states/surrogates were for colonisation, yet he was for decolonisation, the opposite.
It is rather strange some suspect the Soviet Union, and would have been rather strange for the Soviets to have orchestrated his death. This is because the Soviets were fighting against the colonialism Hammarskjöld was opposed to. They were on the same page.
Whoever was involved in his killing could not stop the winds of change that were blowing through the continent of Africa. He was honoured posthumously, and the current UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, is on the case of the investigation of his death. Also, there are people honoured under his name. But is it enough?
Is his country, the country he died visiting during a trip to rescue (DRC), the UN and humanity in general doing enough to honour him?
There are many people who were given better treatment than him. Yet, the contributions and sacrifices they made to better or save the lives of others were far smaller than his.
Some are products of propaganda, or their roles were complemented by propaganda or favouritism.
Ndabeni is a former history tutor at UWC and a former teacher at Bulumko Senior Secondary in Khayelitsha.
Cape Times