On this day, 61 years ago, police opened fire on a group of peaceful protestors who marched against pass laws which they believed degraded their humanity. To be exact, 69 people were killed and hundreds more injured when police opened fire on protesters who were burning their Pass Books at the Sharpeville Police Station.

They were specifically demanding the abolition of Pass Books. This past Saturday, young people from in and around Gauteng joined the survivors in commemoration for the upcoming Human Rights Day which takes place on March 21.

The event took place at the Human Rights precinct in Sharpeville where Anti-Racism Week was launched under the theme “Youth standing up against racism”. The survivors shared stories and experiences of how their lives changed since that day onward.

Some shared that they would make sure that they were not around Sharpeville on the anniversary of the massacre, out of the fear for their lives and their families. One of the survivors Abram Mofokeng (82) said, “The pass laws made it very difficult. You could not live or work where you wanted. There was deep racial discrimination during that time.”

The survivors said that they will continue to teach the young people about the history of this day and the country.