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Sarah Baartman's grave damaged
14/03/2005 08:45 - (SA)
Carien du Plessis , Die Burger
Hankey - There was an upheaval in the Gamtoos valley on Sunday when residents discovered that the nameplate had been stolen from the grave of the legendary Khoi woman Sarah Baartman.
The MEC of sport and culture, Nomsa Jajula, told a ceremony in Mount Frere - where a memorial was erected for a local historic leader, Madzikane KaZulu - that Baartman's grave and other memorials in the Eastern Cape have been damaged and neglected.
Jajula said she noticed last month that stones had been damaged or stolen from Baartman's grave. "People no longer respect their heritage and people in the Eastern Cape should show more respect," Jajula said on Sunday.
"If one places such a memorial in a specific area, it should remind people where they came from and serve as a lesson to young people that it is not just something you read about."
Hettie Booysen, chief captain of the Khoisan people in the Gamtoos Valley and a member of the Damakwas tribe, said the desecration of Baartman's grave and the rubbish around the grave "were terrible to see".
"There is no fence or gate to prevent people from coming too close to the grave. The board on which her name was written is gone. Nobody knows where it is and nobody is doing anything to find out either," she said.
"People come and park their cars here at night to drink, or they get out and do things in the bushes," Booysen said. "If it is a family grave, people will protect it, but nothing is being done to protect this grave."
Booysen said Sarah Baartman is very special to the people in the area. "When she was brought back, I started to wonder where I came from and tried to find out more about my history."
Jajula said the Hankey municipality and the Kouga district municipality, in co-operation with the local residents, should make arrangements to have the grave looked after.
Booysen said the Khoisan council would discuss the matter and would contact the Kouga district municipality in this regard.
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