Democracy is the buzz word for our political system. But is it really so?

Is it democracy that a nation where a majority of population is below 40 elects a majority of people above 60 to power? re we really satisfied with the way our country is bein! !overned? "hould it not bother us that at the a!e people !enerally ta#e retirement and rest$ our politicians actually become eli!ible to be at the helm of affairs? %hy is it so that people below &0 years are considered as political '#ids(? )he country desperately needs some youn! leaders who personify ener!y$ enthusiasm$ morality$ and dili!ence. *o doubt we have pro!ressed a lot in the last 6+ years but the development pace would have been completely different had some youn! torchbearers led this process of development. t the time of independence$ ,andhi called upon the youth to participate actively in the freedom movement. -oun! leaders li#es *ehru came to his rec#onin! and led the movement. But this is not the case now. *owadays we have only a handful of youn! leaders li#e .ahul ,andhi$ "achin /ilot$ 0arun ,andhi etc$ but they are in the political scenario because they belon! to influential political families. It is ne1t to impossible to find a youn! leader with no political family bac#!round in the furor of politics. )here can be two reasons for this deplorable scene of Indian politics. 2ne may be that the youth today are not interested in actively participatin! in the political field. )hey are content with what they are doin! and how the country is bein! !overned. But this reason seems to hold no !round seein! the discontent shown by the youn!sters towards cases li#e reservation$ 3essica lal murder case etc. )he youth of modern India are aware of the problems facin! our country and the world at lar!e. ,iven a chance they would be ready to chan!e the political condition of the country for better. "econd reason may be that youn! people are not !iven opportunities to prove themselves claimin! that they are not e4uipped with e1perience to participate actively in the !overnance of the country. )his reason seems to be more lo!ical seein! the monopoly of old leaders in almost all the major political parties of the country. 2ld people should realize that proper development can ta#e place only when they ma#e way for youn!er people to ta#e control of the activities. )here are few thin!s which need to be clarified. 2ne that youn!sters do not mean people who are +0 years old with no e1perience at all. -outh in this conte1t is meant to refer people in their 50(s or early 40(s with a !ood mi1 of ener!y and e1perience. )wo$ it is not intended to mean that old people should leave the political scene and rest. %hat is wanted is that they should be there but for !uidance because they are treasures of invaluable e1perience. )here are a few thin!s which I would li#e to su!!est. )here should be a retirement a!e for politicians as well which may be around 6& years. )here should also be some educational 4ualification for politicians. 6ow can we !ive those illiterates the #ey to our country whom we can not !ive the #ey to our house? /eople with serious criminal bac#!round should not be allowed to contest elections.

s for the youth of our country$ they can contribute in more ways than just contestin! elections. 7uch can be done in areas li#e educatin! people$ raisin! awareness about various social ills$ and many other areas. %e can just wish that the ne1t time we !o to vote we find more names of youn!sters who can ma#e our country a better place to live in. %hat can be more noble and satisfyin! than leadin! your nation on the path of pro!ress? 8ven the challen!e of bein! the 982 of the bi!!est blue chip company will pale in comparison. )here is no reason why politics should not attract the best minds in the country. )o be a politician$ one needs a vision$ intelli!ence and #nowled!e of political processes$ combined with a hands:on approach to !rassroots problems. /olitics can teach you as much as lectures in a closed hall can and can be as attractive a career option as any other. 6owever$ sadly$ politics today has earned its reputation for bein! a 'dirty field(. )he newspapers are flooded with details of scams such as 9oal!ate$ +, and 9%, to name a few. In this parado1ical situation where law ma#ers have consistently become law: brea#ers$ is it any surprise then that the vicious circle completes itself and that it is only the law brea#ers who 4ualify to become the law ma#ers of the country? In our society$ parents have traditionally !iven primacy to the conventional and lucrative career options ;en!ineers$ doctors or investment ban#ers<. In a scenario where people have lost faith in their leaders$ the !overnment and in politics in !eneral$ why then would an educated thin#in! parent encoura!e his or her child to venture into the jun!le of politics? )he widely held view is that politics is not even in the lea!ue of alternate career options for bri!ht children whose potential can be levera!ed in better ways= politics is for corrupt and immoral bi!ots$ a 'dhanda( of 'chors( and 'goondas(. >ntil about two decades a!o$ perceptions about entrepreneurship were e4ually dispara!in!. )he common view was that entrepreneurs can succeed only if they are corrupt and have a powerful ?!odfather( to bac# them up. %ith the openin! up of the Indian economy and rapid !lobalisation$ these perceptions have chan!ed. )he youth is choosin! to !ive up hi!h payin! jobs and follow their passion. )he success stories scripted by some of these bri!ht youn! entrepreneurs have become le!ends today@ *arayana 7urthy$ Dhirubhai mbani and "abeer Bhatia bein! some of them. nd hopefully$ one will see a similar sort of revolution in politics. %ith its hu!e demo!raphic dividend$ India is probably the youn!est democracy today. In +000$ about 5&0 million Indians were in the a!e !roup A&:54 years and this number is set to increase to 4B& million by +050$ say reports. By +0+0$ the avera!e Indian will be +C years$ as compared to 5D years in 9hina$ 4& in 8urope and 4C in 3apan. 2n the other hand$ the avera!e a!e of an 7/ is currently 65 years. In a &45:member stron! parliament$ there are only 66 7/s below 40 years and just 50 7/s below 5& years. .epresentative democracy? I really don(t thin# so.

9learly$ the youth plays a vital role as sta#eholders of what is probably the world(s youn!est democracy. It is only lo!ical then that we need a lar!er number of youth in political forums to represent the aspirations of this vast section of society. %hile we need the e1perience and wisdom of seasoned politicians who are now in their twili!ht years$ the e1uberance of the youth$ their lateral thin#in! to !et thin!s done will offer a whole new perspective to the many problems that the country faces today. But unfortunately$ there are only two types of youth that participate in politics today$ what I li#e to call the princelings and the thuglings. )he princelings are those who ma#e a career in politics because their fathers$ !randfathers or uncles did so. 6& per cent of the 7/s below 5& years and all of the 7/s below 50 years in India fall in this cate!ory. )hese wal# into politics on the le!acy of their previous !eneration;s<$ they need no 4ualifications or trac# record to prove themselves. )hey are the ?blue:eyed protE!Es( of Indian politics@ .ahul ,andhi$ 0arun ,andhi$ "achin /ilot$ 2mar bdullah and 3yotiraditya 7adhavrao "cindia to name a few. )he thuglings on the other hand rule the roost in student unions and youth win!s$ shoutin! slo!ans$ vandalizin! places and resortin! to violence at the sli!htest opportunity. )hey are a!!ressive$ brazen and loud. If they are bac#ed by an influential !odfather$ they may witness a meteoric rise in their careers$ else they remain confined to the lower run!s of the party they are affiliated to. For most of them$ any ambitions of reachin! the position of a ,andhi or a -adav will die a rather slow and painful death. )he Indian youth is aware of the problems that our country faces today= their fiery passion was visible when millions !ot to!ether in *ew Delhi to support nna 6azare in his crusade a!ainst corruption and later to protest a!ainst the December +0A+ !an!:rape. Irom "harmila and 9hhawi .ajwat stand as an inspiration for the youth in areas such as 7anipur and .ajasthan. Despite this willin!ness to en!a!e$ politics is not a desirable career option for most youn! people$ and will not be for a lon! time. "o what is the solution? %ell$ unless the youth jump into the dirt of Indian politics and mana!e to stay clean$ how is the system ever !oin! to chan!e? %e need to develop a critical mass of youn!$ honest and successful politicians so that they can become a motivational role model for others to follow. Demonstrations$ protests$ street plays and candle:li!ht marches can raise awareness and focus attention on burnin! issues but ultimately$ the power to brin! chan!e rests with those who sit in /arliament. "omebody has to ta#e the first step= these path:brea#ers or early leaders have to be the lotus of Indian politics@ they must remain shinin! despite the mur#y whirlpool around them. 2nly then can we e1pect to see a chan!e in Indian politics. )he 4uestion remains@ who will ta#e the first plun!e? Post By:Rhea Kumar
l0erma contributes wor#

Ima!e 9redit@ Gindsay ).$ 0ernon$ )H )he authorIs comments@ )his article is for those who want to do somethin! for the welfare of the world. 9orruption is very bi! problem. )his is also a reason for the poverty of the countries. /eoples are becomin! !reedy because they want money and for this they are crossin! their limits of bad wor#s.peoples are usin! different tric#sJcheats and they are losin! honesty. t this time youn! peoples needs to beware. )he youn! peoples have to see comin! !eneration so they should thin# about the future .)hey needs to ta#e decision that they want a corruption free environment or not. )his is the duty of the youn! peoples to care about their future. )he older !eneration has accepted defeat. ll hopes are pinned on the youn!er !eneration. "o$ they need to be strict$ honest$ intelli!ent and !ood thin#er. %e need to use the way of 7ahatma ,andhi. For e1ample@ n ant reach to the trun# of the elephant slowly:slowly and it does not ma#e the elephant to #now about this. "ame the youn! !eneration needs to do. )hey needs to ma#e a !roup of some peoples to ta#e some step forward a!ainst this problem. %e have seen in urban areas that the social wor#ers are ta#in! some e1tra

money to do any wor#$ in fact they are paid monthly income. "o$ a!ainst these problem we should ma#e !roups and try to ma#e understand to the peoples. If they watch somethin! bad or unacceptable for the betterment of the society then they should thin# and try to do somethin! their selves.

ian Youth and Politics

+4 u! +00D By@ .ishabh "rivastava : /rofile )here are AB0 more posts on 3ai 6ind@ /roud to be an Indian by .ishabh "rivastava 9ate!ories@ /olitics )a!s@ /olitics 5A 9omments 3oin the discussionK *o. of views@ 54$00D .ate this@ ;20 votes$ avera!e@ 4.25 out of &< "hare this *2%LLL /rint )his /2GI)I9" is perhaps the most commonly used word in every sphere of life these days. *ow when independent India has reached the a!e of 60$ why not have a loo# at the youth and their perception of politics? Independent India has completed a journey of 60 successful years. Durin! this period we have witnessed the worst and the best. )he chan!es our country went throu!h have helped it to evolve as a stron!er and pro!ressive nation in the world. It(s no secret that for our !eneration politics as a career comes way down the career option list. /olitics is losin! its appeal amon!st the youth of India.

.easons are many li#e rampant corruption$ criminalisation of politics$ apathy towards people(s needs= lac# of accountability and the list !oes on. %hen we have so many options to e1plore$ why should we dirty our hands in politics? %e put the blame on the !overnment and our elected members whenever we see or feel that our representatives are not doin! their job efficiently. But more than &0 per cent of population does not ta#e part in political process of our country. )hus we have no ri!ht to blame anyone e1cept ourselves. %e all feel that the system needs to be chan!ed but we don(t want to ta#e the responsibility on our shoulders. %e have potential human resources who can chan!e the scenario$ but they choose to !o to >M or >" for studies and jobs and restrict their lives only to their NsecuredO jobs and settle there permanently. )he perception of our !eneration about politics has !enerally been ne!ative. )hou!h we have few youn! politicians$ they have not been allowed to stretch their win!s. )he politicians need to open up and promote the youn! !eneration in the mainstream politics. It is stereotype to thin# that only people with !ray hair can become successful politicians. In >M$ )ony Blair retires at &B while in our country the chief posts are mostly occupied by the politicians above &0 years of a!e. )he youn!er !eneration doesn(t have any outlet to show their principles of leadership. *ow as# the youth of India about the politics and there(s an answer strai!ht on your face. %ho wants to join the politics? But is turnin! away from the politics and maintainin! a distance form political class really a solution? 9han!in! dysfunctional behaviour is difficult but not impossible. If we as a nation have to move ahead and build the country of our dreams$ we have to use politics as a medium to ensure that !overnment remains sensitive and accountable to the people. %e come bac# to the same 4uestion. %ho will ta#e this country into the era of prosperity$ economic !rowth$ sustained development and all round pro!ress? It will have to be a collective effort. %e will have to wor# to!ether with a common !oal in mind. %e have come a lon! way but journey by no means is over. It is important to ma#e this !rowth sustainable. India has lar!e productive and youn! population as her asset. If we truly believe that the future of any country lies in the hands of the youth than we need to ta#e a step forward. 2nly youth can chan!e the pace and width of the course of our nation(s pro!ress and ma#e India a !lobal !iant. If we want to see a better India it(s time to ta#e char!e. %e have to build a foundation now for a prosperous future. >nless youth feel concerned and !ets involved in politics at all sta!es$ we cannot e1pect a nation to !row. .emember$ it is not !ood for a nation when its citizens only complain and e1pect someone else to fi1 their problems.

-oun! people are in the process of buildin!$ but for that very reason they are the incomplete. )hey are un#nown 4uantities frau!ht with limitless possibilities. -oun! people brin! with them the winds of chan!e and reform$ and they are the possessors of an enormous and irrepressible vitality. )here is little that can e4ual the !reatness of youth P . %e must realise that every youn! person that lives is to some e1tent fired by the youthful passions coursin! throu!h his veins. If only firm direction and purpose can be !iven to these passions$ then there is absolutely no doubt that the youn! can learn to contribute to the welfare of society and live lives that are meanin!ful. ;cited in 7tshali= ACBB@A< I am$ in this paper$ !oin! to attempt to e1amine the various areas of township youthIs lives which have almost completely bro#en down$ particularly the family and the schools. )hese areas of life are also the sites of violence which form a daily part of frican youthsI lives. I ar!ue that the traditional authority of the parents and teachers no lon!er has the le!itimacy that it once had and this leaves a hu!e !ap in the lives of youths that desperately needs to be filled. )he political activities and e1periences of youth are$ of course$ another major site of violence. In all areas of life$ therefore$ youth have come to learn that violence is the most effective method of problem:solvin!. )he youth of "outh frica are constantly accused of political destabilisation owin! to their acts of political violence. In usin! the term Qpolitical violenceQ$ I will ma#e use of ,urrIs wor#in! definition@ QP political violence refers to all collective attac#s within a political community a!ainst the political re!ime$ its actors : includin! competin! political !roups as well as incumbents : or its policies P the e1planation is not limited to that of property P . /olitical violence is in turn subsumed under force$ the use or threat of violence by any party or institution to attain ends within or outside the political order. )he definition is not based on a pre: jud!ement that political violence is undesirableQ ;ACD0@4<. )his paper$ in turn$ does not jud!e political violence but insists that this needs to be !uided with particular !oals in si!ht and with a basis of reasonable e1pectations. I am !oin! to narrow this paper down to dealin! with the *9 -outh Gea!ue and draw some conclusions from the wor# I have been doin! with youth in this structure within Diep#loof$ "oweto. ;7ost of the primary data was collected in ACCA and ACC+. In this paper$ I am !oin! to ma#e use of Dur#heimIs concept of QanomieQ as a startin! point for understandin! the normative state of the townships. 7ost people would probably be shoc#ed by this startin! point. Dur#heim is not the most popular social theorist$ particularly amon! the left. It is ar!ued that Dur#heim is inherently conservative owin! to his concern with social stability and cohesion : all of which seem !rossly inappropriate to "outh frica$ a country riddled with conflict and tension. Fran# /earce in his boo# The Radical Durkheim states that in readin! a particular theorist$ the te1t of the theorist and the readerIs own concerns become a dialo!ue. )he concerns of the reader affect the manner in which all te1ts are read and interpreted. In doin! so new spaces are opened for both the reader and the theorist. /earce prefaces his boo# by statin! the followin!@

%hy should we turn to Dur#heimIs wor# yet a!ain? First$ because$ contrary to almost universal consensus amon!st sociolo!ists$ in Dur#heimIs te1ts neither the dominant discourses$ nor those present only as partially suppressed fra!ments can be construed as inherently conservative or positivistic. 6is oeuvre is comple1$ multi:faceted$ often characterised by a ruthlessly anti:>ptopian lo!ic$ and with an e1traordinary potential fruitfulness. )hen$ to put it simply$ it is because as a committed socialist and social scientist I believe that whilst 7ar1ism is the most fruitful of all sociolo!ical discourses it needs the aid of Dur#heimIs concepts to rid itself of both its >topianism and anthropocentrism. ;ACBC@ 1iv< For Dur#heim$ we need to study the Qmoral rules as they really e1ist in society$ in all their comple1ityQ ;,iddens$ ACDD@.5<. In order for people to live a contented e1istence in society$ there needs to be re!ulative power that is respected. )here needs in society to be norms and values that are internalised by individuals in society and enforced by a le!itimate authority. )he society needs to limit the e1pectations of the individual in accordance with the resources available in the society. )his is not to say that no norms or values e1ist. Gi#ewise$ in the township there is not a moral vacuum$ but rather a lac# of a normal moral authority particularly in relation to youth. 2f course$ optimally for Dur#heim this should occur in a social order that is just and democratic. For Dur#heim$ the main problem of modern society is that the moral re!ulators of the past$ e!. a stron! #inship networ#$ a forceful church$ have not been replaced by any other moral authority. )he anomic state of society is such that society has bro#en away from moral bonds of traditionalism$ but have not yet become subject to new and more appropriate moral re!ulation. need$ a desire free of all restraints$ and all rules$ no lon!er !eared to some determinate objective$ and throu!h this same connection$ limited and contained$ can be nothin! but a source of constant an!uish for the person e1periencin!. ;Dur#heim$ AC6A@40< new moral authority needs to be developed to help brin! about a new moral order in which the individualIs needs will no lon!er outstrip their means. )his moral authority needs to be based on respect and not on fear. )his paper does not ar!ue as Dur#heim does that the whole of modern society is !oin! throu!h a period of moral dere!ulation. 6owever$ what the paper does ar!ue$ is that where QtraditionalQ arenas of authority and moral re!ulation have bro#en down ;such as the family and the schools<$ there is a definite need for the construction of a le!itimate institution to ta#e over this role. The lack of such an institution leads to unrealisable goals, inappropriate means and a state of anxiety and frustration. )his paper will ar!ue that in the immediate future and in the lon!er term$ the Qnew moral institutionQ with re!ard to the youth that needs to be stren!thened and developed is that of youth or!anisations to!ether with a more mature and disciplined youth leadership. new Qmoral power is re4uired whose superiority cries out Iyou must !o no furtherIQ ;Dur#heim$ cited in ,iddens$ ACDD@ADD<. 2f course$ this is not to ar!ue$ as mi!ht seem implicit in Dur#heimIs writin!$ that the individual in society must simply adhere to the status 4uo re!ardless of the ine4ualities that e1ist. Dur#heim himself is vehemently opposed to any form of ine4uality based on

one !roup of people imposin! their power on another. For Dur#heim$ any ine4uality in society should be based on natural ;ie. biolo!icalJinherent< ine4uality. 6e !oes as far as to say that inherited wealth should be redistributed or auctioned off so that all people in society start off on an e4ual footin!. 2f course$ in "outh frica it is the structural ine4uality of an apartheid$ capitalist state that is at the root of political violence. onetheless, the aspirations, anger and expectations of the youth need to be guided by some form of legitimate authority. )his authority needs to be able to mediate between means and ends$ as well as mediate between the needs of society and the needs of the individual. 2ne way to substantially alleviate the manifest Qproblems of youthQ is the or!anisin! of youth into youth structures that are le!itimate to youth and which have a stron!$ e1perienced and informed leadership. "uch or!anisations of the youth have in the past$ particularly in the ACB0s$ formed the base of developin! shared norms$ values$ e1pectations and aspirations. )hey have also !uided the behaviour of youth throu!h disciplined and respected leadership. In the ACC0s with similar material conditions facin! the youth$ worsened to some e1tent by the uncertainty and destabilisation of a transitional phase$ these or!anisational structures are ur!ently needed. >nfortunately$ at this time when they are needed$ they appear to be in a less coherent state than in the ACB0s. t this point in our history when understandably frustration$ and simultaneously$ e1pectations are runnin! hi!h$ an!er needs to be e1pressed and channelled in the most productive and directed manner possible. /olitical violence particularly$ needs to be disciplined$ ordered and clearly related to the !oals that are to be achieved. ;)he debate as to whether violence is acceptable or not will not be dealt with here<. 7oreover$ alternatives to violence need to be developed : but these will only be adhered to if the moral boundaries developed are subject to the monitorin! of a le!itimate authority. 7oral norms and values need$ for Dur#heim$ not only to be constrainin! and obli!atory$ but also attractive to those who adhere to them. 2f course$ the #ey concerns facin! youth are unemployment= the crisis in education= family brea#down$ teena!e pre!nancy$ and the !eneral disillusionment owin! to most youthIs socio:economic conditions. .amphele states in describin! the state of blac# communities that there is Qlow performance in all spheres of life includin! school and s#ills trainin!. 6i!h crime rate and endemic violence at all levels of social interaction@ family$ interpersonal$ nei!hbourhood$ and wider communityQ ;ACCA@54<. "imilarly$ "itas states of the comrades that Qe1istence as a comrade is RalsoS punctuated by poverty and a total lac# of resourcesQ ;ACCA@D<. 6owever$ these QconcernsQ ;and the youth in the township throu!h their own painful e1periences are aware of this< are not !oin! to chan!e si!nificantly for some time$ even with a chan!e of !overnment and constitution. The genuine frustration, anger and disillusionment of youth cannot be left to fester and de!elop its o"n disorganised

methods of problem#sol!ing. "outh fricaIs history bears testimony that this leads to !an! involvement and conse4uent acts of criminality ;,laser= Ga 6ause= Bonner<.

The Background to Township Youth

In writin! this paper and in statin! the above$ it is necessary to first understand who these youth are about which I spea#. It is not a new point to state that the youth in "outh frica are not a homo!enous !roupin!. QP the tendency to refer only to youn! urban males must be avoided$ and the particular problems of women and youth in rural areas must be reco!nisedQ ;.eport on 7ar!inalised -outh 9onference$ lpha )rainin! 9entre$ Broederstroom$ D:C 3une ACCA<. 7ore importantly$ as "itas states$ writin! of the comrades ;with whom I will lar!ely concern myself<$ they are youn! ;below 5&<@ yes$ most of them come from embattled wor#in! class homesteads and households= yes$ most of their cultural codes emerge outside households and kinship relations= yes$ many are unemployed. But$ amon! the phenomenon called comrades we will find full wa!e earners$ informal sector vendors$ university !raduates$ political activists$ schoolchildren$ shop stewards$ petty criminals and lumpenproletarians. ;ACCA@6< )o ta#e this hetero!eneity further$ I would li#e to add that the home bac#!rounds from which youth emer!e are vast. 7any of the youth which we see in township youth or!anisations are from the most terrible and humiliatin! conditions of s4ualor where some whom I have met live not with their parents$ but with siblin!s. In one case two sisters live to!ether in a s4uatter shelter : both are still at school. 2thers come from matchbo1 homes and yet others from homes which are relatively lower middle class. 0ery few are from so:called Qmiddle classQ homes. mon!st the youth with whom I have had contact$ there appears to be a unity across so:called class divisions and a !eneral acceptance of one anotherIs livin! conditions. )he majority of youth involved in the youth or!anisation on which my research has been based are either unemployed or school:!oin! youth from families who could dubiously be called wor#in! class or from the s4uatter camps themselves. )he lives of these youth are bounded by material deprivation and little chance of upward mobility. )he tensions in these youthIs families have !enerally led to family disinte!ration and in most cases to separation between the parents of the family. In fact$ it seems that in many cases in terms of urban households$ it is not easy to spea# about coherent family structures. Bri!alia Bam$ in the preface to ,ill "tra#erIs $aces in the Re!olution ;based on interviews and therapeutic wor# with youth from Geandra township< states that Qmost of the youn! interviewed have no stable family unit$ many come from sin!le family homes or homes with no parents at all. )hey had been left with relatives and nei!hbours$ deprived of opportunities for decent schoolin! and drenched in a culture of violence with no positive role modelsQ ;ACC+@1i<. ,eber and *ewman in %o"eto&s 'hildren write that Qthe main complaints ;of youth respondents in "oweto< were to do with the relationship between parents and children

durin! the time they spend to!ether : the dictatorial attitudes of the father$ the lac# of acceptance of the youn! person as someone with opinions and feelin!s$ the absence of discussion and consultationQ ;ACB0@&6<. )hey continue by statin! that Qthe rejection of authority and a lac# of respect for adults$ both parents and teachers$ was seen as a conse4uence of absent and insensitive parentin!. It affects the childIs adjustment to school$ his willin!ness to ta#e on the appropriate responsibilities$ to follow instruction and to respond to !uidance. It also ma#es the peer !roup a very powerful controllin! and socialisin! forceQ ;ACB0$ /.&D<. For 7o#wena$ Qthe failure and inability of families to minister to the material and emotional needs of youths partly also e1plains the ease with which youth easily slide into a life of the streets. It is here that many receive their orientation into a life of violence and crimeQ ;ACCA@AD<. It is my hypothesis that in understandin! youth culture$ the primary variable that needs to be e1amined is the role and nature of family structures and the Q!apQ this leaves in youthIs lives that needs to be filled. 2nly sometimes I tell my problems to my parents. If I have a problem of money$ I donIt tell them. )hey may send me away if I tell them problems P . )hey would send me to stay with my uncle or other relatives. Gi#e December time I will !o there. I donIt want to move from "oweto. "oweto is my township that I #now where my friends are. ;respondent 4< )here are also hi!h incidences of family violence both toward the mothers of families as well as toward the children of these families. 7y wor# with youth in Diep#loof has shown that this has two possible effects on the consciousness of youth. 8ither youth are distressed and appalled by this domestic violence$ if not a!ainst their own person$ at least a!ainst their mothers whom they feel do not deserve to be QpunishedQ. )his of course can lead to further disrespect for their fathers whom they see as QbulliesQ and often towards their mothers whom they resent for their powerlessness in their relationship. -ou #now when it comes to the 4uestion of my father$ I hate my father. I hate my father just li#e I hate the policeman$ ja. IIve many scratches in me$ many$ many. 6ere my father hit me with a bro#en ju!. 7y father was beatin! my mother. I say no$ no$ no$ now that is enou!h now. Beatin! my mother li#e this now IIm too small$ but what you are doin! is wron!. -ou comin! from outside$ you are drin#in! a li4uor P I say to my father he is ta#in! a chance. 6e come to me with a #nife. I ta#e an electric iron and put it here to his face. )ill today$ I didnIt see my father. ;respondent A0< 2n the other hand$ this can lead to an acceptance of violence within the family and moreover a justification of this as part and parcel of Q frican traditionQ. QIn a recent study on the attitudes of ordinary blac# children to discipline$ it was found that they favoured harsh discipline for what seemed to be fairly minor infrin!ements even within their family circles P . "trict discipline was perceived as an indication of concernQ ;"etiloane cited in "tra#er$ ACC+@&5<. )he conse4uence of this is that these youth feel that in their own families$ violence will be used as a form of discipline both for their wives and their own children in the future. ;)he hi!h occurrence of this second response is fri!htenin!<.

"trai!ht$ if IIm spea#in! strai!ht tal#$ my !ranny she was not doin! me anythin!$ but she usually sometimes hit me$ but she donIt want me to be hit$ ja. But my uncle if he thin# I done somethin! wron!$ he want to hit me. -ou see I can say what$ maybe sometimes I did somethin! wron!. 6e didnIt want to as# me why you did this and this. )hey$ if they thin# this thin! is wron! for them then they hit me and sometimes maybe I doin! maybe somethin! silly. %hy. 7aybe I !o to shop and I call thin!s. I say !ive me this and this$ then they put it in front of me$ I ta#e it and run away from them. %hy you so hun!ry. 7aybe we havenIt !ot enou!h money to buy for me anythin! which I would li#e. Gi#e any child maybe want to have a !ood care. )hen itIs there they used to punish me. But my uncles are the ones who were hittin! me and rou!h and rou!hly$ ja. )hey were brea#in! me$ they were hittin! me that time$ ja. But$ he do it because he love me too much. ;respondent B< 7y parents to discipline me they beat me. %hen I was small I was not havin! any #nowled!e$ but then up to now$ I could see maybe they were puttin! in the ri!ht channel of the child P . If I have children I will beat them. I will tal# to my child and if he or she never understand$ then I will use the lan!ua!e which maybe he or she will better understand. ;respondent D< 9hildren$ and youth specifically$ owin! to the brea#down of the family unit$ then loo# outward of the family for support structures and places in which they can develop an identity which is reco!nised. %hat is of !reat si!nificance to this paper is the findin! of "tra#er that amon! the youth with which she was wor#in!$ that QP with particular re!ard to the issue of adult authority$ one found a distinction in their thin#in! about the relationship between parents and children in the political arena$ as opposed to the field of social relationships. Differences in opinion between parents and children were seen to be sharpest in the political sphereQ ;ACC+@A56<. Q)he "harpeville massacre of AC65 mar#ed the end of an era in blac# politics in which youn! people were beholden to adult leadership P . 9hildren lost respect for their fri!htened parents who offered them no protection a!ainst police harassment and other problems of povertyQ ;7amphele$ Tribute$ "eptember ACCA@54<. $or many to"nship youth, organisation and the comrades "hich constitute them become the ne" family of to"nship youth. For "itas Qthere is amon! comrades a new social solidarity and a new !ender division P . )here are real communities of carin! and sharin!Q ;ACCA@6<. )his Qeconomy of affectionQ as .amphele calls it$ needs to be seriously ta#en into account when e1aminin! the role of or!anisation in the lives of youth. t the present moment my comrades are the important people in my life. I #now them from the be!innin! of my involvement : I used to !o with them$ sleep with them in hidin!$ even share personal problems. t the present moment we are still very close. ;respondent A< )he importance of the peer !roup leads "tra#er to conclude re!ardin! the process of reinte!ration of youth into the community that QP normalisin! the symptoms and

mobilisin! peer support$ rather than attemptin! catharsis is the treatment of choicePQ ;ACC+@A4A<. lthou!h the family is probably a #ey institution to investi!ate in an attempt to understand youthIs consciousness and their subse4uent behaviour$ township life is an encompassin! conte1t which bounds the life of all its residents. For ,eber and *ewmann$ "oweto is characterised by three factors for youth in this township@ poverty$ violence and uneventfulness. )his is clearly reiterated in a boo# compiled by 2swald 7tshali$ ,ive us a Brea#$ made up of diaries of youth in "oweto. In each and every life story one cannot escape the fact that violence in various forms is a part of everyday life. 2f course the violence of the " / and " DF are fre4uently mentioned$ but what is even more common is the violence on the streets and in the family life of township residents. I left home at 6.50am and arrived at school at D.50am. I saw$ on my way$ a boy and his mother fi!htin! for not !oin! to school. 6is mother said$ "ipho !o to school$ otherwise I am !oin! to call the teachers to fetch you. "ipho said$ %hen you call them IIm !oin! to stab you in the mouth$ because you are tal#in! nonsense$ leave me alone. I was surprised when seein! some youn! !irls wal#in! down the street with their boyfriends. )hen I as#ed myself 4uestions. t last I heard a scream of a !irl. )hen I said to myself$ surely it must be one of those small !irls$ they are tryin! to rape her. Geft school : went home : while I was tal#in! saw ta1i drivers : they fou!ht one another : they bro#e windows : the other was dead : they called the ambulance. (t "as a disgrace for big fathers : because they fou!ht just for money : luc#ily my friendIs nei!hbour was alive. )hese few e1amples show not only the prevalence of violence and its everydayness$ but also the disturbin! nature of these events for youth who observe and are part of them. 8ven more importantly it makes e!ident the problem of role models in the to"nships and "hat seems to be the militarised nature of problem#sol!ing that youth are exposed to. 6ow do youth learn to deal with women who donIt submit to their se1ual wiles= what is the best way of showin! a parent that they have no Qle!itimateQ authority over them= how do youth !ain possession of money or !oods they do not have but which are necessary for their survival? 2f course the streets and family socialisation !ive some inroad to understandin! how the consciousness of youth is formed. 6owever$ even this is not ade4uate. )he violence in the schools directed by teachers and principals a!ainst already stru!!lin! students as well as that of the security forces in the schools throu!h the ACB0s and even in the ACC0s is another vitally important aspect of the life of youth that needs to be e1plored. "choolin!$ as 6yslop has documented$ is the arena of common e1perience for youth and for him is primary in understandin! Qyouth cultureQ. 6owever$ the violence and inade4uacy of blac# schoolin! has been well documented by 6yslop$ Bundy$ 7olteno and others and will not be ta#en up in any detail in this paper. /erhaps it will suffice to 4uote one of the youth of Diep#loof I interviewed. I as#ed him what the thin! he remembered most clearly about his school days was. )his is his response@

t school thereIs a lot of problems P . %e became slaves for our teachers. %e #new that we would be punished for small thin!s. 2ur hearts be!an to feel that we didnIt want to !o to school. )hey didnIt want to #now what were our problems at primary school. )hey were thrashin! us li#e nobody business. )hen at secondary school thereIs this thin! of ".9. )hey e1plained to us that there are people who would stand for us P . )hen at school our teachers were teachin! us not well. If its a period of !eo!raphy$ we would dod!e periods. )he teachers would not treat us li#e someone who has children. If you come to school maybe you are hun!ry$ you !et bored and you canIt learn. -ou start to sleep after fifteen minutes. )he teacher donIt come and as# whatIs the problem and why you are sleepin!. )hey just apply punishment. -ou are a silly child. )hey donIt try to !et !ood information. )hey donIt care how you are !oin! to write or carry your boo#s and how we are !oin! to eat. "ome of the teachers used to be sell:outs. )he police then start to harass us. %e didnIt #now we shouldnIt just tal# and tal#. /olice can ta#e useless information. )his is when we be!in to hate our teachers P . )his is when we started to hit teachers. )eachers deserve to die for this. ;respondent A5< )he security police used to recruit from the students$ even the principal. "o the problem at our school was that the principal had a !ood relationship with the security branch$ because every day the security branch came to our places and they used to tell our parents what we did at school today$ what we were wearin!$ those sort of thin!s. %e used to e1plain in our meetin!s that the principal was !ivin! us problems$ because durin! ACBB the police came and chased us out of school. %e stayed out of school for a wee#$ but we tried to fi!ht bac# by callin! other structures. %e called on our principal to e1plain what was !oin! on. 6e failed to e1plain and we a!reed that we must !o bac# to school$ because we wanted to learn P . )he principal of Bopa "enatla was chased out in ACBC or ACC0$ I thin#. )he pupils chased him out because they said he was !ivin! them problems. 6e wanted to avoid bein! #illed by the students : it was better for him to leave that school. ;respondent A< )he schools in the townships$ far from bein! centres of learnin!$ are sites of violence and conflict. For /eter 7o#aba of the *9 -outh Gea!ue$ Qthe education crisis has contributed to the brea#down of community life and the distortion of our peopleIs value systemQ ;Tribute$ "eptember ACCA@B6<. )he authority structures in the schools are mistrusted at best and$ at worst$ are the tar!ets of the studentsI an!er towards a !rossly inade4uate education system. It is hi!hly unli#ely that in the near future$ students will ta#e moral direction from teachers or principals$ certainly not around issues concernin! political activity and ways of channelin! an!er and frustration. If anythin!$ teachers may continue to be the tar!ets of much hostility towards authority and anythin! in any way associated with the apartheid state. )his is not to deny that the students themselves are concerned with their education or that there are teachers in the schools that have been deemed Qpro!ressiveQ usually owin! to their alle!iance of one or another or!anisation. %hat can be clearly seen from what has already been stated is that the main areas of life of the youth have been e1treme sites of violence. 7oreover$ there is a clear underminin! of authority both in the family and in the schools. %hat is learned is that in these institutions$ violence is a mechanism of problem:solvin! and at the same time these institutions cannot$ in the eyes of the youth$ be relied upon for stability and security. For

"tra#er$ amon! youth who have participated in political stru!!le Qthere was a feelin! that they had forfeited many of the privile!es of childhood to participate in the stru!!le. )hey could not now be e1pected simply to !o bac# to acceptin! old hierarchies$ whether in the family$ the school or the broader political arena P . )he very notion that they needed to be brou!ht under control evo#ed an!er in many of those interviewedQ;ACC+@A54<. .amphele ta#es an even more damnin! approach in statin! that Qonce the children were thrust Ionto the frontlineI$ it became difficult to sustain traditional social relations between adults and children with serious implications for family life. 9hildren had become used to power and control$ and refused to yield to the authority of adults : their parents and teachers whom they despised. 9onflict became inevitableQ ;Tribute$ "eptember ACCA@56<. )he other #ey arena of e1perience for township youth ;particularly in the ACB0s< is that of township resistance politics. %hile many youth may not have been structurally involved in political or!anisations$ they were no doubt involved in the resistance campai!ns and activities of the ei!hties. Q)he truth is that the period was one of mass resistance in "outh fricaIs blac# townships. 9ertainly amon! the youth it was the majority who participated in the eruptions. )he youn!sters who did not participate in these popular uprisin!s were the e1ception rather than the ruleQ ;"tra#er$ ACC+@AC<. 3ohnson in the boo# o Turning Back ta#es a loo# at the history of youth resistance in e1tra:parliamentary politics. 3ohnson states that since the AC40s the youth have injected Qa note of impatience and confrontationPQ ;p.CD<. 6e notes$ however$ that the form and content of youth resistance has been different throu!h the decades. 6e states that one can isolate si1 factors that encoura!e radicalism in the youth. )hese include@

,enerational conflict 81treme poverty and little chance of eventual employment Few economic constraints Demo!raphic factors Blac# education

)hese attributed factors do not differ substantially from those of Mane:Berman$ 6yslop and Bundy. 6owever$ 3ohnson does e1amine very closely how the different or!anisational involvement of youth substantially affected strate!ies of resistance and stru!!le. 6e states that it was with the increasin! popularisation of the *9 from the late ACD0s with its escalation of armed stru!!le and associated mass action that the youth QrevelledQ. 92" "$ the first or!anisation since the si1ties to popularise the con!ress movement$ spearheaded the youth to developin! much hi!her political consciousness than ever before. For 3ohnson$ from the second half of ACB4$ Qa deep:seated spirit of militancyQ had seeped down to much youn!er children. )his was e1pedited by the conditions of Qcivil warQ which enveloped many townships ;p.AA5<. )he youth throu!h the ACB0s became increasin!ly more militant due to their e1periences of violent clashes with the security forces$ vi!ilante !roupin!s as well as political !roupin!s. )he youth$ he states$ then developed a fri!htenin! belief upon which they acted i.e. they were !oin! to die and did not care ::they became what 3ohnson calls Qbattle:hardened soldiersQ. 6owever$ !rowin! an!er amon!st youth as well as the detention of e1perienced leaders

lead to indiscipline and youth components who were more difficult to !uide. ;)his I believe to be a disturbin! feature of youth political or!anisations in the ACC0s<. It is not a new$ nor a debatable point that the youth have been at the forefront of stru!!les since the late ACD0s$ but especially since the mid:ACB0s. %ith the call for QpeopleIs warQ and the development of Qstructures of peopleIs powerQ$ youth have created barricades$ destroyed the homes of councillors and councillors themselves$ nec#laced$ run ;with much community controversy< so:called QpeopleIs courtsQ and QmanufacturedQ arms to fi!ht the security forces. )hey have also suffered the conse4uences : they have been maimed$ tortured$ detained$ #illed$ been forced into hidin! and e1ile. In the process they have been faced head:on by the violence and horrors of a country which could be described as one in a state of civil war. )hese e1periences$ of course$ have not left the youth unscarred. %ar and insurrection became the slo!ans of the day. *icara!ua$ 9uba and 7ozambi4ue$ no matter how inappropriately came to be models of armed strate!ies for liberation. -outh were or!anised into the youth con!resses in lar!e numbers under the slo!an QFreedom or death@ 0ictory is certainQ. It becomes obvious that this slo!an and the conse4uent strate!ies and tactics of the youth con!resses were able to rally the youth because it made sense of their e1periences and Qcommon senseQ level of ideolo!y. But of course$ as is the case !enerally with mass or!anisations$ elements of the youth were not active and disciplined members of the youth con!resses. 7any of the township youth$ while !ivin! tacit support for the or!anisation and bein! involved in their campai!ns and activities$ were in fact not members of these or!anisations. )his no doubt created$ and continues to create$ havoc when tryin! to understand the youth as a Qhomo!enous sectorQ. "itas is hence correct when he describes the youth con!resses as follows@ /erhaps the best ima!e is one of an unusual octopus with a head and tentacles !rowin! out and outwards= as the tentacles !row too lon!$ a new head !rows on them and it in turn !rows new tentacles. It is a process of !rowth with core !roups of activists in the townships spreadin! from area to area and in that spread$ new nuclei !row on and on. 9alls are responded to from the QheadQ over campai!ns and issues are responded to. But within each QtentacleQ uni4ue conditions arisin! from local socio:economic conditions shape !rowth and the way this QoctopusQ !rips onto the environment. s leadin! #ey activists !et removed$ detained$ #illed$ QheadlessQ tentacles !row independently of one another. ;ACCA@6< %hat we have in the township is one QinstitutionQ which has le!itimacy for youth and the potential of bein! a moral authority$ but li#e any mass or!anisation$ is unable to have control over all its members and supporters. "outh frica in the ACB0s has been described by various social theorists as a hi!hly militarised society. By this what is meant is that there is in the society a concentration Qon the mobilisation of resources for warQ ;9oc# and *athan ;eds<$ ACBC@4<. )his militarisation for 9oc# was evidenced on the political$ economic and ideolo!ical levels of "outh frican society. 6owever$ since the latter part of ACBC$ especially with the

withdrawal of the " DF troops from other "outhern frican states and the fall of / % BothaIs securocrat !overnment$ it was speculated that there would li#ely be a decrease in the militarisation in our society. If we use 9oc#Is indicators and definition of militarisation$ this would lar!ely be the case. %hy$ however$ if the militarisation of "outh frican society has been said to have decreased are we witnessin! the current intense and shoc#in! violence? )here appears to have been a preoccupation in the past with the militarisation of white society in relation to a military institution$ e.!. the " DF. s soon as we be!in to restrict an ideolo!y of militarism to the military as an institution$ we fall short of understandin! that for all communities in "outh frica$ violence has become the answer to resolvin! conflict on any level. )he ideolo!y of militarism has not only broadly en!ulfed all communities in our society$ but also various social strata. It has become an accepted way of life not only for men and women$ but for adults and children ali#e. %e should hence be wary of instantaneously pointin! fin!ers at blac# male youth. In the ACC0 violence$ we witnessed both women and children tacitly supportin! and watchin! brutal nec#lacin!s ta#in! place. %e have also witnessed white women$ both old and youn!$ learnin! how to efficiently use a !un preparin! for a war a!ainst the Q#affirsQ in order to create and defend a white QBoerestaatQ. 2f course blac# youth in "outh frica have the !reatest propensity to be involved in acts of violence. )his is e1pected owin! to their various e1periences referred to above$ their QtransitoryQ position in society$ their sense of themselves as moral !uardians of the community and of course the prospect of a future of joblessness with a poor educational bac#!round. 6avin! said all of the above$ it is my contention that youth in the townships do *2) want to be involved in acts of violence$ but will react to perceived political and social injustice with the methods they #now to be most effective : political violence in its variety of forms. From the interviews and discussions with youth in Diep#loof$ two thin!s have become very clear to me. Firstly$ the main hope of these youth is for peace in "outh frica$ so that there will be no need to ta#e up arms nor to die for their country and fellow community members. "econdly$ the youth e1ist in a state of fear. )hey fear not only for their own lives$ but also havin! to fi!ht an enemy : however this may be defined at any !iven moment in time. )he youth themselves do not perceive youth !enerally$ nor the blac# community to be a QviolentQ one. /eace will be there in our country. 7ost people in the country want peace. 8ven our liberation movement love peace : that is why they are tryin! to resolve the crisis within the country in a peaceful manner. )herefore$ I have hope that we will !et peace$ but I donIt #now when. ;respondent 5< y$ I donIt thin# youth is li#e to be involved in violence$ because of if you see a bus of In#atha those who are doin! violence$ those people are fathers. )heyIve !ot children and what$ what$ and then so as we are a -outh Gea!ue we just try to help our parents to stop this violence. ;respondent B<

%hen as#in! them whether they perceive "outh frica to be a violent society$ they state that the society is not a violent one$ it is the state that is violent. %hether one a!rees with this common response and sees it as QtrueQ or not$ the important thin! remains that this is the perception of the youth themselves and will shape their behaviour. )he 4uestion that needs to be as#ed$ however$ is how do these desires for peace and security become nurtured in a society as structurally and directly violent as our own and where violence certainly is seen to be the solution to all conflict?

Vuyani Maba a ! " #ase $tudy

I would at this point li#e to relay two stories from Diep#loof which may illustrate the above undoubtedly QcontentiousQ points and !ive some insi!ht into the life of township youth presently ;at a time of so:called ne!otiations<. In an informal discussion with one youth ;letIs call him 3abu< with whom I have been wor#in!$ he stated that he feared death and violence and that he would run away if he saw In#atha approachin! him rather than fi!ht them : 4uite an admission for a blac# male youth in the militant youth lea!ue. wee# later in late 2ctober$ the chairperson$ Bapo$ of the zone of 3abuIs branch of the youth lea!ue was found dead in his !randfatherIs toilet. )hat ni!ht the youth of Diep#loof went on a QmissionQ to #ill the councillor in the area. )hey were furious that their comrade had been #illed and felt that they would not be the only people to suffer and lose their people. )he state too must suffer. 3abu was one of the people who went to #ill the councillor that ni!ht. %hat needs to be inferred from this story is that the violence of youth is more than often reactive and secondly$ the role of the masses or the QmobQ needs to be accounted for. It should also be pointed out that this reaction was not a planned or or!anised one. In fact the youth lea!ue branch in the area had had a meetin! the day of the murder and had decided that nothin! could be done. ll that the or!anisation resolved to do was to or!anise the funeral of the comrade and to heed their own safety and as far as possible investi!ate the murder of their comrade. short article on the death of Bapo was written in The %tar the followin! day and the publicity officer of the broader Diep#loof branch$ 0uyani 7aba1a$ made a statement to the press. 6e stated that Bopa had been murdered ;the police claimed he had committed suicide< and that he had been a committed and respected activist in the area. BopaIs death came as a shoc# and trauma to the youth in the area. -outh be!an to 4uestion who would be ne1t. 2n !oin! to visit 0uyani the followin! wee#$ he e1pressed his deep sadness at the death of someone he cared for and respected. 6e also stated that he would never carry a !un with him as it could lead to trouble and that he would rather be #illed than #ill a !an! member$ a policeman or someone from In#atha. s a leadership person in or!anisation$ he also felt it would be inappropriate for him to carry a weapon. 6e also stated that he really wished or!anised youth would not carry !uns as this could only lead to problems. 81actly a wee# later ;2ctober A5<$ I phoned 0uyani to as# him a 4uestion re!ardin! the safety of visitin! the township. 6is brother answered the phone and told me he had bad news for me. 0uyani had been shot that mornin! and was dead.

)here was little doubt that the township would be on fire followin! the death of 0uyani : probably the most respected youth leader in the township. 2n 2ctober A& The %tar reported that in Diep#loof$ pupils at two local schools barricaded streets and set two cars and a lorry on fire after ransac#in! a house in the area. /upils hijac#ed cars as they marched on the house of slain *9 -outh Gea!ue leader 0uyani 7aba1a. )hey were protestin! a!ainst his death. In the same wee# the )eekly *ail reported that@ 9lassrooms stood empty as pupils in "owetoIs Diep#loof township too# to the streets this wee# to protest the death of frican *ational 9on!ress Geader$ 0uyani 7aba1a P . 2n 7onday mornin! the confrontation too# a serious turn when a shot fired into the bedroom of 8slinah 7aba1a$ 0uyaniIs mother$ missed her by centimetres P . )his incident tri!!ered off a four:day conflict between pupils and police. t two schools pupils barricaded streets and set two cars ali!ht after ransac#in! a house in the area P . Bopa "enatla 6i!h "chool pupils burnt down a house in the area after mista#in! it for a policemanIs home P the dau!hter of former Diep#loof mayor 3acob 7athala was badly burned on %ednesday when a !roup of pupils set fire to her house while she was asleep. ;2ctober AB : 2ctober +4@&< -outh had every reason to be an!ry and to feel that they cannot sit around watchin! their friends and comrades die. !ain the 4uestion Qwho will be ne1t?Q was as#ed. Tuestions around self:defence were hi!h on the a!enda. %hat are more appropriate 4uestions and what do the youth do when confronted by the daily horrors of their township e1istence. t the funeral of 0uyani 7aba1a$ a pamphlet was distributed by the Diep#loof Defence >nit of which 0uyani was said to the second:in:command. )he pamphlet !oes as follows@ challen!e has been posed to the people$ in particular to the under!round@ )he /eace ccord has been si!ned= %e have adhered to it. )he police have not adhered to it. )he #illin!s in )ho#oza$ and the death of 7pin!a$ are typical e1amples of this. %e want to indicate that we in this defence unit accept the challen!e. %e vow to meet the police : and to aven!e 7pin!aIs death on the battlefieldP s a stru!!lin! people with few resources of our own$ it is imperative that we or!anise ourselves into structures or cells with varyin! tas#s$ all aimed at achievin! one objective. "ince we do not$ or cannot$ produce any military hardware of our own inside the country$ it becomes imperative that we develop ways of ac4uirin! weapons within the country@ %e must disarm the police= %e must !et in contact with or!anised units of the peopleIs army ;7M<.

2f course this sounds chillin! and reminds us of the type of ille!al pamphlets we used to read in the midJlate ACB0s callin! for /eopleIs %ar a!ainst the Qfascist re!imeQ. )here are$ however$ many important points that need to be drawn from the document 4uoted above. Firstly$ for youth in the township$ life itself has not chan!ed si!nificantly$ if at all$ since February +nd and more recently the si!nin! of the very si!nificant /eace ccord. In such a conte1t$ youth see no choice but to defend themselves and ma#e the police Qfeel the same pain as their families feel and #now what it feels li#e to visit the cemetery every wee# to bury your peopleQ. "econdly$ youth in or!anisation and structures of defence realise the dan!er of spontaneous and QemotionalQ retributive violence. )he comrade from the Diep#loof Defence >nit who made a statement at 0uyaniIs funeral stated that Qstudents must stop ta#in! their own action durin! the day. )he problem of unplanned action is that it only leads to unnecessary death and injuryQ. "imilarly$ /aul 7atshi4i of the " 9/ ;"oweto District< stated at the funeral that Qthe rhetoric of the defence units must stop. %e need to have action as we have done lon! before the unbannin! of or!anisations. -outh should play a pivotal role in the defence units$ but their action should be !overned by the political policy of or!anisationsQ. )he response of these youth to the death of a friend$ comrade and respected leader is to be e1pected. )he "outh frican state remains a structurally ;and directly< violent one where reactive violence will of necessity$ for Dom 6elder 9amara$ form part of the Qspiral of violenceQ. For hmed$ political violence is connected to a need to be heard. 6e continues that Qan!er and helplessness produce compulsions towards retributive violence : a factor which e1plains violence not only of the helpless but also of the powerfulQ. ;cited in "aid$ e" +eft Re!ie"<

The %eed &or an '((ediate )egiti(ate "uthority

%hat is clear is that political violence is not !oin! to disappear for a lon! time. 0iolence$ in fact$ is intensifyin! and ta#in! on new and more sinister forms. It is also not violence that is initiated by Qmilitant youthQ that is current rava!in! "outh frica. It is not the youth who are #illin! innocent people on the trains or slau!hterin! women and children in the s4uatter camps. )he perpetrators in fact appear to be lar!ely middle:a!ed to elderly men. )ownship youth$ however$ will respond to these acts of political violence out of an!er and frustration. )hey deem themselves the Qmoral defendersQ of the community with a duty to protect their families. -ou #now what IIm tal#in! of itIs the youth is always prepared to defend the community. I still remember when there was a rumour that In#atha its here$ you #now that day I was very happy to see the way youth used discipline themselves P sometimes when there is a problem you #now$ the community just sit there and they say we #now$ comrades will do this and this$ and when you fail to defend them they blame you$ but when you say what you have done$ arenIt you blamin! yourself for sittin! down$ you #now$ your mother and brothers:in:law they tell you no$ you are the comrades defend us$ you #now. But now thin!s have chan!ed$ you #now. %hen there is a problem we are involved ourselves. *ot

: we donIt loo# upon someone to come to us and say do this and this$ and this. %e do our own initiative of defendin! our people. ;respondent +< 7y friends almost we are to!ether in politics. %hat is happenin! around the world round thereIs imbalance. %eIre loo#in! the areas thereIs violence. %hatIs happenin! there. %hatIs the point of death. %hat it is doin! defendin! all the masses. I only say the youth is the only people can defend their parents and their sisters P . %hen the youth they sittin! with their friends they wonIt be discussin! whatIs happenin! that year. %hatIs the problem$ you doin! this and this. %e analyse that the areas they say li#e this$ thereIs a youth in Diep#loof$ thereIs a youth. %hy donIt the youth defend their parents? ;respondent AB<. .hetoric of non:violence and political tolerance under the !iven circumstances$ thou!h important and nice$ is not !oin! to ma#e sense to township youth$ nor is it !oin! to mobilise and or!anise youth. -outh have been forced into defensive mode which will include tactics which are violent. )his violence has the tendency and potential to be spontaneous$ haphazard and ultimately destructive. It is hence essential that youth are or!anised into structures that are able to !ive direction and leadership. )he defensive strate!ies and tactics need to be carefully planned$ centrally or!anised and properly e1ecuted. )his$ at present$ cannot be done by parents or teachers. %hat is needed is another moral authority$ which at this point seems to be that of youth or!anisations. In the edition of ,ori-on cited above$ a member of the *9-G of the 2rlando 8ast branch$ "oweto$ writes@ P Is it ; *9-G< able to defend not only its members but the support base from which its members are drawn? %hy does the carna!e continue with little visible resistance? Is the call for defence committees mere propa!anda to appease the victims or a serious commitment which we are all prepared to carry out? )o what e1tent are peace conferences helpful in addressin! the violence? Is intolerance on the part of some elements of the youth contributin! to the violence? If yes$ what can be done about this? )his youn! person is as#in! important and insi!htful 4uestions. 6e ;and it is a male< is pleadin! for answers and direction which need to be ur!ently addressed to avoid chaos$ continual an!er and alienation and ultimately the much:feared anarchy which seems to be loomin!. 6e is also ma#in! an assumption that the *9-G is able to have enou!h le!itimacy amon! youth to call upon the or!anisation for help and to brin! youth in the township under the discipline of the or!anisation to or!anise defence a!ainst threats of violence in the township. Tuestions and pleas such as the one above need ur!ently to be addressed and answered. )he youth are !oin! to be involved in acts of political violence. )o some e1tent it even seems that this is encoura!ed by the adults in the community when they are under threat. 6owever$ the youth do need !uidance and they certainly need boundaries to be set bounded by a set of morals and !oals. )he activities of youth need to be subjected to discipline.

If we believe that discipline is useful$ indeed necessary for the individual$ it is because it seems to us demanded by nature itself P li#e everythin! else that e1ists$ man is a limited bein!= he is part of a whole P therefore man cannot$ without contradictin! his nature$ try to supercede the limits imposed on every side P . If then from our point of view$ discipline is not !ood$ it is not because we re!ard the wor# of nature with a rebellious eye$ or that we see here a diabolical machine that has failed$ but that manIs nature cannot be itself unless it is disciplined. ;Dur#heim$ cited in ,iddens$ ACDD@AA+< )he youth certainly do need discipline. %e have seen that in the townships$ in the areas of traditional authority$ parents and teachers have a lon! and difficult road to travel to re#indle the trust and respect of the youth ;and vice versa<. ;)his will ta#e time but is an ur!ent matter that needs commitment from all members of the community<. .amphele states that Qthe attac# on ille!itimate authority structures at home$ school and local community was not accompanied by the creation of alternative modes of authority. )here was thus a void left in the lives of youn! peopleQ ;ibid$ p.56<. If traditional authority has bro#en down$ there is even less chance of the youth ta#in! moral direction from parents and teachers in relation to political activity and even more specifically$ in relation to political violence. For many youth in the township$ particularly for activist youth$ youth political or!anisations have come to be seen as the Qnew moral authorityQ. )his should be seen as somethin! positive to be wor#ed with and developed. %ithout the presence of some body which will !ive !uidance and direction to the youth$ responses to events and conditions will continue to be haphazard and disor!anised. .eal chan!e will remain words on the lips of leaders and print on accords that have no real si!nificance and meanin! for youth. )he e1pectations of the youth need to be limited. )he means by which their ends can be met need to be feasible so that continued frustration and an1iety do not persist. 7oreover$ there needs to be some authority which can monitor these means and ends and so ensure that boundaries are maintained. *o e1istin! formal institution at this point is !oin! to be able to ensure this. )he authority needs to be seen to be le!itimate in the eyes of the actors. t this point in our history$ for many youth who have lived throu!h the seventies and ei!hties$ political or!anisations are the only formations with the le!itimacy to tell youth what to do and how to brin! people to recall. By or!anisation what is meant is a body made up of people who share similar concerns or interests. It has principles and rules by which members abide. It has leadership which represents those who ma#e up the or!anisation and from whom members are prepared to ta#e direction. 2r!anisation also provides a forum for developin! unity and sharin! concerns and e1periences with others to whom they can relate in some way. 2r!anisations are moreover places where personal and other development can occur and where jointly decisions can be made around appropriate strate!ies and tactics for dealin! with problems confrontin! members. nother important part of or!anisation that is often ne!lected or for!otten is that members puttin! time and ener!y into or!anisation should be able to themselves benefit from these or!anisations.

In the past$ political or!anisations have played various roles for youth@ they have served as arenas of education and trainin! ;often not very systematically<. Bundy has clearly shown in e1aminin! the 9ape )own ACB& school boycotts$ how youth structures and or!anisations slotted in and provided Qstreet pavement sociolo!yQ to youth who were not learnin! in the classrooms. 2r!anisation became a le!itimate site of learnin! for youth and allowed youth to critically assess their situation and ma#e relatively informed decisions in this re!ard. Bundy shows$ for e1ample$ how township youth clearly understood the lin# between the poor education of their parents and their parentsI class position in society. 6e also shows how youth themselves understood that their own education was no !uarantee for later employment. Blac# schools in "outh frica are !oin! to continue to be a site of stru!!le for students. "tudents are !oin! to continue to feel ambivalent about imbibin! Q!utter educationQ. "o lon! as this is the state of education$ or!anisation can continue to provide some forum for learnin!$ readin! and debate. In fact I joined the *9 -outh Gea!ue because it is fi!htin! for the unity of youth in "outh frica and a!ain you #now it prepares each and every youth to be understandin! thin!s$ and it educates and a!ain it encoura!es youth that they should discipline themselves all the time. In fact the thin! which I li#e most is its fi!htin! to unite the whole youth of our country and #eep them under one umbrella P . It is very much important for youth to be in or!anisation because if you are roamin! around and not maybe botherin! yourself to #now what is happenin! in the country it means that you are !oin! to be easily influenced by the people who are not committed to humanity and who doesnIt respect a human life$ usin! you a!ainst the people and doin! funny thin!s. "o I believe if you are in or!anisation li#e the *9 -outh Gea!ue$ then discipline is there$ I mean you are bein! tau!ht every day about discipline and to respect human life. ;respondent A5< 2r!anisations have attempted to channel the an!er and ener!ies of youth. -outh for e1ample$ alon! with other or!anisations too# up campai!ns callin! for the resi!nation of councillors. 9ouncillors were perceived to be corrupt and to be char!in! unfeasible rates and ta1es on the community. 2f course these or!anised campai!ns involvin! marches$ boycotts and letters to local !overnment often ended in acts of violence a!ainst councillors and other Qa!ents of the stateQ. If the state had responded to the demands of the youth$ it is unli#ely that the same level of violence !enerally initiated by the youth would have occurred. 7ore recently an important campai!n ta#en up by the -outh Gea!ue and 92" " is the QBac# to "chool 9ampai!nQ. In the 3ulyJ u!ust edition of ,ori-on ;the journal of the *9 -outh Gea!ue< it is stated that Qwhile fi!htin! for the liberation$ learnin! must continue. For this reason 92" " has$ alon! with or!anisations such as the *899$ thrown full wei!ht behind the Bac# to "chool$ Intensive Gearnin! and .i!ht to Gearn campai!nsQ ;p.AB<. )he article in the journal continues that Qto ensure effective implementation and co:ordination of these campai!ns$ the or!anisation ;92" "< is settin! up campai!ns committees at national and re!ional levels. But 92" " is not just waitin! for the !overnment to improve conditions in the schools$ says 7ase#o. %ith the help of the " Democratic )eachers >nion$ it has encoura!ed students

to set up alternative learnin! projects such as %inter "chools and to use the *899Is study !uides. 0iolence in the school premises has been a major factor disruptin! schoolin! in many areas. )he 92" " con!ress resolved to pioneer the settin! up of defence units in the schools with assistance from the *9 and to participate in and help build township defence units.Q ;p.AC< )he youth themselves see their or!anisations as directin! their behaviour$ providin! discipline$ to unite youth and to provide education. In fact$ the *9 -outh Gea!ue$ I joined the or!anisation because it is fi!htin! for the unity of all the youth in "outh frica and then a!ain it is fi!htin! to unite all the youth of "outh frica$ and a!ain it prepares each and every youth to be$ and it educates and a!ain it encoura!es the youth that they should discipline themselves all the time. "o I believe that if you are in an or!anisation li#e the *9 -outh Gea!ue then discipline is there. I mean you are bein! tau!ht every day about discipline and to respect human life. ;interview A0< I join or!anisation because of I thin# discipline. Because of I mean if you understand everythin! about youth$ then youIll be discipline especially if you are in some or!anisation because of I thin# each and every or!anisation theyIve !ot their own policies$ so he understand everythin! because of conduct everythin!$ then you can do discipline. ;respondent B< It is$ however$ not only the youth that perceive youth or!anisations as havin! a central and constructive role to play in the positive development of youth. 7ost of the #ey adult informants I interviewed shared similar views. )hey believed very stron!ly that or!anised and disciplined youth are not the youth responsible for spontaneous and anarchic forms of violence. )hey also believed that or!anised youth have a sense of responsibility to the community and a respect for the di!nity of its members. )hey are seen to be the !roup of youth who can be reasoned and ne!otiated with. Interestin!ly$ the two Diepmeadow councillors interviewed e1pressed these views very vi!orously : after ensurin! that I would not ma#e public what they had said in association with their names$ of course. 60U of youth if not more in Diep#loof are involved in or!anisation$ especially those in school. )hose youth who donIt attend are part of !an!s. -outh in political or!anisations you can reason with. )hey !ive you time to discuss. )hey are prepared to tal# to you P . )he youth who are emotional are the ones involved in violence. )he *9 -outh Gea!ue are not so much violent. -ou can reason with them. )he problem is when they start to mi1 with the criminal youth. ;councillor $ Diepmeadow 9ity 9ouncil$ ACCA< )he enli!htened youth ta#e out membership in or!anisations. )hese youth read more. )hey read literature supplied by the or!anisation. )hese youth are prepared to discuss with you P . I would respect leadership in the or!anisations of youth. )hey are prepared to thin#$ tal# and discuss P . )he or!anisations have influence over youth. If they could preach the 92D8" !ospel$ the youth would !o alon! with it. ;senior liaison officer of Diepmeadow 9ity 9ouncil$ ACCA< )he older people in the community appreciate youth in or!anisation. )hey feel these youth ma#es thin!s chan!e. )his is different from the !an! youth who they see are

destroyin! the community. )he older people feel proud of the youth in political or!anisations P . )he or!anisations are important for youth. For instance the 4uestion of leadership and even the 4uestion of discipline. %e find with the political activists in any political situation they are disciplined. )he or!anisation are able to control youth whereas those other youth are not controlled and this is a problem P . 2r!anisations definitely !ive direction. %here you find there is chaos$ it is always the other youth$ not the political youth. )he political ones are the ones that control them because they say this is tarnishin! their ima!e. ;7r )loten!$ senior social wor#er$ *I9.2$ "oweto$ ACCA< %here township youth or!anisations have le!itimate$ well:trained and responsible leadership$ youth who are committed to or!anisation will feel compelled to adhere to the discipline and authority of the or!anisation and to account for their behaviour or face the conse4uences of not followin! the principles or codes of conduct of the or!anisation. 2f course$ in reality many youth are only part:time members of the or!anisation. 2thers act in the name of the or!anisation without bein! firmly located within the or!anisation itself : the so:called QcomtsotsisQ are a !ood e1ample of this. In the nineties this has become even more of a problem. -outh who in the ei!hties would not join political or!anisations because of the threat of detention$ harassment and possibly death$ have now joined or!anisations in lar!e numbers. )hey have not been e1posed to the strin!ent discipline and trainin! of the youth of the seventies and ei!hties. %hile many have foresi!ht and are committed$ they lac# the e1perience of the ei!hties youth. )he openin! up of or!anisations with the unbannin!s also allowed for a multiplicity of youth to join who were un#nown to previous youth leadership. 9ontrol over youth who associate themselves with political or!anisation has become more difficult in the ACC0s. In the ACB0s$ people became involved from a politically educated point of view. It was difficult to !et people involved. ACB0s youth politics was a responsible job. -ou had to understand the theory of or!anisin!. /eople of this time had a clear understandin! of collectivity and readin!. -outh used to read a lot. %e had a vision of our pro!ramme. In the ACC0s youth floc#ed to or!anisations. )he youth did not have to !o out and or!anise. /olitical education pro!rammes were lac#in!. /olitics have chan!ed. )he basic re4uirements of the ACB0s are no lon!er used as criteria. "ome people in leadership lac# analysis and a clear vision of beyond. /olitical education is not ta#en as seriously. ;#ey youth Q Q activist of the ACB0s in Diep#loof$ now national office:bearer of *86 %>$ ACC+< )he unbannin! of the *9 and its approach to armed stru!!le and the lac# of reportbac#s alienated old activists. 2ld activists became demoralised. )hese people had been committed to seizure of power. )ransition to the *9 had an effect on activists trained in a particular political climate. "ome of these activists have joined service or!anisations$ !one bac# to school and some are just sittin! around. ItIs a sad moment to see activists we #now sayin! that the only thin! they can do is vote. %e have lost much of our old leadership. )his has wea#ened the youth lea!ue locally in the sense that we have a new brand of leadership not !rilled in con!ress politics : they have a poor sense of strate!ies and tactics. "easoned activists should have helped in this re!ard P . )here are still some seasoned activists in Diep#loof branch. 6owever$ the death of 0uyani as someone consistent and seasoned is a !reat loss. It is !oin! to be some time before we !et

someone of his calibre. ;#ey youth activist QBQ of the ACB0s in Diep#loof$ on first national e1ecutive of *9-G< )he 4uestion of leadership of youth or!anisations is one which needs to be ur!ently addressed. From my e1perience in doin! research with the *9-G in Diep#loof$ a few thin!s have come to my attention which I ima!ine can be !eneralised to most township branches of youth or!anisations. Firstly$ the avera!e a!e of members of the youth lea!ue is about fourteen or fifteen : of course$ therefore most youth in youth or!anisation are at school. )he leadership is !enerally of a similar cate!ory. %hile these youth have much political and life e1perience$ they remain youn! and at a sta!e where schoolin! is or should be their primary activity. )hey are also stru!!lin! with the psycho:social conflicts of any youth of that a!e cate!ory : the sta!e which 8ri#son denotes Qidentity versus role confusionQ. )his sta!e for 8ri#son is characterised by Qmental as well as emotional development P . s impatient idealists$ they often join one or another movement advocatin! rapid and dramatic chan!e. )hey are the bac#bone of reli!ious cults and of violentJrevolutionary !roups P . 9au!ht between childhood and adulthood$ the adolescent see#s to establish an adult identity that will inte!rate what has !one before and will lead in an appropriate direction throu!h what is yet to come.Q ;.uch ACB4@5C&< )he development of youth in the township is !enerally hastened in many respects by the conditions ;political and social< in which these youth have matured and they have often been forced to ta#e on responsibilities not common to the youth of !enerally industrialised countries from which 8ri#son draws his theory. /erhaps in some re!ards the development of youth in "outh frica has also been retarded by the conditions facin! them : the development and establishment of autonomy and role e1ploration is hindered by the socio:economic conditions from which township youth emer!e as well as due to the !eneral lac# of facilities and life opportunities. )he past youth leadership are !enerally no lon!er in youth or!anisation. 7any have out!rown youth or!anisation$ others have become disillusioned and have relented their activism$ others are simply not interested in bein! part of youth or!anisation for a number of reasons which need to be e1plored$ yet others have become involved in more sinister activities as !an!sters or part of the QcomtsotsiQ phenomenon. %hatever the case$ youth or!anisations probably more than any other or!anisations need mature$ trained and committed leadership able to !ive appropriate and well:thou!ht:throu!h direction. #ey concern$ therefore$ for youth or!anisation and those concerned with the interests of youth should be to encoura!e and ensure that mature$ wor#in! and trained youth play a central role in youth or!anisation. )his is essential so that the developmental and leadership roles of youth or!anisations can ade4uately be implemented and to ensure that the tentacles without heads that "itas describes do not continue to !erminate. %hat seems to have happened with the decline of e1perienced youth leadership is that political violence has become less directed and disciplined. ,urr would probably refer to this form of violence as QturmoilQ by which he means that political violence is Qrelatively spontaneous$ unor!anised political violence with substantial popular participation$ includin! violent political stri#es$ riots$ political clashes$ and localised rebellionsQ ;ibid@ AA<. )his$ I

believe$ is different from the violence of the ACB0s which formed part of an overall strate!y of QpeopleIs warQ and was hi!hly or!anised and !oal:directed. It would probably appro1imate another of ,urrIs forms of political violence$ Qinternal warQ which is Qhi!hly or!anised political violence with widespread popular participation$ desi!ned to overthrow the re!ime or dissolve the state and accompanied by e1tensive violence$ includin! lar!e: scale terrorism and !uerrilla wars$ civil wars$ and revolutionsQ ;ibid@ AA<. ACCA and ACC+ has seen an increase in seemin!ly !oalless violence. /erhaps the best e1ample of this was the oil tan#er that was set ali!ht in Diep#loof 81tension on 7ay AC$ ACC+. section of .andshow .oad in Diep#loof 81tension$ "oweto$ was turned into an inferno yesterday when a petrol tan#er ambushed by protestin! pupils e1ploded P . Tuic# action by firefi!hters saved a row of houses from total devastation as the & metre hi!h flames leapt over !arden walls$ dama!in! four homes and several vehicles. )he badly burnt truc# driver was earlier pulled to safety and rushed to Bara!wanath 6ospital P . "cholars demonstratin! a!ainst the D8)Is decision to increase matric e1am fees had this wee# carried out similar attac#s on motorists in Diep#loof$ /imville and MlipspruitP ;The %tar$ +0 7ay ACCA< )he followin! "unday$ a perple1ed "efa#o *ya#a of the %unday %tar as#ed why #ill bystanders$ burn petrol tan#ers and stone private cars in response to a decision to increase school e1amination fees. *ya#a interviewed a Qself:styled student leaderQ Q9omrade 9astroQ about the incident. In a dimly lit$ smo#e:filled room at the bac# of the house in Vone 4$ Diep#loof$ 9astro and two of his mates were at pains to e1plain why an!er directed at the D8) had to be vented on the driver of a petrol tan#er. I)he D8) does not want to listen. 7aybe if they see that we mean business they will stop the e1am feesI$ he said nervously. IIt is unfortunate that the driver ;of the petrol tan#er; found himself in the crossfire$I 9astro said. But$ he added$ the tan#er was a le!itimate tar!et. "o are all delivery vehicles and police cars P . 6ad they co:ordinated this wee#Is attac#s? I*o$ we only !ave direction$I 9astro said as he pulled himself out of his chair$ announcin! an!rily that this was the end of the interview. ;%unday %tar$ +4 7ay ACC+< %hat this incident illustrates is that youth are still prepared to rally to the calls of the township political or!anisations$ in this case the call of 92" " to boycott school as a response to hi!h e1amination fees for matric pupils. 2nce out of school$ students are QdirectedQ to en!a!e in acts of Qpolitical violenceQ. 6owever$ this reactive violence is not co:ordinated. It is a clear e1ample of the type of political violence ,urr terms QturmoilQ. )he QleadershipQ person involved in this incident ac#nowled!es that the violence was not co:ordinated by the youth leadership : a directive had only been !iven that this should occur. 2f course$ the shorta!e of responsible and e1perienced local youth leadership cannot alone be seen as causal for the undisciplined political violence that youth are en!a!in! in throu!hout the country. )he QcomtsotsisQ who are basically youth en!a!ed in anti:social behaviour and Qwho attempt to justify their behaviour as le!itimate political activityQ ;"tra#er$ op cit@ D5< are another major problem for youth or!anisations in ensurin! disciplined and accountable political activity. )he QcomtsotsiQ phenomenon$ of

course$ was a feature of youth activities in the ACB0s$ but has ar!uably increased with the decreased 4uality of leadership and the QunmonitoredQ influ1 of youth into political or!anisations. )hese days in Diep#loof there are more people$ not necessarily comrades joinin! or!anisations. "o when these people are to!ether one is carryin! a !un$ one thin#s he is above the community$ you see. "o now ta#e for instance when five people$ all of them are carryin! !un$ you see then they start doin! wron! thin!s$ then tomorrow we need an e1planation from them. ;respondent +< It is clear that youth or!anisations in the ACC0s face a variety of serious problems@ ine1perienced leadership= the risin! QcomtsotsiQ phenomenon= an influ1 of new and undisciplined youth as well as a !enerally confusin! political terrain where on the !round nothin! si!nificant has chan!ed$ yet political violence ;especially when carried out by the youth< is no lon!er condoned openly by the leadership of the movement which once encoura!ed the activities of un!overnability of the Qyoun! lionsQ. *onetheless$ these or!anisations remain the or!ans in the township that throu!h their perceived le!itimacy are able to mobilise the youth and assert some form of moral authority. )hese or!anisations have very stron! Qcodes of conductQ which relate to the behaviour of youth both inside and outside the or!anisations. )hese codes of conduct are !enerally adhered to by the majority of members of youth or!anisation$ who are not a part of the Qcomtsotsi phenomenonQ. -outh or!anisations need to ac#nowled!e the problems which e1ist within their own or!anisations$ particularly that of proper trainin! of youth leadership. )his will need the support of the Qmother bodyQ political or!anisations in the townships.

#onclusion
-outh or!anisations need to prepare their members for a new society which can only be more just and peaceful. %hile various retributive strate!ies may seem appropriate presently$ they need to be challen!ed in the lon! term. -outh need to be educated now about non:violent and alternative methods of dealin! with all forms of conflict and anta!onism. 7oreover$ while political violence may appear justifiable as a defensive strate!y for youth when repressive violence is clearly still in force$ other forms of personal violence certainly are not : i.e. violence a!ainst women= violence a!ainst children in the home and classrooms as well as violence as a means !enerally for achievin! !oals or Qsolvin!Q disputes on a day:to:day level of operation. -outh need to be educated about problematic methods of problem:solvin! and be challen!ed or!anisationally with re!ard to the way that personal problems are dealt with. )he lon!: term dan!ers and effects of a militarised and violent society need to be made e1plicit and a cause for concern. -outh or!anisations because of their powerful position as le!itimate bodies for the youth also need to play a role in reassertin! the need for rebuildin! constructive relationships between adults and youth in the schools and in the families and households of the youth. Finally$ in the past youth or!anisations have or!anised alon! very militaristic principles. /art of this form of or!anisation !ave way to a type of ascetism amon! youth activists

who denied any personal e1istence and needs. )heir lives became that of the stru!!le in the name of Qthe massesQ. "elf:denial became the order of the day and while the youth were certainly aware of the needs and interests of the community$ they had little sense of their own needs and sense of self:development. For Dur#heim$ the moral re!ulation of the lar!e !roup needs to be one which encoura!es the individual to be both Qe!oisticQ and QaltruisticQ in orientation. QBoth e!oism and altruism must be constructed$ in part$ in terms of duties to oneself and to others P both e!oism and altruism and their related conditions of e1istence are necessary for a society of rational$ active$ social subjects. In order to avoid both anomie and fatalism it is necessary to create a clear and coherent normative system with some fle1ibility to allow for individual interpretationPQ;/earce$ ibid@ A&A< %hat Dur#heim is ar!uin! here is that individuals cannot have a healthy$ productive e1istence in modern society if they are simply subordinated to the demands of society and the dictates of the collectivity. Individuals need to be aware of their own needs and be in touch with their personal feelin!s. 7oreover$ for Dur#heim in any formation which proposes active democracy$ Qindividuals would need the ri!hts$ capacities and opportunities to or!anise themselves$ to develop their understandin!$ to communicate their viewpoint and effectively pursue their interests when ne!otiatin! with other individuals$ !roups and institutions.Q ;op cit@ A6A< In conclusion$ there is no doubt that the socialisation of youth$ their day:to:day e1periences of violence and the conte1t of a !enerally militarised society have had a massive effect on the consciousness of youth and conse4uently their understandin! of the le!itimacy of violent methods on a number of levels. -outh or!anisations have be!un to challen!e these forms of problem:solvin! in various conte1ts ;e.!. 92" "Is campai!n a!ainst corporal punishment< and have also played a role in channellin! youthIs an!er and attemptin! to avoid complete and unaccountable chaos. It is hence my contention that it is often unor!anised or partially or!anised youth who are largely responsible for spontaneous acts of political violence. )he role of youth or!anisations in a present and future "outh frica will play a #ey role in determinin! whether "outh frican youth do in fact simply become a Qlost !enerationQ or whether they play a central and constructive role in developin! a peaceful and democratic "outh frica which$ at the end of the day$ is the hope of all youth.