A video depicting an apparent racist incident in which a group of pupils auctioned off their black classmates at a Cape Town high school has sparked outrage after it was found circulating on social media.
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The footage shared on social media platforms with the caption ‘Slavery at schools is crazy’ showed black pupils being held in a caged area seemingly used for storing bicycles and umbrellas, while coloured pupils outside the enclosure called for bids.
The video, which cannot be published as it depicts the faces of minors, shows the ‘auctioneer’ calling for silence before starting the bidding at R100 000. Bids quickly escalate, with some reaching R200 million. At one point, a black student is seen standing inside the cage, smiling, while the auctioneer yells ‘Sold!’
The children were all dressed in what appeared to be variations of Pinelands High School’s uniform, reported News24.
The ‘deeply disturbing and hurtful’ video sparked outrage as it resembled scenes from between 1658 and 1807 when an estimated 63 000 people were taken from their homes and forcibly brought to a designated area to be sold as slaves.
A Pinelands High School parent, who wished to remain anonymous to protect her child’s identity, told News24 that her Grade 8 son narrowly avoided being one of the boys ‘auctioned’. A group of male students attempted to force him from the Grade 8 quad into the cage, but he resisted and was released.
‘They were picking up black boys and putting them in the cage. It’s not like they went willingly,’ the publication quoted the mother as saying.
She added that the incident had left her furious and noted that this was not the first instance of racism her son had faced at the school. In several incidents, he had been called derogatory names, told to ‘go and eat chicken feet’ and told that ‘boys who had assimilated’ were her son’s ‘upgrade’.
She also said that her son subsequently ‘hates going to school’ as a result of the bullying. She had raised the issue with teachers and tutor groups before meeting with the school principal on Friday, the publication reported.
‘I’m angry. My husband was an MK commander. He fought against this. I come from a struggle family. This is everything we fought against,’ she added. ‘After 30 years of democracy, how can my 14-year-old be experiencing this? It’s deplorable.’
Spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Bronagh Hammond confirmed to the publication that the department ‘is aware of the deeply disturbing and hurtful video that is circulating’.
‘The actions of the learners do not reflect the values and ethos of the WCED, nor the school. [On Friday] morning, senior officials visited the school. The school had already initiated an investigation into the event in terms of its disciplinary procedures following an allegation of racist bullying,’ said Hammond.
According to Hammond, the pupils involved were being interviewed and offered support, including counselling while contact was also being made with the learners’ parents as well as the parent community.
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