Speech by the SA ambassador to Venezuela, Mr. B.W Gila at the invitation by Venezuelan National Assembly on Africa day, 25 May 2011

President of the Congress: Luis Fernando Soto Rojas
Hon First Vice President: Mr Aristobuli Isturiz
Vice President: Mrs Blanca Eckout
Secretary: Dr Ivan Zerpa
Deputy Secretary: Mr Victor Clark
Ministers of cabinet present
Honourable Members of Congress
Excellencies
Distinguished guests

Permit me on behalf of the Republic of South Africa and its people to proffer our sincerest gratitude to the representatives of the people assembled in Congress, for both the invitation to attend these hallowed chambers, mandated to deliberate on the aspirations of your countrymen and countrywomen. And second, to be provided the privilege to share our fraternal commiserations on this important day for the mother continent, the African continent.

Honourable Speaker

A few months ago, fossil remains of a skull were found in the north west part of the Gauteng Province in South Africa which helped to provide the missing link in the evolution of man from his prehistoric forbears. But it also reminded us even more powerfully that all mankind has a common ancestry whose untold story lies buried deep beneath the soil that nurtured the homo sapiens who became grand parents to all humanity. We therefore are conscious of the significance of the term the mother continent, to whom all humans owe some distinctive relationship.

The meaning of the celebration of this day therefore, is paying homage to the values that the continent, it's inhabitants and it's political institutions seek to espouse. Those values are deeply rooted in the fact that man and man alone is not and cannot be the centre of the universe. But rather that man and all the elements that command the continuous cycle of life, are all part of a greater reality that has existed before human intelligence and will be there long after man has gone. The humility of this value, can be found in the religions of all indigenous people everywhere on the planet. And therefore there is a desire to marry these beliefs with our political institutions as they help in understanding human conflict, the relationship between humans and the environment, and the uneasy relationship between greed and scarcity of resources.

Honourable members and distinguished guests

Distance and other factors that have emasculated people who have a lot in common beyond the obvious, have resulted in deep cultural, political and economic distortions in our relationships. But, the desire to alter these distortions of relations among people is rooted in the philosophy of many Africans, especially because in all societies of the world, there would be distinct sections which share the African heritage and continue to propagate and promote specific cultures of specific communities only found in the African continent.  The blending of cultures in all these societies, is a recognition that it is not possible for any society to live one part of their lives as one culture and another part as something else. It is a demonstrably blended outcome, that in the continuity of our existence, we are unconscious of the contribution of the different parts of our heritage.

In your esteemed assembly, we wish to celebrate with you, as we also lend support to the general and specific initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the portfolio committee of Afro descendants and the universities together with their various social partners, that seek to address challenges faced by the African Diaspora, to eliminate social prejudice and institutional discrimination, to promote the economic empowerment of marginalized Afrodescendant communities and the recognition that in the art and music and dances and poetry, indeed in their spiritual and aesthetic expressions, lie awake dreams and hopes of the young and of the old, yearning for fulfilment.

Dear Honourable Speaker

On this day in 1963, the Organisation of African Unity, the OAU, was formed. At that particular time in history, most African countries were waging wars against colonialism and foreign domination. The battle cry of this organisation was to help African countries free themselves from the yoke of colonial domination. When South Africa became free from Apartheid, the countries among themselves, agreed to reform the organisation into the African Union in 2002 so as to open a new chapter of regional integration, economic development and the realignment of relations between the people of the continent with the people of other continents who had horrible experiences during their encounter with colonialism.

Remarkable in this chapter for the struggle for emancipation from colonial domination and foreign invasion, is the resilience of the people of Western Sahara, who are committed in the belief that no matter the time horizon, there is no force on earth which can stop the efforts of a people determined to attain freedom and self determination. They must also be rewarded for such belief in the all- time -truth that the quality of the freedom a country enjoys, is directly proportional to the amount of sacrifices they make and the blood of their martyrs which must flow, to ensure that one day they will sit around a fireplace in the land of their ancestors, telling their young that nothing and no one will ever turn the brave Sahwari heroes and heroines into refugees ever again.

This day is symbolic in reminding us that as Africans, our experiences are not unique. Latin America has a gruesome story to tell. The genocide perpetrated through slavery and at times, the deliberate extermination of communities and cultures, would find heartbreaking corroboration from the story of indigenous Indian communities in different parts of Latin America when they encountered the colonial advance for the first time.

The symbolism of this day however, goes beyond the admission that we are people who descended from a common ancestry. It is a symbolism that goes beyond the mere narration of the stories of colonial adventurism and the indignity of foreign occupation. It's symbolism lies in the confirmation that we are only human because there are animals and plants and the sun and the rain and the changing of the seasons. That there is no possibility of sustainable development of people, if there is no peace in our communities, in our countries, in our regions and indeed, if the world as a whole has no peace.

Honourable Members of Parliament

We are proud to participate in these commemorative celebrations as we would be when we celebrate the 9th August, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. I am proud to have been associated with the Committee of Indigenous Peoples under the stewardship of the erstwhile Deputada Noelli Pocaterra. And I have committed to participate in their programs organised in the provinces of Zulia and Barinas. And we wish to extend a hand of friendship and cooperation to all such activities organised throughout Venezuela

We pay tribute to active members of this house who have championed and celebrated the history of our people and the values which they stand for. The list is long but prominent among them is Roy Daza who has been leading the formation of the South Africa- Venezuela Parliamentary Friendship Committee and also helped in the celebration of the Nelson Mandela Day. But above all, I wish to thank Deputado Modesto Ruiz, an untiring champion of the projects of Afrodescendants in Venezuela and the work his committee had done. We are looking forward to the Festival of Afrodescendents in the ALBA. We wish to welcome him back from South Africa where he was part of a technical team for the drafting of recommendations on the African Diaspora to the Ministers and the African Heads of State.

My gratitude to President Chavez is profound, thanking him sincerely for putting focus on the nature of the relationship between the two continents and I am convinced that the outcomes of the Margarita Summit and the Parlamar declarations that gave birth to the Africa-South America secretariat, will gain impetus in the third Summit in November in Libya. And so is my gratitude to Minister Maduro and Prof Bolivar for their committed and strategic leadership on issues pertaining to the African continent.

I thank you.