Struggle veteran Denis Goldberg recounted yesterday how members of his generation had stood against the wrongs of apartheid to achieve social justice, saying that serving others constituted the meaning of life.
The 85-year-old Rivonia trialist was speaking at the Hout Bay Museum after he received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland.
Goldberg, who worked as an engineer before he was dismissed from his job because of his political activism, was honoured for his significant contribution towards ensuring all had access to education, and for his role in the Struggle that led to South Africa transforming from an apartheid state to a democratic society.
Goldberg said he had constructed roads in the country to enable the army to move rapidly instead of building roads in townships where they were most needed.
“I would like students generally, but especially scientists and engineers, to start asking why they build roads, bridges and houses. We do it for people, and I believe the need is to recognise that the meaning of our lives as human beings is to serve others.”
He spoke of his hope of helping to realise a united Hout Bay, where the youth could become involved in building enterprises for their and their children’s future.
The event at the museum was attended by many local residents, organisations associated with the Denis Goldberg Legacy Foundation Trust, and Premier Helen Zille.
Heriot-Watt University from Scotland, represented by School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Professor Paul Jowitt, presented their Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University to Rivonia Trialist Denis Goldberg. Video: Dominic Adriaanse
Goldberg said he had chosen the Hout Bay Museum for the event as he had lived in the area for the past 11 years and had met the museum’s manager, Jonti Dreyer, and over time staff there had realised their vision of turning the institution into a social history museum.
Dreyer said Goldberg had embarked on a plan to build an arts facility there that catered for the youth of Hout Bay, and in which Goldberg’s art collection could be exhibited.
Heriot-Watt University’s Professor Paul Jowitt, of the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, said: “Access to education is sometimes difficult, especially for someone locked in a prison cell, but Denis did it. He educated himself through distance learning through the most extreme of circumstances.”
Jowitt said Goldberg sought to share the education he had achieved with others and his achievements were an inspiration to the university in terms of the initiatives it planned to undertake internationally.
The university’s deputy principal, research and innovation, Gerry Pender said: “There are relatively few people who have made such a mark on history. Fewer did so in the face of such risk. Along with Nelson Mandela, Denis stands out as someone who set aside personal risk for the greater good.”