By Karen Breytenbach
Granite gravestones honouring the contributions of four young Cape Town freedom fighters who died in the 1980s have been unveiled at a ceremony attended by relatives and struggle comrades.
The stones, installed on the graves of Coline Williams, Ashley Kriel, Robbie Waterwitch and Anton Fransch, were unveiled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in the Maitland Cemetery on Thursday.
Funds for the gravestones have been raised since June 17 last year by members of the CARA Headstone Project, named after the four anti-apartheid youth leaders.
"It was a real struggle to raise the R38 000 we needed, but we received help from Club Manenberg and some private donors who wished to remain unnamed," said Marc Fransch, brother of Anton.
Father Peter John Pearson opened the proceedings, saying: "We are here today to salute our comrades, who faced adversity to liberate a generation. Victory was certain, but not necessarily imminent.
"We must realise the hope they cherished, because many issues remain unresolved."
While the crowd gathered around the veiled gravestones of Williams, Waterwitch and Fransch, Manuel, accompanied by Transnet chief executive Maria Ramos, delivered the keynote speech.
He quoted the famous statement made by Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia trial in 1964, "Democracy... is an ideal for which I am prepared to die", and likened the four's idealism to that of Mandela.
"I think we are here for the specific purpose of telling young people about the lives of the four young people who make up CARA. Their (legacy) has left us with a number of important questions... about what we must fight for in our lives.
"Today we must struggle against the destruction of our young people by drugs, gangsterism and the alien values of gangster rap: crass materialism, everything borrowed and the disrespect of women. This alien influence is colonising our young people's minds.
"We must also struggle for non-racialism... and recognise what is right in society, namely our rights."
Manuel said the gravestones were merely physical monuments, but the values and heroism of all of those who died for the freedom of others should be carried forward to strengthen democracy.
Selina Begg paid tribute to Williams, her sister, Mark Fransch honoured Anton and Wesley Fester spoke of his comrade Robbie Waterwitch. A sobbing Althea Waterwitch read an emotional letter.
Surrounded by young and old, most of whom were singing struggle songs and wearing T-shirts imprinted with the faces of the four, Manuel unveiled the first three stones, which had bronze impis carved into the granite.
The crowd then moved a few hundred metres to Kriel's grave, where a similar memorial was unveiled while the crowd chanted: "Long live the spirit of Ashley Kriel. Viva, ANC, viva."
Kriel was one of the founding members of the Bonteheuwel uMkhonto weSizwe cell in the mid-1980s. He and Fransch were in exile for a number of years, but were killed by security police after their separate returns - Kriel in 1987 and Fransch two years later.
This inspired University of the Western Cape students Williams and Waterwitch to join MK, but they died in 1989 in an explosion at the Athlone Magistrate's Court.
Williams was described as the "daughter of the community" for her support for the families of freedom fighters. She was jailed for nearly a year by the apartheid government.