An unofficial declaration of warIn this hurried statement, written by Tsietsi Mashinini just before he fled into exile in late August 1976, he condems the police action of the previous two months and calls it "an unofficial declaration of war". But he pleads with his fellow students: "I, Tsietsi Mashini, appeal [to] students to report back to school and notify the authorities of any injured, dead or missing students. We still have our end [of term] exams to write and we must have our priorities sorted."
Look at images of the original hand-written statement: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3
- Reference: Mashinini, T. Handwritten Statement, August 1976. Karis-Gerhart Collection, Cullen Library, University of the Witwatersrand, Folder 795 |
"I, Tsietsi Mashinini, appeal to students to report back to school." 
Tsietsi Mashinini, 1976
Picture © British Thames Television
IN THE CLASSROOM |
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In this lesson plan, learners are asked to think about how the different people in their lives would describe them. They are asked to reflect if they think that their caregiver or teacher would say the same things about them as their best friend. They will apply their insights on differing perspectives to historical sources such as newspapers and letters. You′ll need the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader to view these lesson plans. Download it here.  | Panorama | | Take a 360º tour of Mashinini's memorial opposite his former high school on Mputhi Street, Soweto. |
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