Home » Durban Students Lament the Burning of Well Known UKZN Law Library

Durban Students Lament the Burning of Well Known UKZN Law Library

Former students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban campus have expressed shock and dismay at the burning and destruction of UKZN’s Howard College law library. The library was damaged as part of wider unrest on all three UKZN campuses as students protested against the increase of university fees. One graduate, now middle-aged, said: “We also had […]

By SAPeople
08-09-16 09:00
in Eish!

Former students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban campus have expressed shock and dismay at the burning and destruction of UKZN’s Howard College law library.

Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook

The library was damaged as part of wider unrest on all three UKZN campuses as students protested against the increase of university fees.

One graduate, now middle-aged, said: “We also had demonstrations in my day – we were protesting against apartheid… but we never burnt books.”

Another former student, now a lawyer, said “Burning a law library? The one I spent hundreds of quiet hours studying in. This just makes me sad and angry. #crythebelovedcountry.”

Nasreen Moosa, former librarian at Howard College, wrote on Facebook: “Ukzn law library in ruins! …devastating. ..what kind of people. ..burn books…places of knowledge. ..sanctuaries…devastating. ..I have spent my lifetime facilitating libraries. ..unacceptable.”

The library – which had been renovated in 1994 – was not entirely destroyed, but was seriously damaged.

The ANC has strongly condemned the protesters who set fire to the books, comparing their behaviour to the Nazis:

“The burning of books is a symbolic act of anti-intellectualism. In the 1930s the German Student Union, a Nazi structure, ran a book-burning campaign, targeting books written by Jews, liberals and communists. It was a prelude to fascism and the Holocaust.

“Attacking university property and harassing university leaders is illegal and a crime. Unlawful conduct cannot be justified by the mistaken belief that burning books is an attack on white monopoly capital.”

The DA said: “Like all significant libraries, it has taken years, even decades, to accumulate its contents. Destroying a library is effectively destroying the accumulated work of hundreds of people over a long period of time, and is an attack on the intellectual heart of any University.”

Tweets in support of the students have included the following:

  • “That library had not even one single black author, maybe there’s 2, but the rest was all colonial dutch-law bullshit that came 1652 #ukzn”
  • “When you make books more important than humans, you have a new oppressor.”
  • “The students were raising their issues in the past weeks and they were ignored.The library burns & now its a hot topic. #UKZN.”
  • “The burning of the books is not a reflection on the students, but on a failure of leadership.”

Politicians have called for calm across all universities in South Africa as they work to find a solution to the fee crisis.

The DA has blamed the crisis on “two decades of chronic financial neglect” by the ruling ANC… but the government insists it has spent that time investing “significant resources” to assist students from poor families through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Education Department Director General, Gwebinkundla Qonde, stressed that contrary to misleading reports government has NOT yet made a pronouncement on university fee adjustments for 2017. Consultations on the matter are ongoing, and an announcement is expected before the end of the month.

Justice Malala pointed out that tomorrow is International Literacy Day.

UKZN has decided to bring forward the September holidays. University is closed from today and will reopen on 20 September 2016.

https://twitter.com/moloisrj/status/773195125581291520

https://twitter.com/moloisrj/status/773195125581291520