ADDRESS BY PREMIER
Master of ceremonies
The Choma family
Comrades
Ladies and gentlemen.
I am immensely honoured to speak at the funeral service of my friend and Comrade Sydney Star Choma.
Let me, on behalf of the government and people of Mpumalanga, and on behalf of my organisation the African National Congress, express our sincere condolences to the Choma family, relatives and friends.
We shared and continue to share the pain of his wife Marjorie and son Mlungisi. And the pain and anguish of NaMatshiyane, Comrade Star's in-laws, family and friends.
Ladies and gentlemen, the past few weeks have been harrowing, not only to us as government, but to the family and friends of this dear Comrade. Too many a tear has been shed in memory of a colossus, a gentle giant, a true comrade.
Yet we do draw comfort from the knowledge that the greater part of the journey that was the passion of his life had been traversed. Over the past few days since his death I have heard a number of tributes paid to Comrade Star.
In all the tributes not once did all those who knew him fail to mention that he was one of the humblest leaders. He was not given to being vain or boastful. He was free of the evils of pride, ego, greed, selfishness, envy, jealousy, anger, fear and hatred.
Comrade Star' s work in the ANC and in the community has always been based on his understanding of the needs of ordinary people. He has dedicated almost his entire life to the struggle for basic human rights in South Africa.
We know too well how much Comrade Star sacrificed. From the time he left the country to join the gallant army of the people Umkhonto we Sizwe.
To his arrest amongst the poorest of the poor in Dennilton. And right through his time on Robben Island he stood on the side of the downtrodden.
On his release he continued waging a heroic fight for the poor. This time armed, not with an AK-47, but with a vision and selfless dedication.
There are times when our demands on him - indeed the demands of struggle - made it difficult for him to play fully the role of father and husband.
But we need to make this solemn pledge to you Comrade Star. As long as the people of our country continue to be immersed in poverty. As long as millions of our people continue to lose their lives as a result of preventable diseases, including AIDS, we shall not rest.
One of the tributes we can pay to Comrade Star is to deny space to those who do not care for the fundamental aspirations of the people.
We must pay tribute to Comrade Star by ensuring that we rid the province of elements that weaken our capacity to carry out our mission to continue the struggle for the total emancipation of our people.
Criminals continue to prey on our people and society, among other things raping women and abusing children. We have to wage an all-out struggle against these elements.
Comrade Star, in our grief, we do remember that you enjoined us not to mourn but to celebrate the achievements you humbly helped realise. If you see tears welling in our eyes, it is because we cannot bear saying:
Farewell dear comrade, dear brother, dear friend!
You set yourself a task which only the brave would dare. Somewhere in the mystery of your essence, you heard the call that you must devote your life to the creation of a new South African nation.
And having heard that call, you did not hesitate to act. All humanity knows what you had to do to create the conditions for all of us to reach this glorious end.
Men and women of rare qualities are few and hard to come by. And when they depart, the sense of loss is made the more profound and the more difficult to manage.
We say Comrade Star is no more. But can we allow him to depart while we live! Can we say Comrade Star is no more, while we walk this solid earth! Comrade Star lived not because he could breathe.
He lived not because blood flowed through his veins. Comrade Star lived not because we could see and touch him. He lived not because we shared many happy moments of laughter and sadness with him.
Comrade Star lived because he had dedicated his whole life to the struggle of the people of this country. He lived because he was so passionate about working for a better life for all the people of this country – black and white.
Comrade Star lived not because he did all the things that all of us as ordinary men and women do. He lived because he had surrendered his very being to the people. He lived because his very being embodied love, an idea, a hope, an aspiration, a vision.
While he lived, our minds would never quite formulate the thought that this man is other than what the naked eye could see.
I say that Comrade Star has not died, because the ideals for which he sacrificed his life can never die. I say that Comrade Star has not died because the ideals of freedom and human dignity and respect for every individual cannot perish.
While the ANC lives, Comrade Star cannot die!
Comrade Star cannot die while his allies in the South African Communist Party and Cosatu remain loyal to the common purpose.
As long as the Alliance lives, Comrade Star cannot die!
Yet we do draw comfort, Comrade Star - from the knowledge that you left a legacy which we shall all strive to emulate. We draw strength, Comrade Star - from the knowledge that you continue to live in each one of us through your force of example, vitality of spirit and passion for justice.
When future generations look back on the transformation of Middelburg and the healing process in this town, they will be justified in saying: Comrade Star was central in making it happen.
Our people will be right to say Comrade Star was a chief architect who helped lay the foundation for a better life.
When those yet to be born marvel at how South Africans of our times managed a delicate transition, they will be within their right to sing, as we did during the years of armed struggle: U-STAR inkokheli , a leader for a better life for all our people.
A warrior of peace and reconciliation, a builder par excellence. Because we value peace you will live forever! Because we all love freedom we say: LONG LIVE COMRADE STAR!
We all say LONG LIVE Because we all uphold the dignity of all human beings. Let all of us who live say that while we live, the ideals for which Comrade Star lived, sacrificed and died will not die!
Let all of us who live, say that while we live, Comrade Star will not die!
May he, for his part, rest in peace.
Go well and farewell, dear friend.
In all this, we will not fail you.
Marjorie and Mthunzi, we know that you feel this pain more deeply. We cannot fully grasp the magnitude of your grief. To NaMatshiyane. To his-in-laws and to all his family and friends.
If we have taken liberty to claim Comrade Star as ours today, this merely underlines that he was not only a son of Mhluzi, but he was a child of the struggle for human dignity.
Please be comforted by the fact that the nation, the province and the people of Middelburg share your grief; and we shall always be at your side. We share in your grief and sorrow and pray that God will give you the strength to carry on with your lives.
Thank You.