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Hector Pieterson 海克特·彼特森

1964 - 1976

 

Image: Sam Nzima’s famous June 16, 1976 photograph of Mbuyisa Makhubo carrying Hector Pieterson, accompanied by Hector’s sister, Antoinette.

Hector Pieterson (1964 – 16 June 1976) became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto uprising in apartheid South Africa when a news photograph by Sam Nzima of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the police opened fire on protesting students. For years, June 16 stood as a symbol of resistance to the brutality of the apartheid government. Today, it is known as National Youth Day — a day on which South Africans honour young people and bring attention to their needs.

Since June 1976, Hector’s surname has been spelled Peterson and Pietersen by the press but the family insists that the correct spelling is Pieterson. The Pieterson family was originally the Pitso family but decided to adopt the Pieterson name to try to pass as “Coloured” (the apartheid-era name for people of mixed race), because Coloured people enjoyed somewhat better privileges under apartheid than blacks did.

On June 16, 2002 the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum was opened near the place he was shot in Orlando West, Soweto to honour Hector and those who died around the country in the 1976 uprising.

图片:Sam Nzima于1976年6月16日拍摄的著名图片。捧着海克特·彼特森的Mbuyisa Makhubo,身边伴着海克特的妹妹Antoinette。

当一张由Sam Nzimapai拍摄的一个同学捧着奄奄一息的海克特的新闻图片公诸于世时,海克特·彼特森(1964 — 1967.6.16)成为1976年实行种族隔离制度的南非索韦托起义的标志式形象。警察向示威学生开火,他倒下时只有12岁。多年来,6月16日都作为对野蛮的种族隔离政府的反抗象征。今天,这个日子被视为国家青年节——一个南非人尊重年轻人,关注他们需要的日子。

自1976年6月起,海克特的姓就曾被新闻界拼读成彼得森(Peterson)或彼埃特尔森(Pietersen),但他的家人坚称正确的拼读是彼特森(Pieterson)。彼特森家族最初叫彼特苏(Pitso)家族,为了能作为“有色人种”(种族隔离时期对混血种人的称呼)通行无阻,同时由于在种族隔离制度下有色人种能享受到比黑人稍好的权利而决定采用彼特森这个姓氏。

2002年6月16日,海克特·彼特森纪念碑和博物馆开幕,选址在索韦托的奥兰多西区——他中枪地点附近,以表示对海克特和那些在1976年起义中为这个国家死去的人的尊敬。