An Endangered resource: the preservation of liberation struggle archives in East and Southern Africa

Abstract

The struggle to liberate the continent of Africa from colonialism during the second half of the twentieth century represented an important epoch and, as such, this history needs to be documented in whatever form for the benefit of posterity and for all, irrespective of class, as the struggle for independence was a collective effort. Accordingly, east and southern Africa's liberation struggles have been well documented over the past few decades and the efforts are still ongoing and gathering momentum as a consequence of the onset of digital technologies as custodians of this heritage battle to move with the times in search of permanence. Custodians of this unique and irreplaceable heritage are mostly political parties that spearheaded the struggle for emancipation. Ironically very few of these liberation movements possess proper archives and much of the primary material such as manuscripts, letters, photographs, publications, tapes etc is in the custody of individuals’ private archives (Mazarire 2009).

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