June 28, 2007, 17:15
Eight-year-old Gornick Herman will return to school at the start of the third term. The Rastafarian boy was allegedly denied access to a local primary school due to his dreadlocks. Today, the Rastafarian community of Lavender Hill in Cape Town protested outside the school.
Herman and his grandmother are tired of waiting. For two months they have been trying to get the young Rastafarian admitted to Hillwood Primary School and today's protest was their last resort. Cynthia Meyer, Gornick's grandmother, says her grandson is being discriminated against and being isolated from the other children at school.
Over the past two months, Gornick has been getting a makeshift education at the nearest library - the nearest being in the neighbouring suburb in Retreat. His grandmother braved the cold winter weather to get her grandson some form of mental stimulation.
Concerns of boy’s acceptance
According to the Western Cape department of education, the school denies ever having turned the boy away because of his hair. Cameron Dugmore, the provincial education minister, has tried to remedy the problem. He says the school is willing to accept the boy and claims they were merely concerned about his acceptance by his peers.
Dugmore says: "These are issues that need to be discussed as we prepare for the beginning of the third term, and it’s important as well to hear the concerns of the governing body, as well as the grandmother of the child."
Dugmore says measures will be put in place to help Gornick catch up with work missed.
Rastafari history
The Rastafari movement, a religion that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia as God incarnate, is also seen as part of the Holy Trinity as the Messiah promised in the Bible to return. The name Rastafari comes from Ras (literally "Head," an Ethiopian title equivalent to Duke) Tafari Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I.
The wearing of dreadlocks is very closely associated with the movement, though not universal among, or exclusive to, its adherents. Rastas believe dreadlocks to be supported by Leviticus 21:5 ("They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in the flesh."). Part of the reason the hairstyle was adopted, was to contrast the kinky hair of black men with the straighter hair of whites.
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