There is a tragic moment in the book where Benjamin Pogrund is refused the opportunity to speak at Robert Sobukwe's funeral due to some angry incited politicised youth, as it seems like he would have been a natural choice and even Sobukwe's family had extended the invitation for him to speak. The speech he had planned though was published in Reality later that year: Robert Sobukwe. My brother and my friend. It did not matter that our [...]
It is early 2012. The phone rings and my brother George answers. Silence. Eventually I whisper: “I need to get out of here. I need help.” But the story starts in 1995, at a party, where a friend was having so much more fun than everyone else. “What’s he on? Is he drunk?” Our innocent questions were answered with “Ecstasy” and a journey into 18 years of intense addiction began. That first pill was exactly [...]
Hi, my name is Avuyile Tu, I hail from Khayelitsha, originally from the Eastern Cape from a small town called Lady Frere. I studied a B Com degree from the University of the Western Cape, majored in Economics and management. Currently I am employed as an assistant finance manager here in Cape Town. I am the first born son at home; I am a Christian, passionate about Christ and serving my people. I write poetry [...]
When i started sharing stories on rarely spoken off issues in the form of Taboo Topics, one of the main reasons was to put a name and a face on a topic that is not often dealt with. There is a lot of power in this as it helps make an issue someone else might be struggling with seem a lot more real. There has been much positive feedback in this regard. However, as i [...]
So, the other day i tried to take a few steps back in this ongoing Race and Reconciliation conversation we've been having over here with this post trying to see if we could all agree that the incredibly out-of-proportion extreme gap between rich and poor in our country [and the world at large] is not okay. Most people stayed away from engaging at all [maybe it's cos of the busy time of the year, but [...]
HIS BANNER OVER ME IS SINGLE Last month I was supposed to get married. There was no ring on my finger, no invitations in the mail. But there was a date on a calendar and the seed of a dream that had been planted in my heart many, many months ago. I’d had a plan—we’d had a plan—in a world where I was part of a “we,” in lifetime that doesn’t feel all that long [...]
i think this is a helpful thing to explain. Comment threads on the internet can be a dangerous and frightening place. Okay, that is probably not a necessary thing to explain. Because either you don't participate in comment threads, or you have before and are very likely to know this. The anonymity one gets when one can hide behind a 'Guest' or 'Pseudonym' poster often gives people the bravado most of them would not have [...]
...by the time you read this post, you'll be gone... So in response to my post directed at my white friends in South Africa and Americaland with regards to race-related things, i got a rather strong sounding response from a guy called John. Which i thought it might be quite fun to respond to: The reason I write you off as another white “Arts-degree” imbecile: You compare the history and economics and politics and sociology [...]
i am almost overwhelmed by the amount of posts i have been discovering or people have been linking me to when it comes to race. What has been amazing has been so many of them have been so incredibly good. i imagine there are a lot of people who see 'Anothe ace post by Brett Fish' and roll their eyes or reach for the unsubscribe. But i am confident that there are enough people following [...]
i never particularly wanted to go to Robben Island. in fact, to be honest, for a time i particularly didn't want to go to Robben Island. Something about growing up in a not too politicized environment perhaps and then later not really seeing the point or perhaps thinking it was a 'flavour of the month' kind of vibe with everyone going and it being such a touristy thing. But then somewhere along the line [maybe [...]