This is the last passage i will be sharing from the book, 'Robert Sobukwe: How Can Man Die Better' [because you do need to go and get a copy and read the whole thing, you know!] And this is a look forward to how Sobukwe might have felt about the current situation with a big focus on justice and what i think lies ahead of us in terms of a move from racial focus to [...]
The domino moment…Most of you have experienced some sort of 'domino moments' in your life which you will never forget. Some are good, some are bad but that single moment shifted your life and changed it forever. Our moment happened sitting in a hospital room and being told that our 4 year old daughter Zofeya had a brain tumour. The world around you crumbles and although everything has changed in this single moment, you know [...]
A rendition from the heart: Wouldn’t it be great to wake up one day and see everyone living at peace with each other? Wouldn’t it be wonderful that no one harboured feelings of resentment and injustice with the other instead we stand side by side as brothers? I yearn and hunger for a South Africa of equality in life and in living standards. I long for a land where the needs of the majority are [...]
New Years National Resolution I think the best time of the year for one to make their resolutions it is none other than the beginning of each year. Each year most people individually makes these resolutions in accordance to ones aspirations and endeavors. I think just as much as personal resolutions are made also nations resolutions are as important. I think if we can have our nations resolutions we can possible have the national goal, [...]
A few days ago i wrote a piece on 'Freedom of Speech' and the fact that i feel like i may be the only person in the world who doesn't think it's such a great idea. To be honest, i was expecting a bit of a backlash, but no-one seemed particularly interested - in commenting either way. Then i read a really great piece by Megan Butler on a friend's blog, titled 'We need to [...]
*If I had a mic and all of SA was listening what would I say for 2015. My hope, my dream for this beautiful nation is that people would step out of their comfort zones amd embrace other people. I know this is not easy. My dream is that young people would embrace older people, straight people would embrace gay and transgendered people, people of different racial hues would also embrace each other and share [...]
One of the interesting ideas that has come up both in Americaland [with the whole #Ferguson ordeal and everything connected to that and the #BlackLivesMatter movement] and in South Africa is that black people can't be racist. i have always argued that the hypothesis is ridiculous and given my understanding of racism, anyone can be racist against another person. However, by taking time to listen to people on both sides, as far as i understand [...]
Boko Haram... Charlie Hebdo... Pupils in a Gauteng school re-enacting dog-fights... Sometimes, far too regularly, it seems like the world has gone mad. What are we to do? i was encouraged by this excerpt from a Dutch friend of mine who sent this as part of his end of year newsletter: One thing has become clearer to me than ever before: Jesus Christ is the only hope for man and mankind. Especially studying the chapters [...]
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 [...]
From Chapter 20 of 'Robert Sobukwe: How Can Man Die Better' by Benjamin Pogrund: 'We [Robert and Benjamin] had three days of incessant talking and sharing emotions and thoughts. My dominant sense about him was his optimism about himself and South Africa. It helped him to endure the experience of being plunged back into the reality of everyday apartheid living. We also went through the details of a brotherly pact. I would continue to do [...]