A STAR IS BORN
Patricia Okello, 23 years, Ugandan model, now based in South Africa and shortly NYC – the Big Apple.
Patricia stars on the cover of African Catwalk, a beautiful fashion book by Swedish photographer Per-Anders Pettersson.
Bravo Patricia, by your intelligence, passion, sheer grit and beauty you made it from Kampala to Manhattan.
Once again the old adage holds true – Where there’s a will there’s a way.
PATRICIA OKELLO – FUTURE FASHION ICON – made in Africa.
C R E A T I V I T Y in the D R A M A T I C A R T S
APARTHEID’S evil regime of 50 years locked down all political protest.
Because of this oppression there was an incredible flowering of the arts, by necessity, subtly subversive.
The theatre exploded with the Welcome Msomi zulu production of Macbeth in the 60’s, which he told me would be understood by Zulus as being anti-Apartheid. It became nationally and then globally famous.
The play-writing and acting trio of Athol Fugard, Winston Ntshona and John Kani with The Island, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, (South Africa’s own Samuel Beckett), really pushed the envelope, but were never banned, because of the cerebral content that was lost on no-one but DID NOT break the law. John Kani also played an unforgettable Othello, even Apartheid couldn’t ban William Shakespeare.
C R E A T I V I T Y in M U S I C
Miriam Makeba on her first world tour had her passport torn up and was cruelly banned from returning to South Africa. We all knew by heart her songs of longing for freedom, as those of the torch singer Brenda Fasse who lived to embrace Madiba at the abolition of apartheid. There were many, many more musicians for freedom Julian Bahula of Black Malombo, Dollar Brand’s African Sketchbook and of course the white Zulu warrior Johnny Clegg who wrote and performed the global tear-jerker Asimbonanga.
C R E A T I V I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E
The pen is mightier than the sword – Nadine Gordimer, André Brink’s Looking on Darkness, Alan Paton with Cry the Beloved Country, Breyten Breytenbach and others mocked, ridiculed Apartheid and it’s vile racism. More, their words and emotions wormed their way into their readers’ hearts to plant the uncomfortable seeds of denial.
C R E A T I V I T Y in V I S U A L A R T S
Walter Battiss, my professor of Art was the supreme jester. An early fan of graffiti he slashed the the racist rigidity with his superbly seditious, sometime inter-racial sexual, camel-hair paint brush.
SO WHAT IS OUR CONCLUSION?
This volcanic outburst of creativity by women, men, black, white, brown was the ONLY non subvertly political expression possible. Television was banned, the Beatles were banned, an English cricket team with a black player was banned, Bobby Kennedy was banned outside the university precinct and on and on.
But you cannot ban people from thinking, from writing, drawing, singing, making music. And this is precisely what happened in the creative hothouse that Apartheid unintentionally produced and thereby imploded.
« By the delicate, invisible web they wove – the… mystery of freedom » T.S.Eliot.
A R T over A P A R T H E I D
I AM AS I AM
I am 4 years old. When I grow up I want to be an airline pilot, heavyweight boxing champion of the world, president of my country. Why does the white man hold me back?
Feel me, touch me, see me. I am just like you.
My name is Tommy.
https://youtu.be/m7AHblQ3_oM
BLACK LIVES AND OPPORTUNITY MATTER!
JOHNNY CLEGG PHD – OBE
This jewish kid, born in Lancashire, England in 1953, emigrated to South Africa, first arrested at 15 in anti-Apartheid rally – prof of Social Anthropology at Wits University, author, songwriter – received the highest honors in South Africa, for his life-long fight against Apartheid, ranking 23rd of the greatest South Africans of all time.
And the music – 2 platinum and 5 gold records
JULUKA
Partners in « crime » – Johnny with Sipho Mchunu
Banned from playing in public in South Africa they played in restaurants, private homes and internationally where JULUKA became famous world-wide with Universal Men, Work for All. . .
SAVUKA
Johnny teamed up with Dudu Zulu when Sipho went back to sheep farming.
More big, global hits followed: Third World Child, Heat, Dust, Dreams and then in 1987 the greatest of all – you guessed. . .
ASIMBONANGA
Every man, woman and child in the country sang this anthem for the release of Madiba from Robben Island.
Hear it once again.
Millions of people today are again suffering and need our support and succor in this dark night of terror and deadly disorder – where we are increasingly suffering from compassion fatigue.
But there is hope. . .
ONE MAN’S FIGHT WITH MUSIC TO SHINE THE LIGHT OF FREEDOM
« WE HAVE CLIMBED A GREAT MOUNTAIN – MANY MORE ARE TO BE CLIMBED ».
Nelson Mandela 1994
1652 the Cape province was settled by the Huguenots, followed by the British.
300 years awash with blood with the merciless conquest and subjugation of the country – between Zulu warriors & British soldiers – Boers & British in the bitter Boer War.
1950 – 1994 Apartheid a Nazi inspired evil system of Separate but never Equal development, that turned South Africa into an open prison: Group Areas, Bantu Education, Pass Laws, Job Reservation, Immorality Act.
1977 Torture and murder of Stephen Biko by SA Police.
1963 – 1990 Incarceration of Nelson Mandela with his black, indian and white comrades in harsh conditions on Robben Island, a bleak rocky outcrop overlooked by the Cape of Good Hope – a bitter irony.
11th february 1990 – besieged by growing violence, student mass protests, world condemnation and sanctions, the white government turned to Mandela to save the Nation. He agreed to his release on the non-negotiable condition of the immediate repeal of Apartheid.
10th may 1994 the ANC is voted into power by universal franchise, with Nelson Mandela as President. In his 5 years in office Mandela changed hearts and minds to heal the Nation and avert latent coups d’états by White extremists. « Truth & Reconciliation » hearings, presided by Archbishop Desmond Tutu cooled passions and set the united country on its democratic path.
1999 Nelson Mandela stood down and the presidency was passed thro’ election to Thabo Mbeke and subsequently Jacob Zuma the current incumbent, giving proof again of true democratic process.
2015 South Africa today faces mountainous challenges, including Land Reform (whites possess a vastly disproportionate 79% of all land), HIV/AIDS (affecting 6+ million souls), Massive Unemployment with I in 4 workless adults, Crime – murder/robbery/rape rates among the highest par capita in the world, Wealth Inequality increasing between the HAVES and the HAVE NOTS. Finally growing disillusionment with the African National Congress and its ability to inspire hope for a better future – the horrific Xenophobic attacks on immigrant African citizens by Zulu men are to a large part evidence of this desperation.
SOUTH AFRICANS WILL NOT BE FREE UNTIL ALL CITIZENS CAN SHARE IN THE GROWING WEALTH OF THE NATION.
Richard Beardsley, writer and photographer, has borne witness to South Africa’s evolution thro’ the Apartheid years, with his studies of the Zulu language, weekends visiting and photographing the mums and kids in KwaZulu’s Valley of 1000 Hills. Finally this testimony of his photo journal « CHILDREN OF APARTHEID » – the proceeds of which will go to his NGO http://www.Zen4Zulu.org for improving the health and welfare of the valley and for building a better future. A disciple of Madiba he tries to live up to the spirit of love and respect for his fellow citizen, as expressed in the traditional philosophy of Ubuntu.
UBUNTU – I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE.
GUILTY AS CHARGED – 3 December 2015
He cried all the way thru the trial – scared shitless of being put where the sun doesn’t shine. And sure he got it, duh – that he had screwed up big time, losing his hero status, his sponsors, a zillion $$$ in legal fees and his lovely squeeze. To my simple cop mind he is guilty of a premeditated act with malice aforethought and intent to kill – his girlfriend, or a black burglar in the loo. He took a gun, shot 4 times thru the door, not to flush the loo nor to protect the PQ, but intending to kill, despite there being no threat manifested.
(Apartheid is in the past in RSA and it is no longer as kosher as Christmas to shoot a black man for peeing in a white man’s loo – except maybe in Ferguson, USA).
His crime was murder, murder most vile, your Honour. They say he’ll be outta the nick in 10 bleeding months.
Ps: maybe he should have pleaded « crime passionnel » suspecting the lady was having it off with the thief. That IS Oscar material, (Mel & Naomi).
Pps: to the people who tell me that this blog is in bloody poor taste – which it is, I remind them that slaughtering a young girl, and a parent’s child isn’t exakly Debrett non plus.
The Valley of 1000 Hills Community Helpers, KwaZulu cares for the 31.000 souls, of whom an est. 70% are affected/infected by HIV/TB. Our Primary Health Centre is besieged by approx 80 emergencies daily, mostly little kids & moms – many with life threatening issues requiring urgent doctor care.
One doctor day costs $300 which we can no longer fund 5 days a week in these difficult times.
Yet we receive many, many offers from doctors the world over and AT LAST we are able to offer free lodging and meals in the new Zen4Zulu Doctors’ Cottage which will be installed before the long Christmas season vacation.
If you are a doctor who would love to receive the love of the zen Zulus, to discover the idyllic Valley – 70kms from the golden beaches of Durban, come & make a difference to the lives of the needy and to your very own life. Mail richardsbeardsley@gmail.com. Yabonga.
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TIME 4 AFRICA 
